The 26th European Club Cup started on Sunday with the participation of 49 teams. The powerhouse Socar Azerbaijan defeated Gambit-Asseco-See Skopje by 5.5-0.5, with IM Marjan Mitkov earning the only draw, in the game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
On the other top boards, the higher rated teams also achieved convincing victories, but further bellow Betsson from England gave a strong resistance in the match against Ashdod Elite CC. International Masters Adam Hunt and Andrew Ledger drew Gata Kamsky and Emil Sutovsky respectively. FM Dave Ledger defeated GM Boris Avrukh, but with the victories in the other three games, Ashdod secured a 4-2 overall win.
Top round two pairings are Eynatten KSK47 – SOCAR Azerbaijan, St.Petersburg Chess Club – Yugra, Rivnenski Iisovi zubry Rivne – ShSM-64 Moscow, Economist-SGSEU-1 – Solingen SG, Margiris Kaunas – Baden-Baden OSG, Beer Sheva CC – Mika Yerevan, Ashdod Elite CC – Glasinac and Naiden Voinov CC – Ural.
More photos and videos in the multimedia section
The first round of the 15th European Club Cup for Women was a smooth ride for all the top rated teams, with exception in the match between local Lokomotiv 2000 and Samaia Tbilisi where Adriana Nikolova surprised IM Lela Javakhishvili on the top board. Nevertheless, Samaia won the match by 2.5-1.5.
The defending champion Cercle d’Echecs de Monte Carlo, Mika Yerevan and BAS Belgrade crushed the opposition by scoring perfect 4-0 victories. AVS and St.Petersburg Chess Club conceded only two draws each on the top tables.
Top round two matches are Samaia Tbilisi – Cercle d’Echecs de Monte Carlo, AVS – BAS Beograd, MIKA Yerevan – St.Petersburg Chess Club and Giprorechtrans – Oslo Schakselkap.
Round 1 video
GM Mateusz Bartel (G-Team Novy Bor)
IM Anna Muzychuk (Monte Carlo)
Yifan Hoy enjoying her free day
Sanan Sjugirov (Yugra)
GM Boris Gelfand (ShSM-64 Moscow)
