Open: Ukraine, Netherlands and France grab crucial wins
Ukraine moved into sole first place in the open section after defeating the former leaders (and defending champions) from Serbia by 2½-1½, becoming the only team on 9 out of 10 match points with four rounds remaining. The Ukrainian victory was secured through wins on the lower boards by Igor Kovalenko and Ihor Samunenkov.
Kovalenko has been Ukraine’s standout performer so far, having collected 3½ points from 4 games and achieving a remarkable 2869 Tournament Performance Rating. The 36-year-old grandmaster represented Latvia from 2013 to 2021 before switching federations back to his native Ukraine, where he has since combined professional chess with volunteering in the country’s defence forces as part of the resistance movement in the war with Russia.
Against Serbia’s top scorer Aleksandar Indjic, the 2024 European champion, Kovalenko played from the white side of an English Opening and gradually gained the upper hand in a strategically rich middlegame. Indjic decided to sacrifice a piece for two pawns, hoping to use the uncastled white king as a target.
Kovalenko, however, defended accurately, consolidated his position and then methodically converted his extra material into a full point.
On board four, 16-year-old Ihor Samunenkov defeated 42-year-old Robert Markus from the white side of a French Defence. The Serbian grandmaster defended well for most of the game but blundered twice in quick succession around move 32, allowing Samunenkov to claim his second win of the tournament and secure the overall team victory (see the full game with annotations below).
Serbia v. Ukraine
A single match point behind the leaders are Serbia, France and the Netherlands, each on 8/10. Both France and the Netherlands achieved narrow 2½-1½ wins over strong opposition in round five, beating Spain and England respectively – and both matches required the winners to recover from an individual defeat.
Dutch star Anish Giri continued his excellent form by defeating Alexei Shirov from the black side of a Najdorf Sicilian. In the final position, Giri’s queen and dark-squared bishop were perfectly coordinated to deliver a swift attack against the exposed white king, while Shirov’s queen and light-squared bishop were unable to provide adequate defence or counterplay.
This victory lifted Giri to sixth place in the live world rankings and further confirmed his superb form in recent months, following his Grand Swiss triumph in Samarkand that earned him qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
Spain v. the Netherlands
Samunenkov 0-1 Markus
Standings after round 5
| 1 | Ukraine | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 61 | |
| 2 | Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 64 | |
| 3 | Serbia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 59 | |
| 4 | France | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 49,5 | |
| 5 | Romania | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 56,5 | |
| 6 | Greece | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 56 | |
| 7 | Azerbaijan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 55 | |
| 8 | Armenia | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 54 | |
| 9 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 52 | |
| 10 | Spain | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 54,5 | |
| 11 | Turkiye | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 53 | |
| 12 | England | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 51,5 | |
| 13 | Slovenia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 42,5 | |
| 14 | Georgia 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 40,5 | |
| 15 | Germany | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 56,5 |
All games
Women’s: Poland beat Germany to keep perfect score
In contrast to the open tournament, the women’s championship has a single perfect team. Poland lead the standings with 10/10 match points after five rounds, having defeated former co-leaders Germany by the narrowest possible margin, 2½-1½.
The encounter between the two top-performing teams was tense throughout. Balanced struggles on boards two and four both ended in draws, the games lasting 52 and 25 moves respectively.
On the top board, Dinara Wagner and Alina Kashlinskaya entered a sharp and imbalanced middlegame where White had two rooks and a bishop for Black’s queen and two extra pawns. The position remained unclear for a long time, with both players missing tactical possibilities. A critical moment arose on move 48.
Wagner, with white, played 48.f6, after which perpetual check with 48…Qe1+ 49.Kh5 Qe8+ 50.Kh4 led to an immediate draw.
Analysis shows that 48.Kh5 Qf7+ 49.Rgg6 a2 50.Ra8+ Kh7 51.h4 (diagram below) would have been winning for White.
However, given the match situation, Wagner almost certainly chose the repetition deliberately – by then, her teammate Lara Schulze had already won her game on board three against Oliwia Kiolbasa in only 30 moves.
Germany v. Poland
Two teams that also won in Thursday’s round – Georgia and Ukraine – now share second place with 8/10 match points, two points behind Poland. Georgia, the top seeds, defeated France thanks to a victory by Nino Batsiashvili with the black pieces against Sophie Milliet. Batsiashvili has played uncompromisingly throughout the event, having won her games in rounds one, three and four while suffering her only defeat against Germany’s Hanna Marie Klek in round two.
Ukraine also joined the chasing group after beating the defending champions Bulgaria by a convincing 3-1 score. The Ukrainian squad’s strength on the lower boards once again made the difference, as Natalia Zhukova and Bozhena Piddubna both scored full points to give their team match victory.
Ukraine v. Bulgaria
Standings after round 5
| 1 | Poland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 71 | |
| 2 | Georgia 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 72 | |
| 3 | Germany | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 62,5 | |
| 4 | Ukraine | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 55 | |
| 5 | Armenia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 55 | |
| 6 | Romania | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 43 | |
| 7 | France | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 52,5 | |
| 8 | Azerbaijan | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 51 | |
| 9 | Bulgaria | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 50,5 | |
| 10 | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 49 | |
| 11 | Spain | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 46,5 | |
| 12 | Greece | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 45,5 | |
| 13 | Estonia | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 45 | |
| 14 | Netherlands | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 37 | |
| 15 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 37 |
