GM Vincent Keymer celebrated his 19th birthday with a win over Armenia’s GM Haik Martirosyan that gave Germany the sole lead after round five of the 2023 European Team Chess Championship and took the young star up to world number-17 on the live rating list.

The Women’s section is led by France and Azerbaijan, who both got back to winning ways in round five after tying their match in round four, while Greece’s IM Stavroula Tsolakidou won a stunning game against Ukrainian IM Nataliya Buksa.

Round six starts, after a rest day, on Friday, November 17, at 9:15 a.m. ET/15:15 CET/7:45 p.m. IST.

Open Section: Keymer’s Germany Snatch Lead

It could have been sooner, since in the round-four top-of-the-table clash against Poland, Keymer was a move or two away from beating GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek. He let the chance slip, however, and in the end Polish GM Szymon Gumularz who could have clinched victory if he’d converted an advantage against GM Dmitrij Kollars in the last game to finish. Suffering was etched on the faces of both team captains, GMs Jan Gustafsson and Oleksandr Sulypa.

Chess is fun, especially for team captains! 😀 https://t.co/ydoDB2jWGC

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 14, 2023

All four games ended in draws, however, with Armenia catching the leaders with a 3-1 win over Israel, courtesy of GMs Martirosyan and Hrant Melkumyan. Alas for Armenia and their HM duo, things wouldn’t go so well when they faced Germany in round five.

It was a strange match, since for the first half of it only GM Gabriel Sargissian looked in trouble. GM Rasmus Svane won a pawn in a sideline GM Ian Nepomniachtchi had used to beat GM Ding Liren in the 2023 world championship match, and a German win seemed on the cards. 

Instead Sargissian eventually survived a 91-move ordeal, but his teammates had perhaps overcompensated for that likely loss and let their positions crumble in the run-up to the time control. Keymer got to celebrate his birthday with a game that demonstrated just how formidable he’s become.

That victory took Keymer above such stars as GMs Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Alexander Grischuk, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to world number-17 on the live rating list.

Keymer hasn’t always garnered as much attention as fellow prodigies, but right now only GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu is younger and higher-rated.

The immediate focus for Keymer, however, is the European Team Championship, and Germany wrapped up victory with a spectacular win for GM Matthias Bluebaum, who got to finish with a flourish by sacrificing his queen. 

Germany leads four teams by a point, including their round-six opponents, Romania. With top-seeded Azerbaijan suffering a second loss in round four, after Croatian GM Ivan Saric beat GM Teimour Radjabov, Romania are the highest remaining seeds. They still haven’t lost a single game, and in round five they woke from their slumbers to beat Poland 3-1, with first wins for GMs Richard Rapport (vs. Wojtaszek) and Bogdan-Daniel Deac (who won on time vs. GM Pawel Teclaf). 

Serbia has bounced back from a loss to Germany to win their remaining matches, while England seems to have no problems with team spirit.

Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes! Spent the evening celebrating with a great team 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 https://t.co/0SchEFWVyB

— David Howell (@DavidHowellGM) November 14, 2023

The other team just a point behind Germany is the Netherlands, who have shrugged off the absence of GM Anish Giri with a 2867-performance by GM Jorden van Foreest. His round-five game against Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo was short and sweet, for Dutch fans, with the white queen trapped in just 22 moves.

Much of the focus has been on world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen, who has continued the thankless task of defending his 2839 rating against 2500-opposition. After a round-four win he was even gaining rating points…

European 2500’s though😛 https://t.co/2zu0ehd2ks

— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) November 14, 2023

…but a draw with Black against 2503-rated Moldovan GM Ivan Schitco in round five meant Carlsen was again dropping points for the tournament. He’s not going to face higher-rated opposition anytime soon, since Norway only scraped a match draw and is ranked 25th out of 38 teams.

 
Women’s Section: France, Azerbaijan Lead; Tsolakidou Plays Stunner

Round four was also the graveyard of 100% records in the Women’s event, with co-leaders France and Azerbaijan trading wins in a 2-2 draw. It was France that was on the brink of victory until IM Pauline Guichard suddenly dropped a piece.

Guichard has won her remaining games, however, while WGM Mitra Hejazipour has scored a remarkable 5/5. Hejazipour, who left Iran after being denied a place on the team for not wearing a hijab, has gained 49 rating points.

France beat Armenia 3.5-0.5 in round five, while Azerbaijan kept pace by edging a 2.5-1.5 win over Germany. Only Bulgaria are within a point, while four teams, including favorites Georgia, are a further point back.

Round 5 Standings Women (Top 7)

The standout team among the those tied for fourth is Greece, which began the event as the 19th seed. Much of that success is down to 23-year-old Tsolakidou, who has more than held her own on the top board.

In round four she won in just 21 moves, but her victory in round five was even more stunning, and is our Game of the Day, with annotations by GM Rafael Leitao below. Don’t miss perhaps the move of the tournament so far!

Thursday is a rest day in Budva, before the final four rounds begin. 

The 2023 European Team Chess Championship is a nine-round team tournament taking place in Budva, Montenegro, during November 11-20. All the European chess federations can field a team in the Open and Women’s sections; matches are played on four boards. The time control is classical, with 90 minutes for 40 moves, 30 minutes to the end of the game, and a 30-second increment from move one. 

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