GM Aleksandar Indjic and WIM Marina Gajcin are the new chess champions of Serbia. Aleksandar notched up his fourth victory in the national championship, while Marina took her maiden title.

The Serbian Championship 2023 took place from June 6–14 in Senta, with the open and women’s tournaments running concurrently. Both competitions were 10-player round robins with classical time control.

Aleksandar Injic entered the open section as the top seed and lived up to expectations leading the field from start to finish. Going into the final round a half-point ahead of his main rival Robert Markus, he gradually outplayed Borko Lajthajm and secured the title. The champion scored an impressive 7.5/9 and picked up 12 rating points.

Robert Markus finished a full point behind and took silver; Milos Perunovic earned bronze. The defending 2022 champion Velimir Ivic netted only 5.5/9 and came fifth.  

Final standings Open:

WIM Marina Gajcin dominated the women’s tournament scoring an excellent 7.5/9 and leaving the competition far behind. WGMs Irina Chelushkina, Jovana Eric and WIM Sandra Djukic tied for second place on 5.5/9. The 2022 women’s champion, Irina Chelushkina and Jovana Eric had superior Sonneborn-Berger and won silver and bronze, respectively.

Final standings Women:

Photos: Šahovski savez Srbije Facebook

Official website: serbiachess.org/