Turkish Chess Federation invites you to 11th Cesme Open 2025

by Alper Efe Ataman - 04/04/2025

Turkish Chess Federation invites you to 11th Cesme Open 2025. The festival has a total of four tournaments - Category A (≥2000), Category B (1700-1999), Category C (1400-1699) and Category D (<1400). The total prize fund is Turkish Lira 900000 (≈ €22000). The top three prizes are ₺175000, 125000 and 75000 each. The festival will take place at Cesme Ayios Haralambos Cultural Centre & Sıdıka Kelami Ertan Sports Hall in Cesme, Turkiye. It will take place from 23rd to 29th June 2025. Check out the article written by Alper Efe Ataman to find out all details about the tournament.

A Chess -Themed Summer Vacation

Although the future of classical chess is being questioned these days, it is largely among elite players. Not only at the club level, but even the average Grandmasters often fulfill their chess aspirations in open tournaments, instead. Summer is the peak season for the excitement of these meet ups, as various of them are being held in many different countries.

In recent years, with strong chess leagues in which many foreign players participate and young Grandmasters like Ediz Gurel and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Turkiye has become a chess country that is followed with great interest.

In addition, many open tournaments have seen gatherings of local players as well as strong representatives from mainly neighboring countries. However, one of them, thanks mainly to its beautiful location, has become the most popular open tournament among Turkish chess fans: Cesme Open International Chess Tournament!

As a chess aficionado who has participated in this unique tournament, which will be held for the eleventh time this year, more than once in the past, I wanted to write this article and thus contribute in some small way to the announcement of the tournament, which will share quite high prizes. But before going into details, let’s see Cesme’s offerings to chess tourists; pardon me, chess players!

Cesme

A Paradise on the Shores of the Aegean Sea

Cesme is a coastal town near the Aegean Sea. Although its population is approximately 50.000, this number reaches nearly 1.500.000 in summer. This is so normal, as the town is very close to Turkiye’s third biggest city, Izmir and during the hot season, most of the residents of this city wants to spend their time at a cooler location. ‘Cooler’ not only in the sense of weather conditions…

A beautiful view of Cesme Marina

Breathtaking waters of the Aegean Sea is a must-visit location

Another advantage of Cesme is its proximity to Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (95 kms). It only takes about an hour to reach Cesme, and there are shuttles from the airport as well as taxi transportation.

One of the most interesting features of the Cesme Open is that one of the tournament venues is a historical site, the church of Ayios Haralambos. Located in the bazaar in the district center, the building, which is a special structure with its plan and decorations, was restored by the municipality in 2012 and turned into a cultural center. Since then, it has been hosting cultural and artistic events.

Ayios Haralambos Church (Cultural Center) | Photo: Caner Cangul

A scene from last year’s Cesme Open

Last year’s hero: Cesme’s own local player IM Alparslan Isik won 2024 Cesme Open!

Before going into the technical details of the upcoming event, let’s see an example of fighting chess at open tournaments. This game was not played for a place at the podium, but still it was a sheer example of fighting and exciting chess, during a classical chess tournament!

As of April 2, 2025, more than 100 players have registered for the tournament, including 17 grandmasters.

Starting rank

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg	age	Gr
1	GM	Romanov, Evgeny	4148843	MKD	2590	36	CATEGORY A
2	GM	Sanal, Vahap	6300545	TUR	2550	26	CATEGORY A
3	GM	Raja, Rithvik R	35007394	IND	2538	20	CATEGORY A
4	GM	Quparadze, Giga	13602250	GEO	2535	37	CATEGORY A
5	GM	Iskandarov, Misratdin	13400312	AZE	2528	29	CATEGORY A
6	GM	Heberla, Bartlomiej	1115120	POL	2523	39	CATEGORY A
7	GM	Yilmazyerli, Mert	6305962	TUR	2515	32	CATEGORY A
8	GM	Rasulov, Vugar	13402390	AZE	2505	33	CATEGORY A
9	GM	Chatalbashev, Boris	2900440	DEN	2502	50	CATEGORY A
10	GM	Peng, Li Min	14112620	SUI	2501	27	CATEGORY A
11	GM	Gokerkan, Cem Kaan	6336760	TUR	2489	24	CATEGORY A
12	GM	Shabalov, Alexander	2008572	USA	2483	57	CATEGORY A
13	IM	Isik, Alparslan	34506896	TUR	2482	21	CATEGORY A
14	GM	Grover, Sahaj	5021103	IND	2464	29	CATEGORY A
15	IM	Gasimov, Rahim	13400126	AZE	2453	48	CATEGORY A
16	GM	Annaberdiyev, Meylis	14000563	TKM	2449	39	CATEGORY A
17	GM	Gholami, Aryan	12513342	IRI	2449	23	CATEGORY A
18	IM	Akbas, Umut Ata	44572646	TUR	2434	20	CATEGORY A
19	GM	Prraneeth, Vuppala	46622373	IND	2433	17	CATEGORY A
20	IM	Dhulipalla, Bala Chandra Prasad	25005812	IND	2425	28	CATEGORY A
21	IM	Tutisani, Noe	13602853	GEO	2421	26	CATEGORY A
22	GM	Yermolinsky, Alex	2005492	USA	2402	66	CATEGORY A
23	IM	Schekachikhin, Maksim	24177830	FID	2370	26	CATEGORY A
24	IM	Sek, Konstantin	24104302	RUS	2368	35	CATEGORY A
25	FM	Citak, Selim	6301819	TUR	2368	39	CATEGORY A
26	IM	Sanzhaev, Darsen	24120030	RUS	2355	28	CATEGORY A
27	IM	Rzayev, Bahruz	13403036	TUR	2338	31	CATEGORY A
28	GM	Haznedaroglu, Kivanc	6300634	TUR	2328	43	CATEGORY A
29	IM	Koksal, Ege	6317626	TUR	2292	28	CATEGORY A
30	IM	Noroozi, Omid	12501190	IRI	2266	36	CATEGORY A

Details

The interest of chess players is not surprising, as a nice prize pool of 900000 Turkish Liras (approximately 22000 Euros) awaits chess fans, almost €4200 for the winner. The prize funds for four different groups are shown below:

The 11th Cesme International Open Chess Tournament will be held between 23rd and 29th June, 2025. Below is the schedule of the tournament:

Turkish Chess Federation has a new administration since October 2024. The newly elected president Mr. Fethi Apaydın has a vision to make Turkiye a chess country with many open chess tournaments. Thanks to the collaborations with different municipalities, it seems that the country will host many open chess tournaments starting from this April.

Çeşme Mayor Lâl Denizli and Turkish Chess Federation President Fethi Apaydin

When it comes to the Cesme Open, one name should not be forgotten: Mehmet Sarisac. A true chess aficionado, he was the organizer of all 11 open tournaments.

Mehmet Sarisac

For more information about the 2025 Cesme Open, chess fans can visit the tournament website where hotel recommendations and news can be found. If you are a strong master with more than 2500 Elo rating, you can contact the organizer Mehmet Sarisac about the conditions (accommodation, etc.) that can be provided.

Links

• Tournament website

• Chess-Results page

Contact information:

Mehmet Sarisac: mehmet_sarisac@hotmail.com

Hope you would like to be a part of this ‘chess fever’ in Cesme!

About the Author

Alper Efe Ataman is a member of Turkish Chess Federation. He is the founder of chess publishing house, Analiz Satranc and the author of Instructive Chess Miniatures. He is also a Chess aficionado who holds the title of FIDE Master.

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