Kanan Hajiyev wins Prague International Chess Festival 2025 H Blitz Rating Open
FM Kanan Hajiyev (AZE) and GM Jergus Pechac (SVK) scored 9/11 each at Prague International Chess Festival 2025 H Blitz Rating Open. Kanan won the tournament due to better tie-break score. The top seed, Jergus had to settle for the second place. Four players - FM Patrik Stevik (SVK), FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty (AUS), IM Maxim Polyakov (UKR) and Aziz Umarbekov (KGZ) scored 8.5/11 each. They secured third to sixth place respectively according to tie-breaks. The top three prizes were CZK 3000, 2000 and 1500 each. Check out some exciting games and moments from the tournament, along with an interview with the champion. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
An extremely close finish
17-year-old FM Patrik Stevik (SVK) was the sole leader 8.5/10 heading into the final round. A win would have made him a clear champion, a draw also turned out to be good enough to win on tie-breaks. However, from a winning position, he lost to FM Kanan Hajiyev (AZE) in a dramatic encounter and had to settle for the third place, Kanan became champion. The top seed of the tournament, GM Jergus Pechac (SVK) defeated FM Oliver Stork (GER) to finish second. 10-year-old FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty (AUS) scored an impressive 8.5/11 to finish fourth. He is the youngest top ten finisher of the event.
For more H Blitz and Prize distribution ceremony photos, please click at the respective links. More exciting Blitz games will be published soon, stay tuned.
A total of 136 players including a GM and 4 IMs took part from 29 countries across the world. The one-day eleven round H Blitz Rating Open tournament was organized by Novy Bor Chess Club at Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague, Czechia on 2nd March 2025. The time control of the event was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment from move no.1.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | FM | Hajiyev, Kanan | AZE | 2125 | 9 | 72 | 78 | 63,00 | 20 | 36,8 | |
| 2 | 1 | GM | Pechac, Jergus | SVK | 2585 | 9 | 71,5 | 76,5 | 61,50 | 10 | -9,8 | |
| 3 | 8 | FM | Stevik, Patrik | SVK | 2185 | 8,5 | 76,5 | 81,5 | 60,75 | 40 | 68,4 | |
| 4 | 11 | FM | Chakrabarty, Reyaansh | AUS | 2142 | 8,5 | 74,5 | 79,5 | 60,00 | 40 | 96,8 | |
| 5 | 6 | IM | Polyakov, Maxim | UKR | 2254 | 8,5 | 71,5 | 77 | 56,75 | 10 | 0,5 | |
| 6 | 24 | Umarbekov, Aziz | KGZ | 2033 | 8,5 | 71 | 76 | 56,00 | 20 | 78,4 | ||
| 7 | 2 | FM | Knudsen, Simon | GER | 2338 | 8 | 75,5 | 81,5 | 56,00 | 20 | -12,8 | |
| 8 | 5 | FM | Stork, Oliver | GER | 2262 | 8 | 75 | 80 | 55,00 | 20 | 15,2 | |
| 9 | 3 | Cernov, Henrik | GER | 2282 | 8 | 71 | 76,5 | 52,00 | 20 | -12,8 | ||
| 10 | 13 | IM | Dovzhenko, Viktor | UKR | 2111 | 8 | 64 | 68,5 | 48,00 | 20 | -21 |
Links
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