Vincent Keymer and Dinara Wagner win 2025 German Championship
Vincent Keymer and Dinara Wagner have emerged as the new German chess champions. Keymer confirmed his status as the pre-tournament favorite by winning the title in convincing fashion, while top seed Wagner triumphed over WGM Hanna Marie Klek in an exciting tiebreaker. The 2025 German Championships took place at Fat Cat GmbH, Munich, Germany, from May 15-23. Both the Masters and Women’s Masters were 10-player round-robin tournaments played under classical time controls. Additionally, Candidates tournaments for lower-rated players were held in both sections. The Masters event was dominated by Vincent Keymer, who steamrolled the competition scoring an impressive 7/9. Despite a last-round loss to Alexander Donchenko, Keymer had already secured the title with a round to spare. Reigning European Champion Matthias Bluebaum took silver with 5.5/9, while Dennis Wagner completed the podium. Wagner’s crucial final-round victory over Marco Dobrikov and his head-to-head win against Frederik Svane gave him the edge for third place. Final standings – Masters 1 GM Keymer, Vincent 2720 7 2 GM Bluebaum, Matthias 2660 5½ 3 GM Wagner, Dennis 2616 5 4 GM Svane, Frederik 2671 5 5 GM Svane, Rasmus 2629 4½ 6 GM Donchenko, Alexander 2615 4½ 7 IM Costa, Leonardo 2531 4½ 8 GM Kraemer, Martin 2581 3½ 9 GM Huschenbeth, Niclas 2601 3½ 10 IM Dobrikov, Marco 2404 2 The Women’s Masters followed a much tighter script, coming down to the wire as IM Dinara Wagner (pictured below, right) and WGM Hanna Marie Klek (pictured below, left) entered the final round tied for first place at 6/8. Both players drew their final-round games, finishing tied at 6.5/9. A two-game rapid tiebreaker was played to determine the champion. Despite being in a lost position in the first game, Wagner rallied to win both encounters and claim the title. Kateryna Dolzhykova finished a full point behind the champion and runner-up, securing the bronze medal. Final standings – Women’s Masters 1 IM Wagner, Dinara 2403 6½ 2 WGM Klek, Hanna Marie 2322 6½ 3 WGM Dolzhykova, Kateryna 2331 5½ 4 WGM Schneider, Jana 2314 5 5 FM Schulze, Lara 2340 4½ 6 WFM Peglau, Charis 2138 4½ 7 WGM Sieber, Fiona 2232 4½ 8 WGM Heinemann, Josefine 2321 4½ 9 WFM Kostak, Tetyana 2092 2 10 WFM Sickmann, Lisa 1970 1½ Photos: German Chess Federation / Stev Bonhage; Deutscher Schachbund Facebook Official website: schachbund.de/deutsche-meisterschaften-2025.html