Serbian grandmaster Alexandr Predke emerged as the winner of the 5th International Summer Chess Festival Serbia Open 2025, edging out six players on tiebreak. The top seed lived up to expectations as a pre-tournament favorite and came out on top, despite losing five rating points along the way.
A true chess spectacle, the 5th International Summer Chess Festival Serbia Open 2025 was held from July 14–23 at the “Metropol Palace” hotel in Belgrade. The event brought together over 500 players from 42 countries. The festival followed Swiss system format and featured tournaments in three categories: Masters (9 rounds), Challengers, and Amateurs (7 rounds).
As anticipated, the Masters event proved to be intensely competitive, with the final round ultimately deciding the winner. One of the tournament’s biggest surprises was the impressive performance of 14th seed IM Can Durak from Turkey, who took the lead in Round 5—though his reign at the top was short-lived.
Heading into the final round, five players shared the lead with 6.5/8 points, including eventual champion Predke. The key games between Ioannidis Evgenis vs. Alexandr Predke, and Can Durak vs. Evgeny Postny (Israel), ended in draws. Meanwhile, Suresh Harsh (India), Bojan Maksimovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Khuyagtsogt Itgelt (Mongolia) scored crucial wins to join the leaders.
In the end, seven players finished with 7/9 points, with Alexandr Predke taking the title thanks to superior tiebreaks. He edged out Can Durak, who finished second, by just half a point on the Buchholz tiebreak. Ioannidis Evgenis completed the podium in third place.
Serbia Open 2025 Masters – Final standings
On the final day, a closing ceremony was held to award trophies and prizes to the top performers.
Tournament Director Vladimir Sakotić opened the ceremony by thanking the Chess Federation of Serbia and its president, Andrija Jorgić, for enabling him to be part of an event that has grown into a regional chess highlight.
“I want to thank the Chess Federation of Serbia and President Andrija Jorgic for allowing me this year to be part of the story that has grown into a regional chess event of the highest importance. This is what the response of the participants and the growth in the number of participants in each of the individual tournaments tell us, and compared to last year it is a total increase of over 300 participants or an almost unreal 1758 participants in 12 tournaments,” said Sakotic. He also presented trophies to the top performers in the veterans’ category: Milan Andrijevic, Kostić Branimir, and Duško Zmijanac.
SCF President Andrija Jorgić awarded prizes to the top female players: Li Xueyi (China), Arpita Mukherjee (India), and Serbia’s national champion, Sofia Pogorelskikh. In his remarks, Jorgić expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Sports and everyone involved in organizing the prestigious event.
“Chess is definitely a game that brings people together, like bridges, we were like a bridge between east and west. In the Ivo Andrić hall of the “Metropol” hotel, we had Ukrainians, Russians, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Iranians, and Israelis. Everyone was playing chess and giving each other a hand. And I am especially proud that 30 percent o f the participants were women, while the world and Serbian average is only 10 percent,” Jorgić pointed out.
Finally, Minister of Sports Zoran Gajić presented trophies and symbolic checks to the top three finishers: Alexandr Predke (€5,000), Can Durak (€3,000), and Ioannidis Evgenis (€2,000).
Minister Gajić officially declared the festival closed, sharing his hope that the players would return home with fond memories of Belgrade.
“I want everyone who is here to feel like winners, because everyone who participates in sports is partly a winner. Congratulations to the Chess Federation of Serbia, which is one of the oldest, most traditional, and strongest associations with extensive experience in organizing competitions. The history of Serbian chess is great and I want you to organize more tournaments like this next year, and I invite all the participants of this tournament to accept the invitation and come to this festival next year as well,” he concluded.
Photos: Serbia Chess Open 2025
Official website: serbiachessopen.com/index.php/en/