GM Işık Can has emerged as the winner of the 2025 Turkish Championship, claiming his first national title.
The 60th Turkish Chess Championship, organized by the Turkish Chess Federation and hosted and supported by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, was held at the Müzeyyen Erkul Science Center in Gaziantep from December 3–14.
The competition followed last year’s format: ten players who qualified via a preliminary round were joined by six top seeds – GMs Mustafa Yılmaz (2594), defending champion Vahap Şanal (2546), Işık Can (2527), Cem Kaan Gökerkan (2502), and IMs Arda Çamlar (2490) and Alparslan Işık (2464) – in a 16-player knockout bracket.
The rating favorite cruised to the quarterfinals, which produced the first major upset when top seed Mustafa Yılmaz was eliminated by qualifier Kerem Erten. Erten advanced to the semifinals alongside Şanal, Can, and Gökerkan.
The Şanal–Can semifinal was an exciting clash in which the lower-rated player showed his mettle. In the first game, Can achieved a winning position with White in a Scotch Opening but let his advantage slip away. After a series of mutual mistakes, the opponents split the point.
In the second game, Can again emerged with a better position but opted for a tempting piece sacrifice, leading to a roughly equal yet unbalanced endgame. Still Şanal faced some problems with potential Black’s pawn-chain advance in the center. The 2024 Turkish champion made a couple of subpar moves and found himself in a tough position. Can offered him a lifeline at one point, but Şanal immediately committed a grave mistake that cost him the game – and a spot in the final.
In the second semifinal, Cem Kaan Gökerkan prevailed over Kerem Erten in a rapid tiebreaker to advance to the final.
The final was dominated by Işık Can, who won both classical games to claim the championship title outright. In the match for third place, Vahap Şanal outplayed Kerem Erten to secure the bronze medal.
Official website: tr2025.tsf.org.tr/
Photos: official website