European Individual Chess Championship – Confirmed Upset
European Individual Chess Championship is one of the most important events of the calendar year for European chess players, since it also a qualifying event for the FIDE World Cup! It takes place as an 11-round Swiss in the standard time control.
The 2024 edition was yet another strongly contested edition, one with players like – Vladimir Fedoseev, Deac, Van Foreest, Martirosyan, David Navara, Nikita Vitiugov, Mamedov and many others starting as the top seeds.
The chess world was also going to have an eye on the young rising Turkish prodigies like Ediz Gurel and Erdogmus, who had taken significant strides lately.
As the Championship unravelled, an upset winner seemed inevitable by the penultimate round! Aleksandar Indjic and Daniel Dardha are going to butt heads, in the final round as the sole first and second-place holders with 8.5/10 and 8/10 points respectively. Indjic only needs a draw to claim the title, while Dardha is going to have to beat Indjic in order to take the victory.
Aleksandar Indjic is one of the most solid players in the Serbian team while Dardha is an up-and-coming Belgian talent, who made headlines with his remarkable performances in the Djerba Masters, winning it ahead of a strong field, and Sardinia Open this year. Daniel Dardha was also a podium finisher in the 2023 edition of the tournament. Even though Indjic and Dardha started as the 33rd and 41st seeds, they have shown a high level of chess to get themselves into this cushion.
It will be an exciting Board 1 Title Clash where Dardha will have the white pieces and everything to play for against the current leader and his only competition, Aleksandar Indjic!
Not only for the players but it will be history for their countries as well, since neither a Serbian nor a Belgian player has ever won the prestigious European Individual Chess Championship title!
