Jakub Vaculik victorious at Prague International Chess Festival 2025 I Basque Open
Jakub Vaculik (CZE) scored 11.5/14 to win Prague International Chess Festival 2025 I Basque Open. The top seed, Jakub, finished a full point ahead of the competition. CM Looi Xin Hao (MAS) secured second place scoring 10.5/14. Kevin Narr (GER) finished third, scoring 10/14. Jakub suffered only two losses - one against Looi in Round 2 and the other one against Sahib Hasanzada (AZE) in the penultimate round. Both matches were drawn, as the eventual champion managed to win the other game. Eight-year-old Michael Mortensen (NOR) scored an impressive 9.5/14 to finish fourth. The top three prizes were CZK 1000, 7000 and 500 each. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Top seed finishes first
What is Basque chess? Basque chess is variant where each player plays with both colors against their opponent with same time on both games which means two clocks are present. For a player to win the match, they have to score 1.5 points. The color advantage question goes out of the window in this variant. Pentala Harikrishna won Bronze medal at Basque event part of IMSA Elite Mind games held in 2017. Prague International Chess Festival has plenty of side events, something for everyone.
For more I Basque and Prize distribution ceremony photos, please click at the respective links.
A total of 23 players including an IM took part from nine countries across the world. The one-day seven round, 14-game I Basque Open tournament was organized by Novy Bor Chess Club at Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague, Czechia on 3rd March 2025. The time control of the event was 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment from move no.1.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Vaculik, Jakub | CZE | 2128 | 11,5 | 110 | 116 | 91,50 | 20 | 28 | ||
| 2 | 7 | CM | Looi, Xin Hao | MAS | 1960 | 10,5 | 114 | 120 | 86,50 | 20 | 60,8 | |
| 3 | 2 | Narr, Kevin | GER | 2124 | 10 | 114,5 | 119 | 78,50 | 20 | 0,8 | ||
| 4 | 8 | Mortensen, Michael | NOR | 1950 | 9,5 | 90 | 96 | 61,25 | 40 | -20,8 | ||
| 5 | 19 | Hasanzada, Sahib | AZE | 1700 | 9 | 116 | 120 | 73,00 | 20 | 101,2 |
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