Clear winners

Last Thursday the Spanish Team Championships came to an end. The title is contested in the Honour Division, with eight teams competing in a round-robin format. The host venue was the Hotel Aníbal in Linares, which from 1978 to 2010, under the direction of Luis Rentero, staged countless world-class tournaments. Following the death of the great Spanish chess patron, the chess tradition continues here, with many Spanish championship competitions.

The matches are played on six boards, with one board required to be occupied by a woman.

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The winners of the championship were Duobeniajan Costa Calida with 11 match points. Hans Niemann and Bogdan-Daniel Deac led the team on the top boards, while Vladimir Fedoseev, listed as board one, did not take part.

The defending champions began cautiously with a 3-3 draw against Oroman Cen Solutions but then secured victories over Jaime Casas, fellow favourites C.A. Silla, and Myinvestor Casablanca. Further wins over Solvay in round five and Sestao in round six ensured that Duobeniajan had already sealed the title. In the final round, the new champions could afford a defeat to another strong contender, Magic Extremadura.

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From a German perspective, the results of Sestao Hotel Naval were of particular interest, as Frederick and Rasmus Svane played on the top two boards. Frederik Svane started well on top board with 2½/4 but then lost his last three games against Parham Maghsoodloo, Hans Moke Niemann, and Kirill Alekseenko. Rasmus Svane produced a solid performance with one win, one loss, and five draws. The Lübeck player's victory came against Vasyl Ivanchuk.

For Duobeniajan Costa Calida this was their fourth championship after 2021, 2023, and 2024. The club was founded in 2010 as Club de Ajedrez Casino de Beniajan and first competed in the Honour Division of the Spanish league in 2017.

Final standings

All games