At 10:30 a.m. Christian Jochmann, chairman of the organising association Initiative Pro Schach e.V., welcomed the participants of the B-Open, and chief arbiter Frank Jäger opened the boards for the first round of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025.
Not only in the B Open, but also in the particularly strong A Open, the favourites largely prevailed. GM Matthias Blübaum (photo) outplayed IM Uwe Kersten in the middle game with black and won in spectacular fashion.
"As the number 1 seed, the goal of the tournament is of course to win it. But it won't be easy, as there are a lot of strong players taking part," he said in an interview afterwards.
GM Artur Yusupov will be providing commentary on site every day. With changing guests such as Katharina Reinecke and press spokesman Patrick Zelbel, he will be analysing the games and inviting the participants to join in afterwards. The commentary will also be broadcast live:
The other grandmasters from the German national team also won convincingly. GM Dmitrij Kollars, GM Dennis Wagner and GM Luis Engel all won without too much drama. Dennis Wagner's goal for the tournament is, "of course, to win it."
However, GM Roven Vogel stumbled – he was crushed with Black in a sharp Sicilian game against Christian Marc Arsenie. The 15-year-old Swiss player launched a principled attack on the kingside and was able to break through:
Lichess
Meanwhile, last year's surprise winner, IM Nico Zwirs, won first a pawn and then the game against CM Anton Frank in the first round.
The B-Open also started with almost 200 participants, with victories for the favourites on stage. The on 5 seeded player Oleksandr Kasapchuk (photo) won his opening game – he triumphed in the B-Open 2024 and is aiming to defend his title. Meanwhile, the participants in the International Women's Tournament prepared for the tournament on Saturday. Both Lu Miaoyi and Dinara Wagner gave insights into their current mood and everyday life:
The action continues on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in the B Open, at 3 p.m. in the A Open, and then with the first round of the closed women's tournament!