The traditional Ljubljana Chess Festival began on April 24 at the
premises of the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
During the first two days, the 5th Nusret Sivčević Memorial, the 10th
Zlatko Bašagič Memorial, and the children’s 5th “Zmajček” tournament
were held. The organizing team operates under the leadership of festival
director Darja Kapš and chief arbiter Ana Srebrnič.
The main tournament started on Monday, April 27, when the participants
were addressed by the Vice-Dean of the faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr. David
Nedeljković, who also made the ceremonial first move on board one to
officially open the tournament. This year’s main standard chess
tournament features 107 players from 22 different countries, including
three grandmasters. The top seed is the youngest Slovenian
grandmaster, Jan Šubelj (rating 2543). Also competing are Slovenia’s top
female player IM Laura Unuk and the current national champion WIM
Teja Vidic.
The first round did not pass without surprises. Second seed
Grandmaster Matej Šebenik drew against lower-rated Italian player
Samuel Toniolo. A similar result was recorded by the third Slovenian
grandmaster, Marko Tratar, who drew against the young Maksim
Smirnov. Somewhat unexpectedly, international masters Mencinger,
Reprintsev, and Praznik also drew their games, while Unuk and Bratovič
confidently defeated their opponents.
On Sunday, May 3, after the conclusion of the main tournament, the 2nd
Janko Sarađen Memorial will take place. In addition to all these
tournaments, chess enthusiasts can challenge an AI-powered robotic
chess opponent, visit an exhibition dedicated to the great Slovenian
chess figure Dr. Milan Vidmar, and explore a unique chess-themed shop.