![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ljubljana-chess-festival.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026_04_27_Ljubljana_Chess_Festival-2026-94-of-265-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The traditional Ljubljana Chess Festival began on April 24 at the
\npremises of the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
\nDuring the first two days, the 5th Nusret Siv\u010devi\u0107 Memorial, the 10th
\nZlatko Ba\u0161agi\u010d Memorial, and the children\u2019s 5th \u201cZmaj\u010dek\u201d tournament
\nwere held. The organizing team operates under the leadership of festival
\ndirector Darja Kap\u0161 and chief arbiter Ana Srebrni\u010d.<\/p>\n
The main tournament started on Monday, April 27, when the participants
\nwere addressed by the Vice-Dean of the faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr. David
\nNedeljkovi\u0107, who also made the ceremonial first move on board one to
\nofficially open the tournament. This year\u2019s main standard chess
\ntournament features 107 players from 22 different countries, including
\nthree grandmasters. The top seed is the youngest Slovenian
\ngrandmaster, Jan \u0160ubelj (rating 2543). Also competing are Slovenia\u2019s top
\nfemale player IM Laura Unuk and the current national champion WIM
\nTeja Vidic.<\/p>\n
The first round did not pass without surprises. Second seed
\nGrandmaster Matej \u0160ebenik drew against lower-rated Italian player
\nSamuel Toniolo. A similar result was recorded by the third Slovenian
\ngrandmaster, Marko Tratar, who drew against the young Maksim
\nSmirnov. Somewhat unexpectedly, international masters Mencinger,
\nReprintsev, and Praznik also drew their games, while Unuk and Bratovi\u010d
\nconfidently defeated their opponents.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, May 3, after the conclusion of the main tournament, the 2nd
\nJanko Sara\u0111en Memorial will take place. In addition to all these
\ntournaments, chess enthusiasts can challenge an AI-powered robotic
\nchess opponent, visit an exhibition dedicated to the great Slovenian
\nchess figure Dr. Milan Vidmar, and explore a unique chess-themed shop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 Siv\u010devi\u0107 Memorial, the 10th Zlatko Ba\u0161agi\u010d Memorial, and the children\u2019s 5th…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n