As every year, at this year’s “Vardaris” we continue a tradition that is particularly meaningful to us: the twinning with a chess club.

It is a meeting of people who love chess, share common values, and see the game not only as a competitive activity, but also as a means of culture, education, and communication.

This year, we have the pleasure of twinning with the Associazione Dilettantistica Scacchistica Vigevanese (ADSV), a highly active and respected club from Vigevano, Italy. It is a beautiful historic city that we will have the opportunity to visit from May 30 to June 2, on the occasion of the international tournament they organize — an event whose philosophy and character is very close to our own: love for chess, an open spirit, and outstanding hospitality.

All participants of the Vardaris Tournament are invited to take part in the Vigevano event, making it an excellent opportunity for a unique chess journey that combines competition, experience, and interaction with players from many different countries.

Through this newsletter, we would like to personally and warmly thank Gianluca Melino for his essential support, his excellent cooperation, and the generous assistance he has offered from the very beginning. His contribution has been instrumental in turning this twinning into reality.

Below, you will find a few words, as presented by them, about ADSV and its philosophy — words that clearly show why this partnership is not merely formal, but truly meaningful.

Excellence, Innovation, and Community in the Heart of Vigevano

Who We Are 

Based in the historic city of Vigevano, the Associazione Dilettantistica Scacchistica Vigevanese is a premier organization dedicated to the diffusion and development of chess culture. Located in the modern UGART Multifunctional Center (Via Pisani 1), our headquarters serves as a vibrant hub for players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to titled professionals.

Our Mission & Philosophy 

We believe chess is more than a game; it is a tool for educational, social, and cultural growth. Our philosophy rests on distinct pillars:

• Youth Development: We invest heavily in the next generation, offering free participation in our major international youth tournaments to break down economic barriers and foster talent.
• Innovation: We pioneer unique formats, such as the International Chessboxing Show and events featuring world-famous streamers, blending tradition with modern entertainment.
• Community & Charity: Through initiatives like Chess4Charity, organized in partnership with Lions and Rotary Clubs, we combine high-level chess with gastronomy to raise funds for local causes.

The Academy 

Education is at the core of our strategy. The Vigevano Chess Academy offers structured courses for basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Our faculty features distinguished instructors, including GM Alessio Valsecchi, IM Alejo De Dovitiis, and WIM Tea Gueci, providing members with top-tier tactical and strategic training. The success of our academy is reflected in our youth teams' excellent results at regional and national championships.

Signature Events 

ADSV is renowned for organizing high-quality FIDE-rated tournaments that attract players from over 14 federations. Our flagship events include:

• Vigevano per gli Scacchi: An annual international festival held in the prestigious setting of the Sforzesco Castle. It features the Città di Vigevano International Tournaments (U20 and Over 20), live streaming coverage, and cultural conferences.
• Vijgev Aan Zee: A highly appreciated monthly tournament series featuring a "Round Robin" format that ensures balanced and competitive matchups for all participants.
• Gironi Infernali: A rapid, intense one-day tournament format designed to maximize competitive experience.

Join Us 

Whether you are a competitive player aiming for FIDE ratings or an enthusiast looking for social play, ADSV welcomes you.

• Opening Hours: Tuesday (Lessons), Thursday (Evening Free Play 21:30-24:00), and Saturday (Academy & Free Play).
• Membership: We offer various membership tiers, from "Frequentatore" (social play) to "Agonistica" (full competitive access).

Contact Information

• Address: Via Pisani 1, 27029 Vigevano (PV)
• Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Website: www.vigevanoscacchi.com

Preparations for the Vardaris International Chess Tournament are being completed and we are entering the final stretch!

We are delighted to announce that Adriana Palao will be joining us for the live broadcast and event coverage!

Adriana Palao is a Peruvian chess player holding the FIDE Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title, an internationally recognized streamer and content creator and an active advocate for the presence of women in chess.

She runs her own online academy, ChessAP (www.adrianapalaochess.com) and works as a trainer and communication consultant, with academic studies in Film and Digital Media.

She has served as Head of Content at Chess24 and has collaborated with leading international organizations and platforms such as the Champions Chess Tour, PlayMagnus, and Chessable.

Competitively, 2025 has been an outstanding year for her:

• She won the Women’s Prize in Sligo (January),

• became overall champion at the Open de Villa de Zahara in Spain (April),

• and secured 1st place at the Open de Valdepeñas (July).

At the same time, she was the official broadcaster of “Vigevano for Chess 2025”, appearing on Italian national television via RAI Play (#CiaoPaparazzi), where she handled the full digital and television coverage of the event.

Adriana will take on live commentary, interviews, and many more activities throughout the tournament.

We can’t wait to welcome you, Adriana!

As the new year approaches, we would like to send you our warmest wishes. Vardaris is not just a tournament... It is a meeting of people, ideas, chess games and moments that remain within us. 2026 is coming closer and preparations for the 9th International Vardaris Chess Tournament are continuous. Our rendezvous is for 19 to 23 February 2026 in Thessaloniki. For one more year, our goal is to create an environment for high quality competition, with excellent facilities and conditions for the chess players and their companions and the well-known hospitality that characterizes the Vardaris tournament.

Early booking offers at Holiday Inn

A single word for Vardaris

Watch the video here!

Subscribe to our youtube channel and watch all our memories here!

We're looking forward to seeing you!

Entries so far on Chess-Results here

You can also register here!

The Vardaris wind has started blowing! Preparations for the 9^th International Vardaris Tournament, which will take place from 19-23 February 2026, have started very early this year. Our aim as always is to surpass your expectations!

Take a look!

Vardaris is an official member of the ECC!

It is a great success for SACH Chess Club to become a member of the ECC (European Chess Club).

One club from each country participates in the ECC. (SACH will represent Greece.) This is a very promising project which all the participants are looking forward to impatiently. The main aim is to connect chess players from the whole of Europe.

This is a beginning which aims to unite chess clubs, through exchanges between players, organisers, and referees with the basic goal of becoming an all-European reservoir for the exchange of ideas, technical knowledge and events.

Soon we will have a lot more to say about the ECC. What we can announce at the moment is that there are 6 large International Tournaments in the initial line-up. 

1. Thessaloniki, Greece, Vardaris Chess Tournament (19-23 February 2026)

2. Lyon, France, Championnat International d'Echecs de Lyon Henri Rinck (11-15 April 2026)

3. Vigevano, Italy, International Open "Citta' di Vigevano" (30 May -2 June 2026)

4. Maia, Portugal, Maia Chess Open  (20 - 29 August 2026)

5. Berlin, Germany Berlin Bear Tournament  (date to be announced)

6. Valencia, Spain, Open de Navidad - (26-31 December 2026)

Memories from the 8^th Vardaris!

Theofilos Kalaitzidis, a chess player and member of the SACH Thessaloniki Chess Club, has produced a beautiful video which reproduces in the best way the experiences we shared during the 8^th Vardaris Tournament.

Every year we try to create memories. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words: just imagine the video which is made up of thousands of pictures!

Watch the video here!

Everything as it was, everything better

Once again this year’s event will be hosted by the renovated 5-star Holiday Inn Hotel, which as every year offers special prices to those who wish to stay in the hotel which is the tournament venue.  

Naturally you are free to choose where to stay and can decide which is the most suitable accommodation for you!

Viber Team

Join the Viber Team and you will be informed about anything important you need to know!

A further application of the Viber Team is the attempt to reduce the ecological footprint of the participants. 

Anyone who wants to travel from, for example, Athens to Thessaloniki and is searching for transport or who has space in their car, sends a pm, we upload it to the Viber list of interested persons and those who wish to can communicate with each other!

Join the Viber Vardaris Team here!

Vardaris Online

On our website, in the bottom right corner you will find all the contact information!

Economical accommodation proposals, how to get here, questions about entering the tournament and everything else you might need!

We're looking forward to seeing you!

Entries so far on Chess-Results here

You can also register here!

The Chess Club "SACH" in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Chess Clubs Union of Thessaloniki - Halkidiki, successfully organized one of the largest international chess tournaments in Greece, the 8th International Chess Tournament "Vardaris" (www.vardaris.com). The tournament began on Thursday, February 27, 2025, and concluded on Monday, March 3 (Clean Monday), setting a record participation of 330 players from 16 countries.

The tournament was dedicated to the twinning of our club with the chess team Zeybek from Aydın, Turkey, with the participation of three Turkish players.

The games were broadcast live online via the world's two largest chess platforms, lichess.org and chess.com, as well as on YouTube.

Thus, our tournament traveled worldwide and was followed by the global chess communityIn a very strong tournament, the first place was ultimately claimed by the Greek IM (International Master) Alexandros Papasimakopoulos from the Kallithea Chess Club, who won on tie-break criteria against IM Dimitris Alexakis from the Piraeus Chess Club, while third place was taken by another IM, Evangelos Patrelakis from Panathinaikos.

The President of the Chess Club "SACH" and Tournament Director, George Vlassis, exchanging banners with the head of the Turkish delegation, Serkan Tunel.

A brief review of the tournament!

1st Round – Thursday, 27.02.2025

Opening Ceremony

During the opening ceremony, our club was officially twinned with the Zeybek Chess Club from Turkey. These relationships, built through the "Vardaris" tournaments, serve as a channel of communication between chess players, people, clubs, and countries, which can be utilized in various ways.

We also had the special honor of welcoming Ms. Kyriaki (Koula) Giannakidou, Deputy Mayor of Sports, Youth, and Volunteerism of Thessaloniki, and Mr. Christos Mittas, Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki for Culture and Sports, who both addressed the event.

Ms. Giannakidou also performed the traditional first move on the first board, signaling the start of the games!

Deputy Mayor Ms. Giannakidou and Deputy Regional Governor Mr. Mittas.

2nd Round – Friday, 28.02.2025

The second day coincided with the second anniversary of the Tempi train crush. A brief account of the tragic event was presented in English to inform the foreign players and accompanying guests, followed by a minute of silence in memory of the victims.

A moment of silence for the victims of Tempi.

3rd Round – Saturday Morning, 1.03.2025

Before the start of the third round, two players were honored with memento medals:

• Young athlete Ioanna Kalyva from the Chess Club of Katerini, who was the first to register electronically for our tournament on October 28, 2024, exactly four months before the start of the event!

• German player Meyer Juergen, the first foreign player to finalize his participation.

Ioanna Kalyva and Meyer Juergen.

4th Round – Saturday Afternoon, 1.03.2025

Before the fourth round, memento medals were awarded to the presidents of our twinned clubs:

• Yordanov Nikolay and WIM Svetla Yordanova from ETAR (Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria).

• Sava Christiansen, president of the Hannibal Chess Club (Bucharest, Romania).

A memorandum of cooperation was also agreed for the organization of a team championship among the four clubs (Chess Club "SACH" - Greece, ETAR - Bulgaria, Hannibal - Romania, and Zeybek - Turkey), scheduled for next summer.

Svetla Yordanova, Nikolay Yordanov, and Sava Christiansen.

5th Round – Sunday Morning, 2.03.2025

Before the start of the fifth round, chess players Maria Tragelli, President of the Halandri Chess Club, and last year’s Greek Women’s Champion, Marianna Stefanidi, were honored for their support of our tournament.

Marianna Stefanidi and Maria Tragelli.

6th Round – Sunday Afternoon, 2.03.2025

On Sunday afternoon, coach and representative of CSKA Sofia, Stefan Stoynov, was honored for his team’s participation in the "Vardaris" tournament.

CSKA Sofia representative, Stefan Stoynov.

7th Round – Clean Monday Morning, 3.03.2025

Before the seventh and final round, memento medals were awarded to:

• Andreas Alla (a visually impaired athlete) and French player Jean-Pierre Mantey for their exceptional fairplay. Mantey lost on time due to a clock malfunction, and Alla proposed a fairer result— a draw, which was gladly accepted!

  Andreas Alla and Jean-Pierre Mantey.

• Panagiotis Sklavounos, representing the twinned club Piraikos Chess Club, for their unwavering support of our tournament over the years.

  Panagiotis Sklavounos

Tournament Winners – Awards Ceremony

Our special guest was actor and Stand-Up Comedian Konstantinos Ravniotopoulos, a chess player and talented member of our club, who enthusiastically conducted the awards ceremony! Before starting, he himself received the memento"Vardaris" medal.

The top three winners, as well as the 1st female player, received their prizes along with personal sketches created by the renowned artist and Chess Club "SACH" member, Christos Alaveras. His presence was once again a great honor for us!

Konstantinos Ravniotopoulos.

Tournament Results

Group A:

• 1st: IM Alexandros Papasimakopoulos

• 2nd: IM Dimitris Alexakis

• 3rd: IM Evangelos Patrelakis

• 1st Female Player: WIM Katerina Pavlidou

Dimitris Alexakis, Alexandros Papasimakopoulos, Evangelos Patrelakis, Katerina Pavlidou.

Group B:

• 1st: Charalampos Parastatidis

• 2nd: Konstantinos Georgiou

• 3rd: Konstantinos Misios

• 1st Female Player: Asimenia Chatzipanagiotou

• 1st Veteran: Ioannis Gioras

Asimenia Chatzipanagiotou, Ioannis Gioras, Konstantinos Georgiou, Charalampos Parastatidis, Konstantinos Misios.

Group C (Under 12):

• 1st: Erik Stoychev (Bulgaria)

• 2nd: Jan Wolak (Poland)

• 3rd: Kyriakos Skouroupathis (Cyprus)

Jan Wolak, Erik Stoychev, Kyriakos Skouroupathis.

See you again on February 18, 2026, for the 9th Vardaris!