Press release of 8th Vardaris

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!