Nashik, Oct 12: Grandmaster (GM) Vidit Gujrathi came up with a superb performance as he helped his team, Ave Novy Bor of the Czech Republic, secure a gold medal in European Club Cup 2022 chess tournament, in the process bagging an individual silver medal on Board 2.
Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harikrishna, the top Indian chess players who represent Novy Bor, secured the long-awaited title for the club in the final round of the European Club Cup in Mayrhofen, Austria with a 3.5-2.5 victory against Asnieres Le Grand Echiquier.
It is the second championship for the Czech team — the first was in 2013.
In the final round, Harikrishna laid the foundation by securing a win with white pieces against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France. On the other hand, Vidit performed at an Elo of 2885, securing six wins in a row for the team.
ECC is one of the strongest team events and saw participation from top chess players like Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Richard Rapport and many more. This year’s edition was held in Austria.
With a scintillating performance over the board, Vidit secured a silver medal on Board 2. Before this event, Vidit secured the third position at Shusha Chess 2022 against a strong field that was held in Shusha, Azerbaijan.
Talking about his performance, Vidit Gujrathi said: “I am happy to be back in form. After the Chess Olympiad, I was craving to play over the board and hopefully, things clicked for me. With a good performance in Shusha Chess, I was confident and equally excited to play. ECC has always been one of my favorite tournaments since the start because of its strong field.
“Lucky to be a part of the gold-winning team. I am currently preparing for the next Classical tournament – Fall Chess Classic conducted by the St Louis Chess Club and scheduled from 1 to 11 November 2022,” he was quoted by his management team in a release on Wednesday.
Vidit, who is currently based out of Nashik, Maharashtra, is ranked No.23 in the World and No.3 in India. Currently, he is employed with ONGC and supported by Lakshya Foundation.
