Chess tournament PREŠOV OPEN 2025

The 18th PREŠOV OPEN took place from July 31 to August 3, 2025. The tournament took place in the peaceful environment of the Elementary School on Šmeralová Street in Prešov with the participation of 87 chess players.

The tournament was organized by the Regional Chess Association with the help of the civic association KreDo from Ľubotice and the HENKEL SLOVAKIA foundation. The tournament was sponsored by the City of Prešov, represented by the mayor František Oľha. The tournament director was Jaroslav Bánoci and the main referee was Miroslav Kováčik.

There were many interesting games. In the seventh round, 6 players had 5 points each and were fighting for first place. The overall winner was Pavel Aliev from FTC Fiľakovo. In second place was Lukáš Varga from TJ Slávia Košice and Benjamín Kardis from the Reinter Humenné Chess Club finished third. Everyone had 6 points. The order was decided by additional criteria.

The following were evaluated during the tournament:

• best player under 15 – Alexander Savchuk from Germany /4 and a half points/
• best woman – Diana Vasylchuk from FTC Fiľakovo /4 points/
• best seniors – Peter Demeter from PŠK Prešov /5 points/, Vladimír Záhradník from PŠK Prešov /4 and a half points/, Imrich Jurčišin from TJ Slávia Košice /3 and a half points/

Players with ELO under 1800:

• Kacper Folta from Poland
• Tomáš Geletka from TJ Slavia Košice
• Štefan Bračok from ŠKM Liptovský Hrádok
• Tomáš Sleboda from MŠK KdV Kežmarok
• Richard Lazúr from ŠK BLS Bardejov

Players with ELO from 1801 to 2000:

• Konrad Trela from Poland
• Krzysztof Skiba from Poland
• Ján Tokarčík from BŠK Bardejov
• Athanasios Karapetsas from ŠKS Dubnica nad Váhom
• Vladimír Verba from ŠK Liptovské Sliače

Players with ELO from 2001 and above:

• Pavel Aliev from FTC Fiľakovo
• Lukas Varga from TJ Slavia Košice
• Benjamin Kardis from the Reinter Humenné Chess Club
• Kristian Haborák from ŠK Trenčín
• Tomáš Lovčičan from ŠK Junior CVČ Banská Bystrica

The entire tournament went smoothly to the satisfaction of both the organizers and the players. In conclusion, let us just wish that the PREŠOV OPEN will continue in the years to come.

Article author: Miroslav Kováčik

See photos from the PREŠOV OPEN 2025 chess tournament.