The Spanish Grandmaster Daniil Yuffa, current absolute champion of Spain, lived an agonizing outcome in the European Individual Chess Championship, held in Eforie Nord (Romania). Yuffa, who reached the last round with options of victory, was defeated by the German Frederik Svane, thus losing the opportunity to be crowned European champion.
The loss to Svane left Yuffa with 8 points, while the German scored 8.5. But Svane was not the only one to achieve this score. Israel’s Maxim Rodshtein, after beating Armenia’s Shant Sargsyan, and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, who drew with Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov, also scored 8.5 points. The tournament was then settled by tiebreaker criteria, awarding the final victory to Bluebaum. Svane took the silver medal and Rodshtein the bronze, leaving Yuffa in a bitter fourth place.
The road to the World Cup
Despite the tough setback, Yuffa won a valuable consolation prize: one of the 20 qualifying places for the FIDE (International Chess Federation) World Cup, to be held in India from October 31 to November 27, 2025. In this prestigious tournament, Yuffa will be the only Spanish representative.
Registrations for the 6th edition of the Llobregat Open Chess Tournament are now open
Chess fans will have the opportunity to see Daniil Yuffa in action in the sixth edition of the El Llobregat Open Chess Tournament, to be held from November 28 to December 8, 2025. The tournament rules are already available on the official website, and the registration period opens today April 1 for masters and May 1 for the rest of the players. The organization reminds that the capacity is limited to 250 participants, so it is recommended to register in advance.
