History
Vasilis Theodoridis
Vasilis Theodoridis, founder of the Chess International Tournament of Kavala since 1991, dedicated his life to promoting chess and nurturing its growth in the region. Through his vision and tireless efforts, he established one of the most prestigious chess events in Greece, leaving behind a legacy that will inspire generations to come.
His passion for chess extended far beyond organizing tournaments; he worked tirelessly to introduce the game to young players and bring the community together. Under his leadership, Kavala became a hub for chess excellence, attracting players from around the world and fostering a love for the game that continues to thrive today.
Past Winners of the Tournament
33rd Open
In the 33rd Open International Chess Tournament “Vasilis Theodoridis,” held from July 29 to August 5, Andreas Keliris emerged as the winner with a score of 7.5/9, claiming a cash prize of €2,500.
32nd Open
In the 32nd Open International Chess Tournament “Vasilis Theodoridis,” held from July 28 to August 4, the Chinese player Jinshi Bai emerged as the winner with a score of 7.5/9, claiming a cash prize of €2,000.
31st Open
Stamatis Kourkoulos wins the 31st International Tournament of Kavala.
In the 31st Open International Chess Tournament, held from July 26 to August 2, Stamatis Kourkoulos emerged as the winner with a score of 7/9, claiming a cash prize of €2,000.
30th Open
Tied for 1st–2nd place with a score of 7.5/9 were the Russian Anton Demchenko and the American Akshat Chandra, while 3rd place with 7/9 went to the Bulgarian Martin Petrov.
29th Open
Christos Krallis wins the 29th Open International Tournament of Kavala.
On Sunday, August 2, the 29th Open International Tournament of Kavala concluded, with 15-year-old Christos Krallis emerging as the winner with a score of 6/7.
28th Open
Plat and Andriasian are the winners of the 28th International Tournament of Kavala.
Tied for 1st–2nd place with a score of 7.5/9 were the Czech player Vojtech Plat and the Armenian Zaven Andriasian, while 3rd place with 7/9 was secured by the 18-year-old Petros Trimitzios.
27th Open
The Czech player Plat wins the 27th International Tournament of Kavala.
The winner, with a score of 7.5/9, was the Czech player Vojtech Plat, who also claimed the top cash prize of €2,500.
26th Open
26th Open International Chess Tournament “KAVALA 2017”
Tied for 1st–3rd place with a score of 7/9 were the Ukrainians Bortnyk Olexandr and Bernadskiy Vitaliy, along with the Russian Vladimir Dobrov.
25th Open
The 25th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala saw a tie at the top, with GM Zaven Andriasian (ARM) taking 1st place, followed by IM Andreas Kelires (GRE) in 2nd, and GM Constantin Lupulescu (ROU) in 3rd, all scoring 6.5 points. The top female player was WFM Iulija Osmak (UKR) with 5.5 points.
24th Open
The 24th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala concluded with GM Sergei Tiviakov (NED) securing 1st place with 7 points. GM Evgeny Postny (ISR) and GM Alexandr Kharitonov (RUS) followed in 2nd and 3rd place, both scoring 6.5 points. The top female player was WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (POL), who scored 6 points.
23rd Open
Pavlidis wins the 23rd Kavala Open with his 3rd norm and the GM title.
The winner, with 7 points in 9 games (5 wins, 4 draws), was the international master from Kavala, Antonis Pavlidis, who achieved his third GM norm and is now awaiting FIDE to officially award him the grandmaster title.
22th Open
The competition at the top was intense, resulting in a tie among 7 players for 1st–7th place, each scoring 6.5 points in 9 games. Based on the tiebreak criteria, the final rankings were as follows:
1st Tamir Nabaty (ISR),2nd Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND),3rd Alexandr Kharitonov (RUS),4th Dimitris Mastrovasilis (GRE),5th Vladislav Nevednichy (ROU),6th and top female player Nino Batsiashvili (GEO),7th Thanos Mastrovasilis (GRE).
21st Open
The 21st Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala saw GM Abhijeet Gupta (IND) securing 1st place with 7.5 points. IM Alessio Valsecchi (ITA) and GM Sethuraman S.P. (IND) followed in 2nd and 3rd place, both scoring 6.5 points. The top female player was WGM Jolanta Zawadzka (POL), who scored 5 points.
20th Open
The tournament began on July 30, and after 9 rounds, the winner with 7 points was the Serbian Dragan Solak, breaking the tie with the 2nd place Polish player Mateusz Bartel.
19th Open
The 19th Open International Kavala Chess Tournament, held over 9 rounds, showcased strong competition with notable Grandmasters like GM Tukhaev Adam (UKR) and GM Gupta Abhijeet (IND) both finishing with 7 points.
18th Open
The 18th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala in 2009 ended with a tie among seven players scoring 7 points. The top 5 were ranked as follows: 1st GM Alberto David (LUX), 2nd GM Sandipan Chanda (IND), 3rd GM Abhijeet Gupta (IND), 4th GM Hrant Melkumyan (ARM), and 5th GM Vladislav Nevednichy (ROU). The best female performer was WGM Sopiko Khukhashvili (GEO), scoring 6 points.
17th Open
The 17th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from July 30 to August 7, 2008, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture. The tournament featured a total prize fund of 13,000 euros. GM Stelios Halkias (GRE) emerged as the winner of the event.
16th Open
The 16th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala concluded with GM Ivan Ivanisevic (SRB) securing 1st place with 7.5 points. GM Vasilios Kotronias (GRE) followed in 2nd place with 7 points, while GM Tamaz Gelashvili (GEO) finished 3rd with 6.5 points. The best female performer was IM Elina Danielian (ARM), who also scored 6.5 points and finished 6th overall.
15th Open
The 15th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from August 4 to 11, 2006, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture. GM Dmitry Svetushkin (MDA) claimed 1st place, followed by GM Stelios Halkias (GRE) in 2nd and GM Yuri Drozdovskij (UKR) in 3rd. The total prize fund for the event was 10,000 euros.
14th Open
13th Open
The 13th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from July 31 to August 7, 2004, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture. GM Vladimir Belov (RUS) secured 1st place, while GM József Horváth (HUN) finished 2nd, both scoring 7.5 points. The tournament featured 206 participants, including 19 GMs and 18 IMs, with a total prize fund of 7,500 euros.
12th Open
The 12th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala, part of the Kavala-Athens Greek Grand Prix, took place from August 8 to 15, 2003, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture. GM Vasilios Kotronias (GRE) and GM Boris Avrukh (ISR) shared 1st place, both scoring 7.5 points. The tournament had 202 participants and a prize fund of 7,000 euros, plus an additional 3,000 euros for the Grand Prix.
11th Open
The 11th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from August 10 to 17, 2002, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture. GM Nikolaj Pedersen (DEN) and GM Alexey Kamatgaleyev (RUS) tied for 1st place with 7.5 points each. The tournament featured 191 participants, including 13 GMs, 5 WGMs, 16 IMs, and other titled players. The total prize fund was 5,400 euros.
10th Open
The 10th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala, held from August 21 to 29, 2001, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture, was part of the 1st European Chess Grand Prix. GM Michal Krasenkow (POL) and GM Mariyan Petrov (BUL) shared first place with 7.5 points each. The tournament featured 140 participants, and the total prize fund was 1,700,000 drachmas (approximately 5,000 euros).
9th Open
The 9th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from July 25 to August 1, 2000, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture. GM Thanos Mastrovasilis claimed first place with an impressive score of 8 points. The event featured 71 participants, and the total prize fund was 1,000,000 drachmas.
8th Open
The 8th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala, held from August 11 to 19, 1998, at the Amphitheater of the Prefecture, featured 122 participants, including 8 GMs, 8 IMs, and 6 FMs. The total prize fund was 2,000,000 drachmas. GM Nenasev from Uzbekistan secured first place with 7.5 points. This edition also hosted the 1st Greek Women’s Open Championship, marking an important milestone in the tournament’s history.
7th Open
The 7th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from August 13 to 21, 1997, at the Municipal Tobacco Warehouse. It attracted 135 participants, including 5 GMs, 1 WGM, 13 IMs, and 7 FMs, with a total prize fund of 1,500,000 drachmas. GM Nenasev from Uzbekistan claimed first place with 7.5 points, followed by GM Miladinović (competing under the Greek flag) in second place and GM Vasilios Kotronias (GRE) in third. The event continued to grow as a key fixture in the international chess calendar.
6th Open
The 6th Open International Chess Tournament of Kavala was held from August 10 to 18, 1996, at the Kavala Municipal Library (Megali Leschi). The tournament featured 136 participants, including 5 GMs and 9 IMs, competing for a prize fund of 800,000 drachmas. GM Antic (YUG) secured first place, followed by Dimitrov (BUL) in second and Spyros Skembris (GRE) in third. The event also saw strong performances from Banikas (GRE), Miladinović (GRE), Kaspi (ISR), and Bogdanovski (FYROM), all finishing with 7 points.
5th Open
The 5th Open Chess Tournament of Kavala, held from August 12 to 20, 1995, took place at the Kavala Municipal Library (Megali Leschi). There were 128 participants (113 men and 15 women), including 3 IMs and 5 FMs. The prize fund was 500,000 drachmas. Giannis Papaioannou and Andreas Kofidis, both from Greece, shared first place with 7.5 points each.
4th Open
The 4th Open Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from August 21 to 28, 1994, at the Kavala Municipal Library (Megali Leschi). There were 54 participants (45 men and 19 women), including 1 WGM, 2 IMs, and 1 FM. The prize fund was 400,000 drachmas. Andreas Kofidis claimed first place with 7.5 points, followed closely by Nikos Kalesis, also with 7.5 points, based on tie-break criteria.
3rd Open
The 3rd Open Chess Tournament of Kavala took place from August 2 to 8, 1993, at the S.F.G.T. Hall. There were 32 participants (27 men and 5 women), with a prize fund of 300,000 drachmas. Petros Metaxas claimed first place with 6.5 points, securing victory in this competitive event.
2nd Open
The 2nd Open Kavala Chess Tournament, held from August 3 to 9, 1992, served as the qualification event for the Northern Greece region for the Greek Open Championship. With 25 participants (22 male and 3 female), the tournament featured a prize pool of 200,000 drachmas. The winner, Panagiotis Dagakis from Greece, secured 6 points.
1st Open
The 1st International Kavala Chess Tournament, part of the “Corfu – Halkidiki – Kavala” Grand Prix, took place from September 14 to 22, 1991, at the Lucy Hotel. It had 132 participants (118 men, 14 women) including 9 GMs, 12 IMs, and 9 FMs. The prize fund was 2,700,000 drachmas. The top three players were Vasilis Kotronias (GRE), Kyril Georgiev (BUL), and Nikolai Andrianov (USR), each finishing with 7 points.
