The 8th round of the European Team Chess Championship 2025 took place, leaving only one round before the new European champions are determined. The first symbolic move of the round was made by ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili and FIDE Secretary General Mr. Lukasz Turlej.

Open Section

A tense battle took place between the leading teams Ukraine and Azerbaijan, with Azerbaijan taking an important victory.

Rauf Mamedov defeated Andrei Volokitin, achieving his first win in the tournament after a difficult start with one loss and four draws. The remaining three games ended in draws, giving Azerbaijan a 2.5–1.5 victory.

Heading into the final round, Ukraine and Azerbaijan are tied for first place with 13 match points.

Netherlands, England, and Serbia share third place with 11 match points each, after all three teams drew their matches today: Netherlands vs England, and Serbia vs Germany (2–2).

Women’s Section

Poland maintained their sole lead in the Women’s section after defeating France.

Germany and Ukraine are tied for second place with 13 match points.

With these results, the top three teams in the Women’s section have almost certainly secured the medals, as the fourth-placed team stands at 11 match points.

The final round starts at 12:00 in local time.

The results of the games and pairings are available here.

Official website of the Tournament – https://etcc2025.com/

Live video broadcast with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel or ECU TV platform.