From March 8 to 15, the Russian Draughts Championship was held at the "Complex Record" in Zelenograd. The tournament featured 10 boys and 8 girls (under 24 years old) from eight regions of the Russian Federation, including the Republics of Crimea, Mordovia, Sakha (Yakutia), the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, and the Irkutsk, Moscow, Tula, and Yaroslavl regions.

As part of the competition program, the young draughts players competed in both Russian and international draughts over seven rounds, following the Swiss system, across six intense days. In addition to individual performances, team scores were also calculated.

After two days of intellectual battles, the results in the Russian draughts discipline were as follows:

Boys:

1. Bator Manzaev (Irkutsk Oblast)

2. Sergey Rybichuk (Republic of Crimea)

3. Dmitry Syrenov (Irkutsk Oblast)

Girls:

1. Saaskylaana Pavlova (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia))

2. Alisa Khanina (Republic of Mordovia)

3. Elizaveta Pavlova (Tula Oblast)

In the international draughts category, the podium finishers were:

Boys:

1. Dmitry Syrenov (Irkutsk Oblast)

2. Bator Manzaev (Irkutsk Oblast)

3. Maxim Rubel (Republic of Crimea)

Girls:

1. Saaskylaana Pavlova (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia))

2. Elizaveta Kozlova (Republic of Mordovia)

3. Alisa Khanina (Republic of Mordovia)

Team Standings:

1st place - Republic of Mordovia - 129 points

2nd place - Irkutsk Oblast - 77 points

3rd place - Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) - 73 points

Semyon Ozerov, Head Coach of the Russian National Draughts Team, commented on the championship: "This event was remarkable as it marked the first time technology was used to record draughts games, allowing their progress to be monitored online. However, it was slightly disappointing to see the underperformance of Sayyina Yunchanova, the most titled junior female draughts player from Yakutia, who left the tournament without any awards this time. On a brighter note, the emergence of new stars like Saaskylaana Pavlova from Yakutia and Bator Manzaev from Irkutsk was a pleasant surprise for the future of Russian draughts."

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Maria Mazhenina

Photo: Stanislav Kostikov, Olga Troinikova

Translation: Daria Kudelina