FM Sargissyan Sargis of Armenia being presented the gold medal by Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant in the presence of Minister for Social Welfare and Organising Chairman of IPCA World Chess ChampionshipSubhash Phal Dessai, Commissioner, State
PANAJI
FM Sargissyan Sargis (2205) of Armenia was crowned champion at the 24th World IPCA Chess Championship 2025, held at the International Centre, Goa.
Playing on Board 2, Sargissyan clinched the gold medal with a total score of 7.5 out of 9, defeating FM Valenta Vit Vaclav (2106) of the Czech Republic in a 47-move game featuring the Giuoco Piano opening.
On Board 1, IM Molenda Marcin (2376) of Poland drew his game in 22 moves against FM Liplin Llia (2161) of Russia in a Catalan opening. Both finished with 7 points, but Molenda took home the silver medal on tiebreak.
Meanwhile, on Board 3, FM Ayapov Alimzhan (1994) of Kazakhstan delivered a stunning performance, defeating IM Gurbanov Andrei (2291) of Israel using the London System. A bold sacrifice on move 19 led to Gurbanov's resignation by move 22. Ayapov also scored 7 points and earned the bronze medal.
FM Liplin Llia and Anfinogenov Artem (FIDE) also scored 7 points and were placed 4th and 5th, respectively.
The tournament was notable as the first IPCA Chess Championship to be held in Asia. Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant presented the prizes, expressing pride in Goa hosting this prestigious inclusive event. He also invited the players to return for the Purple Fest in October. Earlier in the week, he hosted a dinner for the participants at the Taj Cidade Goa Heritage, where players enjoyed a relaxing evening.
A special award was presented to Eshmuratov Abbas of Uzbekistan, whose disability limits him to playing chess through eye retina movement.
Other dignitaries present during the prize distribution included were Subhash Phal Dessai, Minister for Social Welfare and Organizing Chairman, IM Andrei Gurbanov, IPCA President, Alon Shulman, Chief Arbiter, Guruprasad Pawaskar, Commissioner, State Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Varsha Naik, Director, DEPwD, Taha Haaziq, Secretary, Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Mriselda Monteiro, Deputy Director, DEPwD and Kishor Bandekar, Organising Secretary.
Team Medal Tally: FIDE (Russia and Belarus) topped the team standings with 21 medals, including 12 golds. India also won 21 medals, with 5 golds, securing second place. Kazakhstan came third with 9 medals, including 2 golds
Wheelchair Categories:
Men’s Wheelchair: Gold: Glazar Domagoj (Croatia); Silver: IM Obodchuk Andrei (FIDE); Bronze: Maikenov Bakytzhan (Kazakhstan)
Women’s Wheelchair: Gold: Khlypovka Lada (FIDE); Silver: Tran Thi Bich Thuy (Vietnam); Bronze: Mehta Charvi (India)
Medals were also awarded in U-20 and U-15 categories for both boys and girls.
