Showdown in Kelheim: U14 and U16 chase the Bavarian title
There are weekends a whole season builds towards — and this is one of them. On 4 and 5 July, the final round of the Bavarian U14 and U16 team championship takes place at the Hotel Dormero in Kelheim, hosted by the Bavarian Chess Youth. And Schachfreunde München are in it twice over: both youth teams have played their way into Bavaria’s final four via the preliminary round on 20 June and now compete in a four-team field for the title.
Three rounds are on the schedule: Saturday at 10:00 and 16:00, with the closing round on Sunday morning at 10:00. Three matches on which everything hangs — and in both age groups it opens with a genuine heavyweight.
U16 — the final match right at the start
No gentle warm-up for our U16: the very first round brings what is likely the decisive clash — against SC Noris-Tarrasch Nürnberg, who arrive at full strength. All four boards pit strong players against each other:
- Board 1 — Tugrul Türel (DWZ 2179) vs. Stepan Mohylnyi (2281)
- Board 2 — Lukas-Benedikt Merenda (1900) vs. Jonas Dersewski (1816)
- Board 3 — Matvei Fedorov (1869) vs. Daniel Fridlin (1835)
- Board 4 — David Büchel (1770) vs. Noa Chanishvili (1601)
Four closely matched pairings — the day’s form will decide this, not the ratings on paper. To hold your own here, you have to stay razor-sharp over the full distance.
In the round’s second match, SW Nürnberg Süd face SK Gräfelfing — Gräfelfing are without Mikhail Barsov for the opener, which leaves that pairing more open. For our U16 the message is clear: a strong result against Tarrasch would be a huge step towards the title — and would decisively improve our own position in the race for first place.
U14 — four teams, an open race
The U14 opens with a blockbuster too: round one is likewise against SC Noris-Tarrasch.
- Board 1 — Saksham Gupta (DWZ 1794) vs. Parsa Atal (1966)
- Board 2 — Smrithi Suryaprakash (1598) vs. Charith Kaza (1692)
- Board 3 — Jonas Weiß (1653) vs. Conrad Schmidt (1462)
- Board 4 — Kanthaneyan Swaminathan (1733) vs. Agasthya Bharathula
Nürnberg have to do without Akhila Bharathula — but her brother Agasthya steps up on board four. In parallel, FC Bayern München (at full strength with Daniel Klepp, Luca Mittermeier, Isabella Artemenko and Vincent Raffeth) meet SK Kelheim. The host club SK Kelheim are missing Theodor Nickel on the top board — an absence that noticeably weakens them. In a tight four-team field, the very first round can already set the course: every board point counts, and any single pairing may decide the final standings.
Title ambitions with a tradition
The Schachfreunde’s juniors have shone on this stage before — in 2023 the club became Bavarian U14 champions, and the U16 most recently defended its qualification in style. Now the next chance is on the board. Two teams, one weekend, one goal.
We’re rooting for both squads — results and the finest games to follow.