We are double Bavarian champions in U14 and U16
Schachfreunde München can celebrate an extraordinary success: at the final weekend of the Bavarian Team Championship in Kelheim, two of our club’s youth teams became Bavarian champions — both the U14 and the U16 came out on top in their four-team field. The announced “showdown” turned into a double triumph.
U14: From late qualifier to Bavarian champion
The U14 — Saksham, Smrithi, Jonas and Kanthaneyan — were not originally qualified for the final at all. In the preliminary round the team had lost to the reigning German vice-champions TV Tegernsee, who then could not compete in the Bavarian final due to a shortage of players. So the Schachfreunde moved up — and made the most of the chance impressively.
In the first round they earned a narrow 2½–1½ win against the roughly equal SC Noris-Tarrasch Nürnberg: while the opponents underlined their ambitions with a win on board 1 through by far the strongest player in this age group, the more evenly balanced Schachfreunde held firm with wins on boards 2 and 3 and a draw on board 4.
In the afternoon came the clash with tournament favourites FC Bayern München. With a great team effort the Schachfreunde stayed unbeaten across all four games; and with the win on board 2, Smrithi sealed the team victory — leaving glum faces among the FC Bayern entourage.
The final round against hosts SK Kelheim became a thriller once more: with the match level at 1½–1½, only board 1 was still playing. Saksham was a minor piece down, but fought on undeterred, first won back a pawn and finally levelled the material. Shortly afterwards his opponent accepted the draw — and the U14 were Bavarian champions.
U16: Favourites who impressively delivered
The U16 — Tugrul, Lukas, Matvei and David — entered as favourites and lived up to the billing in full.
The strongest opponent came right in the first round: SC Noris-Tarrasch Nürnberg, led by the tournament’s strongest player, Stepan Mohylnyi. He first built a clear advantage, but Tugrul once again showed great composure and turned the game around step by step until he held a clear material edge himself. Together with the other three draws that made a 2½–1½ win — the foundation for a dominant tournament.
In the afternoon a clear 3½–½ result followed against SW Nürnberg Süd. In the last round the U16 finally beat the previously unbeaten SK Gräfelfing surprisingly clearly, 4–0. Across the whole tournament the team gave up only two board points — an impressive record.
Looking ahead to the German Club Championship
Both teams have thereby qualified for the German Club Championship, held from 26 to 30 December in Magdeburg and Heidelberg respectively. Our juniors are building on earlier successes: two and a half years ago the 2013 age group finished 5th at the DVM, and the U16 came sixth last year — and can line up again this year almost unchanged.
A victory has to be celebrated
Two titles in one weekend — that calls for a celebration. Both teams rounded off the success together, the two trophies in the middle of the table. We warmly congratulate the U14 and U16 teams on this extraordinary achievement and look forward to some exciting national competitions.
The full report is also available in the article by Wochenanzeiger (German).