An electrifying final round
Written by: GM Alex Colovic
In a very exciting and tense finale, with three teams battling to become champions of Spain, it was DuoBeniajan Costa Cálida who claimed the title, being the only one of the three to win their match on Friday.
DuoBeniajan defeated Magic Extremadura 4-2. On the top four boards, the players drew their games, but on the last two, GM José Francisco Cuenca Jiménez and IM Marcos Camacho Collados secured key victories.
The team that kept the lead throught most of the championship, MyInvestor Casablanca, could not win their last match against FCC Medio Ambiente Benalmádena. The 3-3 draw Was of no use to either squad: MyInvestor finished second, while FCC Medio Ambiente Benalmádena ended up seventh, which meant their relegation to the first division.
GM Miguel Illescas (MyInvestor) won his first game of the championship, and IM Sabrina Vega Gutiérrez (MyInvestor) achieved her third victory, but defeats on board one, where GM Pranav (Benalmádena) beat GM David Antón Guijarro, and on board five, where IM Yingrui Lin (Benalmádena) overcame GM Pedro Antonio Ginés Esteo, led to a match draw.
The third contender before the final round, C.A. Silla Integrant Collectius, lost to C.A. Solvay 3½-2½. GM Chitambaram Aravindh defeated GM Kiril Alekseenko, and IM Enrique Tejedor Fuente beat Jesús Alberto Valera Raga, while Silla’s only win came from GM Daniil Yuffa against GM Lance Henderson de La Fuente.
The last match to finish in the tournament was played between Andreu Paterna and Sestao Hotel Naval, ending in a 3-3 draw. GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov and IM Diego Macías Pino won their games for Andreu Paterna, while GM Abhimanyu Puranik and IM Karina Ambartsumova did so for Sestao Hotel Naval.
GM Miguel Illescas’s victory against IM Paolo Ladrón de Guevara came after the latter suddenly blundered a simple tactical idea.
In a difficult position, White overlooked that after 55.Rb1?? Nxd3, the knight also defended the rook on b4.
José “Pepe” Cuenca and Marcos Camacho of DuoBeniajan (right) defeated Polina Shuvalova and Alex Garrido of Magic Extremadura, respectively
MyInvestor Casablanca (left) vs. FCC Benalmádena (right): Sabrina Vega playing Black against Ann Matnadze in the foreground
C.A. Silla – Integrant Collectius (left) vs. C.A. Solvay (right): Kirill Alekseenko playing Black against Aravindh Chithambaram in the foreground
Final standings
| Team | Fed | MP | GP | Rtg. avg. | |
| 1 | DuoBeniajan Costa Cálida | MUR | 10 | 24 | 2613 |
| 2 | MyInvestor Casablanca | ARA | 9 | 22.5 | 2566 |
| 3 | C.A. Silla – Integrant Col·lectius | VAL | 8 | 21.5 | 2605 |
| 4 | C.A. Solvay | CNT | 8 | 20.5 | 2555 |
| 5 | Magic Extremadura | EXT | 7 | 21.5 | 2535 |
| 6 | Sestao Hotel Naval | EUS | 6 | 19.5 | 2485 |
| 7 | FCC Medio Ambiente Benalmádena | AND | 5 | 19 | 2479 |
| 8 | Andreu Paterna | VAL | 3 | 19.5 | 2593 |
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