Spain’s Marcos GOMEZ emerged as the only unbeaten player after the opening three rounds of the Under 15 Boys event at the Europe Youth Top 10 in Antibes, completing the first day with three victories. See the pictures by Anthoine BERTHELEMY here.
GOMEZ was tested immediately in an all-Spanish opening-round encounter against Alexander MALOV. He prevailed 4-2 before producing a commanding performance against Czechia’s Ondrej MORAVEK, winning 4-0. In the final round of the day, GOMEZ faced another compatriot, Ladimir MAYOROV, and secured a 4-1 victory to complete his perfect start.
Behind GOMEZ, the competition remains wide open, with several players ending the opening day with two wins from three matches.
MAYOROV made an impressive start by beating Poland’s Hubert KWIECINSKI 4-1 and followed it with a straight-games victory over MALOV. His unbeaten run was ended by GOMEZ in Round 3.
Russia’s Nazar BAKIROV also started strongly. He overcame MORAVEK 4-2 and Sweden’s Emil ELLERMANN 4-2 before Germany’s Tien Nghia PHONG stopped him in the evening session. BAKIROV took the opening two games against PHONG, but the German responded by winning four in succession for a 4-2 victory.
ELLERMANN recovered well after losing to BAKIROV. The Swedish player had opened his campaign with a 4-1 win over France’s Noah TESSIER and returned to winning ways in Round 3, coming from 2-0 down to beat MORAVEK 4-2.
PHONG also finished the day with two victories. He began in impressive fashion with a 4-0 win over compatriot Lukas WANG before losing a seven-game contest to TESSIER. He then recovered from two games down against BAKIROV to secure his second win.
There was no shortage of close contests during the opening day. MALOV earned his first victory in Round 3 after a seven-game battle with WANG, while KWIECINSKI also needed the full distance to overcome TESSIER. WANG’s victory came in another seven-game encounter, against KWIECINSKI in Round 2.
After three of the nine rounds, GOMEZ holds the only perfect record, but with six rounds still to play, the battle for the Under 15 Boys title remains wide open in Antibes.
U15 Boys – Results
Round 1
- Alexander MALOV (ESP) – Marcos GOMEZ (ESP) 2-4 (-15, 9, 9, -7, -13, -9)
- Ladimir MAYOROV (ESP) – Hubert KWIECINSKI (POL) 4-1 (-7, 9, 8, 5, 4)
- Lukas WANG (GER) – Tien Nghia PHONG (GER) 0-4 (-7, -8, -11, -7)
- Noah TESSIER (FRA) – Emil ELLERMANN (SWE) 1-4 (-11, -10, 2, -6, -9)
- Nazar BAKIROV (RUS) – Ondrej MORAVEK (CZE) 4-2 (3, 5, 6, -5, -8, 9)
Round 2
- Marcos GOMEZ (ESP) – Ondrej MORAVEK (CZE) 4-0 (6, 1, 8, 8)
- Emil ELLERMANN (SWE) – Nazar BAKIROV (RUS) 2-4 (-8, -8, 11, 5, -6, -12)
- Tien Nghia PHONG (GER) – Noah TESSIER (FRA) 3-4 (-5, 4, 10, -8, 4, -8, -9)
- Hubert KWIECINSKI (POL) – Lukas WANG (GER) 3-4 (7, -8, -3, -6, 6, 8, -7)
- Alexander MALOV (ESP) – Ladimir MAYOROV (ESP) 0-4 (-5, -6, -5, -10)
Round 3
- Ladimir MAYOROV (ESP) – Marcos GOMEZ (ESP) 1-4 (-9, -5, 5, -3, -7)
- Lukas WANG (GER) – Alexander MALOV (ESP) 3-4 (-9, 4, 9, -10, -13, 5, -4)
- Noah TESSIER (FRA) – Hubert KWIECINSKI (POL) 3-4 (4, -2, 9, -7, 12, -9, -11)
- Nazar BAKIROV (RUS) – Tien Nghia PHONG (GER) 2-4 (9, 7, -10, -5, -9, -6)
- Ondrej MORAVEK (CZE) – Emil ELLERMANN (SWE) 2-4 (8, 13, -6, -4, -5, -5)
Schedule
Round 4 – 3 October, 10:50
- Marcos GOMEZ (Spain) – Emil ELLERMANN (Sweden)
- Tien Nghia PHONG (Germany) – Ondrej MORAVEK (Czechia)
- Hubert KWIECINSKI (Poland) – Nazar BAKIROV (Russia)
- Alexander MALOV (Spain) – Noah TESSIER (France)
- Ladimir MAYOROV (Spain) – Lukas WANG (Germany)
Round 5 – 3 October, 14:50
- Lukas WANG (Germany) – Marcos GOMEZ (Spain)
- Noah TESSIER (France) – Ladimir MAYOROV (Spain)
- Nazar BAKIROV (Russia) – Alexander MALOV (Spain)
- Ondrej MORAVEK (Czechia) – Hubert KWIECINSKI (Poland)
- Emil ELLERMANN (Sweden) – Tien Nghia PHONG (Germany)
Round 6 – 3 October, 18:10
- Marcos GOMEZ (Spain) – Tien Nghia PHONG (Germany)
- Hubert KWIECINSKI (Poland) – Emil ELLERMANN (Sweden)
- Alexander MALOV (Spain) – Ondrej MORAVEK (Czechia)
- Ladimir MAYOROV (Spain) – Nazar BAKIROV (Russia)
- Lukas WANG (Germany) – Noah TESSIER (France)
Round 7 – 4 October, 10:50
- Noah TESSIER (France) – Marcos GOMEZ (Spain)
- Nazar BAKIROV (Russia) – Lukas WANG (Germany)
- Ondrej MORAVEK (Czechia) – Ladimir MAYOROV (Spain)
- Emil ELLERMANN (Sweden) – Alexander MALOV (Spain)
- Tien Nghia PHONG (Germany) – Hubert KWIECINSKI (Poland)
Round 8 – 4 October, 14:50
- Marcos GOMEZ (Spain) – Hubert KWIECINSKI (Poland)
- Alexander MALOV (Spain) – Tien Nghia PHONG (Germany)
- Ladimir MAYOROV (Spain) – Emil ELLERMANN (Sweden)
- Lukas WANG (Germany) – Ondrej MORAVEK (Czechia)
- Noah TESSIER (France) – Nazar BAKIROV (Russia)
Round 9 – 4 October, 18:10
- Nazar BAKIROV (Russia) – Marcos GOMEZ (Spain)
- Ondrej MORAVEK (Czechia) – Noah TESSIER (France)
- Emil ELLERMANN (Sweden) – Lukas WANG (Germany)
- Tien Nghia PHONG (Germany) – Ladimir MAYOROV (Spain)
- Hubert KWIECINSKI (Poland) – Alexander MALOV (Spain)
