The fifth edition of Polychamps, the yearly chess match between ETH Zürich and EPFL, promised to be an exciting one. With the score tied at 2-2 in prior editions, this match wasn’t just about bragging rights (or well, maybe it was). Would ETH reclaim the lead, or would EPFL get their third consecutive win and reinforce their recent dominance? The stage was set for a clash to remember.
To up the stakes even more, the winner would walk away with a very cool trophy and a chessboard signed by chess legends like Judit Polgár, Anish Giri, David Howell and Shreyas Royal. Huge thanks to sponsors Julius Bär, ASK Reti, and Agepoly for making this entire event possible—it would not have been possible without them!
Each team brought their top eight players to Zürich for the main event: an over-the-board match to decide the title. Meanwhile, an online blitz tournament featuring players from across both universities counted as an additional (and critical) ninth point. The games were livestreamed with commentary by GM Romain Édouard, who brought some great analysis, while ETH’s Jasper Dekoninck and EPFL’s Wissam Phen kept things lively with their rivalry and (occasionally stupid) chess-related comments. With ETH coming in as slight favorite, everyone braced for an intense battle.
ETH Player EPFL Player
IM Theo Stijve (2398) FM Niels Willems (2400)
FM Noah Fecker (2345) Damien Ribière (2213)
Kyrill Zaitsev (2247) Raphaël Erne (2173)
Anna Adzic (1932) Ferran Rocamora Martorell (2096)
Thomas Allard (2066) Sander Miesen (1861)
Max Newsome (1669) Linus Rösler (1936)
Subramanian Ramasubramanian (1894) Victoria Tokplo (1787)
Ana Marija Vego (unrated) Yvonne Dong (unrated)
There are two ways to interpret what happened next: a dream start for one, a nightmare for the other. On Board 7, Subramanian scored the first win in just 30 minutes, catching his opponent off guard with a trap in the Alapin variation of the Sicilian. His opponent was left with no chance to recover, and ETH had an early point on the board. Shortly after, Ana Marija on Board 8 built on ETH’s lead. She played a clean game, taking advantage of her opponent’s weaknesses on the dark squares and converting her advantage without much trouble.
Theo on Board 1 also got off to a great start. Playing the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian, he came prepared with a sharp kingside attack that gave him a lead straight out of the opening. Things were looking bad for EPFL, as ETH had taken control on multiple boards early in the match.
Meanwhile, ETH dominated the online blitz tournament. With nine players rated over 2100 compared to EPFL’s three, ETH cruised to a 342-223 victory, adding to their growing lead. With Subramanian and Ana Marija also securing their winning positions, ETH quickly went to a 3-0 lead. It looked like nothing could stop them, but EPFL wasn’t ready to give up just yet. With Theo’s match also going the right direction for ETH, EPFL would need to win all 5 other matches to take things home. An impressive feat if they would manage it.
But things began to take a turn… Ferran played a solid game on board 4 with a double fianchetto setup, gaining a small edge in the opening and slowly converting it into a win. On Board 6, Linus took advantage of his opponent’s overly ambitious knight sacrifice to turn the tables, giving EPFL another point. Suddenly, ETH’s lead wasn’t looking as comfortable.
The other boards added to EPFL’s momentum. On Board 2, Noah and Damien were locked in a tense, balanced game, though Damien’s active pieces gave him a slight edge, while Noah had to find accurate moves to hold on. On Board 3, Raphaël with the black pieces placed a strong knight on c3 against Kirill, gaining a solid advantage. On Board 5, Thomas struggled after a positional misstep, and he had to sacrifice the exchange against Sander to avoid further damage. EPFL suddenly had real chances to close the gap.
Theo delivered a key win for ETH on Board 1, but soon EPFL started to creep closer with Linus and Ferran winning their games, bringing the score to 4-2. EPFL’s hopes of a comeback were still alive. However, the decisive moment came on Board 3. Raphaël decided to exchange his powerful knight on c3. This allowed Kirill to take over, picking off pawns and turning the game in his favor. Kirill’s win pushed ETH’s score to 5-2, officially securing the match for ETH and ending EPFL’s chances.
With the result decided, the remaining games played out calmly. On Board 2, Noah and Damien repeated moves to draw in their complex position. On Board 5, Sander made the most of his exchange advantage to score one last win for EPFL. The final score was 5.5-3.5 in ETH’s favor.
You can find all games via this lichess link: https://lichess.org/broadcast/polychamps-v-public/round-1/5Ee0ncSO/qXcftTW8. You can watch a recording of the stream on our Youtube channel. And of course, below you can find all results and some pictures taken during the event.
| ETH Player | Result | EPFL Player |
|---|---|---|
| IM Theo Stijve (2398) | 1-0 | FM Niels Willems (2400) |
| FM Noah Fecker (2345) | 0.5-0.5 | Damien Ribière (2213) |
| Kyrill Zaitsev (2247) | 1-0 | Raphaël Erne (2173) |
| Anna Adzic (1932) | 0-1 | Ferran Rocamora Martorell (2096) |
| Thomas Allard (2066) | 0-1 | Sander Miesen (1861) |
| Max Newsome (1669) | 0-1 | Linus Rösler (1936) |
| Subramanian Ramasubramanian (1894) | 1-0 | Victoria Tokplo (1787) |
| Ana Marija Vego (unrated) | 1-0 | Yvonne Dong (unrated) |
