For the very first time, we had the opportunity to compete against the chess club most closely associated with us: SK Réti. SK Réti has supported us from the very beginning and played a key role in our growth as a club, so it was especially exciting to finally face them in a friendly 6v6 competition. And guess what—we won!
Match Format
The rules were simple: six players from each club, all rated below 2000 FIDE, faced off in a Rapid (15+10) match. Each player played their opponent twice—once as White and once as Black. Our lineup was selected based on performances in the ETH Chess Championship, and it featured some of our strongest players: Yun Pan, Tim Vaughan-Whitehead, Evan Quistad, Max Newsome, Yven Kius, and Philip Christoph. From the very beginning, it was clear that our players came ready to win.
First Round
We got off to a fantastic start. Yven quickly gained an early advantage and converted it into a clean win. Tim found himself on the defensive, but managed to hold his own for a while. The remaining games were close, but one by one, our players began to pull ahead.
- Yun launched a strong kingside attack after active play, eventually trapping his opponent in a mating net—even after a complex exchange involving a queen versus rook and bishop.
- Both Evan and Philip played solid, composed games and eventually won.
- In a tense and error-filled endgame, Max managed to come out on top as well.
Only Tim was unable to overcome his opponent’s pressure, resulting in a 5–1 score in favor of ETH after the first round—a commanding lead.
Second Round
The second round began evenly, with no surprises in the opening phase. The first breakthrough came from Max, who capitalized on a blunder to win the exchange and pressed his advantage all the way to another win—securing at least a draw in the overall match for ETH.
There was a glimmer of hope for SK Réti when Evan struggled with weak squares and an awkward bishop, eventually losing his game. However, that hope was quickly extinguished as both Yun and Philip converted their games convincingly.
Yven faced serious pressure from an aggressive opponent who neglected king safety, putting Yven on the back foot for most of the game. Still, he stayed resilient and eventually exploited the overextended structure of his opponent to snatch another win.
Tim fought valiantly once again but was unable to overcome his strong opponent, closing the final score at 9–3 for ETH.
You can watch all the games here: Lichess Study
And don’t miss some great moments captured in the photos below!
