Greek chess stars shine at Youth Olympiad
The bronze medal won by Greece’s national team at the FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad in Eindhoven in the Netherlands this past Saturday marks our country’s second prize in this esteemed global event. Following the silver medal secured by Hristos Banikas, Stelios Halkias, Anastasis Tzoumpas and Stamatis Argyroudis in 1994, the remarkable young talents Dimitrios Makridis, Stefanos Magkalakis, Antonios Gkavardinas and Aikaterini Gkoutzouki achieved an incredible feat. Emerging from the 23rd position in the tournament based on their average international rating, they propelled the national team to a commendable third place among 63 competing nations. This puts them behind champions China and the runners-up, Turkey.
Allow me to introduce these steadily ascending chess players in the sequence they participated within the team.
Dimitrios Makridis
At 16 years old, Dimitrios Makridis is a chess player representing Greece’s cup-winning team, the Evoiki Chess Club. A committed student, he systematically dedicates his free time to chess and sports in general. In the Eindhoven Olympiad, competing as the team’s first board, he had the second-best performance among all chess players who played in their respective team’s first board and ranked third overall.
Among his many other accomplishments, he clinched the title of Greek champion in the Under-18 category in 2022, Under-14 in 2021, Under-16 in 2020, Under-12 in 2019 and Under-10 in 2017. Last year, he won the Balkan Youth Chess championship as part of the national Under-18 team.
Stefanos Magkalakis
Emerging from the 23rd position in the tournament based on their average international rating, they propelled the national team to a commendable third place among 63 competing nations
Stefanos Magkalakis, aged 16, was a member of the YMCA’s Kalamaria Branch from the age of 6 to 12. Since 2020, he has been a pivotal member of the consistently strong Thessaloniki Chess Club, with support from the grandmaster of the Greek national men’s team, Athanasios Mastrovasilis. Furthermore, he has been receiving exclusive individual coaching from another grandmaster of the national men’s team, Ioannis Papaioannou, since 2020.
Throughout these years, he has excelled in numerous individual and team championships. Most notable among his recent achievements are his first-place victory in this year’s Greek Under-18 championship, his triumph in the Under-12 championship in 2018, and his third-place ranking in the Under-18 championship last year. This year, he secured the top spot in the global online school championship for high schools as a member of the Vassiliadis private school team.
Antonios Gkavardinas
Thirteen-year-old Antonios Gkavardinas has been competing with the Evoiki Chess Club since 2020. Formerly, he was associated with Pionaki in Agria, Magnesia. His mentors include the grandmaster of the national men’s team, Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis, and Ioannis Patrikos. Additionally, he collaborated with international master Andreas Tzermiadianos for three years. He has been a three-time Greek champion: Under-10 (in the Northern League, 2020), Under-12 in 2021 and Under-14 this year. He has consistently held the top position in his age category in Greece since August 2019. His highest rankings on the European and global levels have been fifth and eighth, respectively. Despite dedicating a substantial portion of his time to chess, he also plays basketball (with Niki Volou) and table tennis (with Apollon Volou). Moreover, he is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Aikaterini Gkoutzouki
Fifteen-year-old Aikaterini Gkoutzouki is a chess player hailing from the Evoiki Chess Club. Born in Corfu, she has been playing chess since the age of 5. She is an outstanding student, fluent in English and German, and finds relaxation in painting and music. Among her numerous accolades are her victories as the Greek women’s Under-18 champion this year, women’s Under-20 champion in 2021 and girls’ champion in various age categories, such as Under-8 (2016), Under-10 (2018), Under-12 (Northern League, 2020) and Under-14 (2021) in the Greek national championships. She also secured the title in the online Greek women’s Blitz championship in 2021 and attained ninth place in this year’s World School Chess Championship in the girls’ Under-15 category. Furthermore, she is a member of the pre-national junior women’s team.
Christos Pilalis is a member of the board of directors of the Greek Chess Federation.
