Leon Livaić wins 2023 Croatian Championship

Leon Livaić is the new champion of Croatia. The 23-year-old GM from Zagreb took the first national title in his career and picked 16 rating points.

The Croatian Championship, a 12-player round-robin with classical time control, took place in the premises of the Zagreb Chess Federation from December 5-13. The winner of the 2022 championship, Ivan Saric, opted not to defend his title due to a busy schedule.

The event was a close race of four 2500+ grandmasters up to Round 8, in which Leon Livaić grabbed the sole lead and never looked back. Coming to the final round a full point ahead of Sasha Martinovic and Marin Bosiocic, he drew with Zdenko Kozul from the position of strength and secured the title with an excellent score of 8.5/11. The champion became the only unbeaten participant in the event. 

Marin Bosiocic gradually outplayed Lovro Novosel in an equal minor-piece endgame and gained silver as Sasha Martinovic made a quick draw with Nenad Fercec and settled for bronze.

Final standings: