The second stage of the 7th European Professional Qualification took place in Brno on March 10–12. In the semifinal, Lukas Podpera 7d defeated Dominik Boviz 6d with a score of 2-0. In the other semi-final between Benjamin Teuber 6d and Jan Simara 6d, all three games were played and the latter won two, making his way to the final.

In the dramatic final match between two Czech players, Lukas Podpera 7d and Jan Simara 6d, Jan lost the first game but won the two following ones. The last game ended up with the slightest margin in Chinese counting – Black won by one and a half points. Thus, Jan won the 7th European Professional Qualification and is promoted to 1-dan professional! 

It is worth noting that Jan won the European Championship 2012, defeating Ilya Shikshin in the final.

Below is a record of the third and deciding game of the final between Jan and Lukas.

 

 

Report by Artem