foto · Prvenstvo Evrope 2025 · Šahovski savez Srbije
Portrait · WGM
Sofija
Pogorelskih
Serbia’s 2025 women’s champion. Two consecutive wins from Petrovac lead from a king attack to a bishop-and-knight ending.
Years
2004
Title
WGM
FIDE ID
44164548
Rating peak
2326 (April 2025)
Sofia Pogorelskikh, born in 2004, has represented Serbia since 2023. In 2025, she won the national women’s championship and earned the Woman Grandmaster title.
Open tournaments have been an important part of her progress. Two wins from the 2024 European Individual Championship in Petrovac show how much the demands can change from one round to the next.
Against Evgeny Zanan, Pogorelskikh enters a sharp Ruy Lopez with White. Black advances the g- and h-pawns early, while White opens the centre and keeps the initiative.
Watch the queen, knight and bishop cooperate in the finish. Checks on g5 and g7 drive Black’s king to e8, where 31.Bb5+ follows.
Sofija Pogorelskih - Evgeny Zanan · European Individual Championship, Petrovac (round 5), 2024.11.12
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Pogorelskikh–Zanan, Petrovac 2024: 29.Qg5+ Kf8 30.Qg7+ Ke8 31.Bb5+ ends the game with Black’s resignation.
The following day, against Grzegorz Nasuta, she played Black in a game lasting 113 moves. Complex exchanges leave Black with bishop and knight against a knight and pawns. White’s knight disappears on move 65, however, and the last white pawn on move 76.
From then on, it is king, bishop and knight against a lone king. This demanding endgame requires the pieces to work together to restrict the opposing king.
Grzegorz Nasuta - Sofija Pogorelskih · European Individual Championship, Petrovac (round 6), 2024.11.13
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Nasuta–Pogorelskikh, Petrovac 2024: after 76...Kxd6, bishop and knight face a lone king. White resigns after 113...Nc6+; no checkmate is played.
At Palic in June 2025, Pogorelskikh won the Serbian Women’s Championship with six points from nine games, ahead of Irina Chelushkina and Marina Gajcin. The title was decided in the final round, with three players still in contention.
FIDE also confirmed her Woman Grandmaster title that year, bringing tournament success and a new title together in the same season.
The two Petrovac games show different demands of tournament chess. One calls for recognising when an exposed king permits an attack; the other requires concentration long after the tactical phase has ended.
If you have not practised the bishop-and-knight ending, set up the position after 76...Kxd6. Watch how the king helps the minor pieces gradually restrict the opponent.