foto · Stefan64 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Portrait · IM, WGM
Teodora
Injac
The 2025 European champion: nine straight wins and games full of ideas to explore.
Years
2000
Title
IM, WGM
City
Belgrade
FIDE ID
932400
Rating peak
2474
A first-round loss can upset any tournament plan. At the 2025 European Women’s Championship in Rhodes, Teodora Injac answered hers with nine consecutive wins. She secured the title with a round to spare and finished on 9½/11.
From that campaign we have selected her encounters with Natalia Zhukova and Bella Khotenashvili.
Born in Belgrade in 2000, Injac won three consecutive Serbian women’s titles in 2018, 2019 and 2020. At the 2023 European Team Championship in Budva, she also earned individual gold on board one.
Playing on the top board means meeting the leading players from other national teams. That experience provides useful context for her success against a demanding field in Rhodes.
In round five of the 2025 European Championship in Rhodes, Injac had White against Natalia Zhukova, a two-time European champion.
Teodora Injac - Natalia Zhukova · 25th European Women's Championship, Rhodes, 2025.04.04
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Injac–Zhukova, Rhodes 2025, round 5: White’s pawns gain space on the queenside before 36.d4 settles matters in the centre.
In round five in Rhodes, Injac faced Natalia Zhukova, a two-time European champion. From an English Opening, she gains space with her queenside pawns, on the left half of the board from White’s perspective.
Follow the b-pawn as it reaches b6 and restricts Black’s pieces. The final move, 36.d4, adds a fresh threat in the centre. This is a rewarding game for anyone learning how extra space can turn into a win.
In round eight of the same championship, Injac faced Georgian grandmaster Bella Khotenashvili, this time with Black.
Bela Khotenashvili - Teodora Injac · 25th European Women's Championship, Rhodes, 2025.04.08
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Khotenashvili–Injac, Rhodes 2025, round 8: a bishop sacrifice on g3 opens the attack on White’s king. Injac’s seventh consecutive win.
With Black against Bella Khotenashvili in round eight, Injac shows her attacking touch. The turning point is 26...Bxg3: she sacrifices a bishop to open a route to White’s king.
A rook then enters on e2, and a series of checks draws the king all the way to h5. Slow the replay down here and try finding each continuation yourself. Queen, rook and pawns all have a part to play.
These two wins complement each other. Against Zhukova, watch how Injac arranges her pawns and pieces; against Khotenashvili, follow the concrete threats.
Her Rhodes campaign also has something familiar to anyone who has played a tournament: the first game need not define the event. Her response to a difficult start brought a European title and gave us games worth returning to.