Serbia’s second boards in Samarkand: Inđić’s 6½ points and Bivol on the top two boards

Aleksandar Inđić’s 6½/10 and Alina Bivol’s 4½/10 continue our review of Serbia in Samarkand. Both played ten games. Inđić shared the highest points total in the Open team with Alexandr Predke. Alina played most of the tournament on board two and led the four-player line-up on board one in three matches.

After the third-board players, we turn to the players second in the final registered squad order. That position did not always match the board they occupied in a particular round: Inđić played board one against Cuba, while Bivol did so against Madagascar, Italy and Austria.

The second-board players’ results

Final results from the tournament that ended on 27 September 2026, checked on 4 October. The percentage is points scored divided by games played.

Aleksandar Inđić: five wins and points in close matches

Aleksandar Inđić finished with five wins, three draws and two losses. He beat opponents from South Sudan, Canada, Sweden, Kazakhstan and Switzerland. He drew against Cuba, Lithuania and Azerbaijan, and lost to Wei Yi and Hans Niemann. He sat out round two.

Against Canada, his win over Anthony Atanasov, alongside Predke’s full point and Ivić’s draw, gave Serbia 2½:1½. Against Sweden, Inđić was Serbia’s only winner: he beat Jung Min Seo with White, and draws by Sarana and Predke secured 2:2 in the match.

For a replay, we have selected Nurgaliyev - Inđić from round seven. Playing Black, Inđić took the full point in a rook endgame. Alongside wins by Sarana and Predke and a draw by Ivić, it gave Serbia a 3½:½ victory against Kazakhstan. Open the game on Lichess

Watch how Inđić takes over the second rank: after 29...Rd8 30.Rf3 Rdd2, both black rooks stand on it. Later, 40...Nxf2 41.Nd5+ Ke5 42.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 43.Kxf2 Rxd5 leads to a rook endgame with two extra pawns for Black. The score ends after 46...Rb2. The active rooks and transition into the ending make this our first pick.

Another important full point came against Switzerland. After the team’s defeat against the USA, Inđić beat Nico Georgiadis with Black. Sarana also won, while Predke and Ivić drew, for 3:1. Open the game on Lichess

Against Georgiadis, both kings castle queenside, and 40...Qxd4 41.Nxd4 removes the queens. The closing phase brings 53...Ba4+, followed by 55...Bxc2 56.Rxc2 Rxc2+ 57.Kxc2: bishop and knight leave the board, along with one rook from each side. In the remaining rook ending, Black’s king joins the action; the final move is 58...Ke5. We chose this game for the long contest between active pieces and a point that helped the team return to winning ways.

All of Inđić’s games

Final record, 27 September 2026. Points are from the Serbian player’s perspective; the actual board in each match is listed. Both sat out round two. Results and board-number source

Alina Bivol: a win against Türkiye and five draws

Alina Bivol finished with two wins, five draws and three losses. She began with a win against Madagascar, sat out round two, then drew against Canada, Iran and Azerbaijan. Her second win came against Türkiye. After a loss against Cuba, she drew against Belarus and France, then lost against Italy and Austria.

We have selected Bivol - Sila Caglar from round six for its direct value to the team. Alina won with White, while Teodora Injac beat Ekaterina Atalik with Black. With defeats on the other two boards, those full points secured 2:2 for Serbia. Open the game on Lichess

In this Sicilian, the queens disappear after 23.Qxd7 Nxd7, but the fight stays sharp. Black’s king later reaches g4. Alina uses the placement of the pieces with 37.Rg3+ Kh5 38.g6+ Rxe5 39.gxf7: her pawn captures a rook on f7 and approaches promotion. After 39...Rf5 40.Rg7 Kh6 41.g4, the score ends in her favour. The unusual king journey and advanced pawn make this our choice to revisit.

The draws also mattered. Against Canada, Alina’s half-point contributed to a 2½:1½ win decided by Elif Mehmed. Against Belarus, her draw with Varvara Polyakova, alongside wins by Elif and Sofia, again helped secure 2½:1½. Against France she drew with Sophie Milliet; together with Sofia’s win, that supplied Serbia’s 1½ points in the match defeat.

All of Alina’s games

Final record, 27 September 2026. Points are from the Serbian player’s perspective; the actual board in each match is listed. Both sat out round two. Results and board-number source

Moving on to the top boards

The official tournament calculation gives Inđić a 2637 performance and a +8.1 rating change, and Alina a 2228 performance and -13.9. These describe their results at this event, not new monthly FIDE ratings.

Inđić’s wins against Sweden, Kazakhstan and Switzerland, and Alina’s point against Türkiye, are games we will return to. Thank you both for the effort and the moments we enjoyed cheering. The series concludes with the top-board players, Alexey Sarana and Teodora Injac.

Inđić’s official results · Alina Bivol’s official results · Closing report from Samarkand