Alexey Sarana’s 6/10 and Teodora Injac’s 5/8 complete our review of Serbia’s players, from the reserves to the top boards. Both recorded four wins. Sarana played ten games and Injac eight, leading the four-player line-up on board one in every appearance.
Their tournaments brought important full points and draws against strong opponents. For Sarana, we return to his win over Denis Makhnev and his draw with Ding Liren; for Teodora, we have selected her win with Black against Ekaterina Atalik. The choices reflect the games’ significance during the tournament, with links for a replay.
The top-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.
| Player | Points/games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexey Sarana | 6/10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 60% |
| Teodora Injac | 5/8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 62.5% |
Sarana’s official results · Teodora’s official results
Both finished with more wins than losses. Their schedules differed, however: Sarana played the last two rounds, while Teodora’s final appearance came against France in round nine. When they sat out, Aleksandar Inđić and Alina Bivol respectively took over on board one.
Alexey Sarana: two early wins, two more in the second half
Alexey Sarana began with wins against South Sudan and Turkmenistan. In round two, his full point, alongside Ivić’s win and draws by Predke and Maksimović, gave Serbia 3:1.
He lost with Black to Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux in round three, but Serbia beat Canada 2½:1½. A draw with Ding Liren followed; he then sat out against Cuba and drew with Nils Grandelius.
In the second half of the tournament he beat Denis Makhnev and Sebastian Bogner. Between those wins came a loss to Fabiano Caruana in the match against the USA. He finished with two draws, with Black against Titas Stremavičius and with White against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
All of Sarana’s games
Final record, 27 September 2026. Points are from Sarana’s perspective. Opponents’ names use Latin-script spellings for comparison with the broadcast. He sat out round five. Results source
| Round | Board | Opponent | Team | Colour | Points | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Garang Panthou Joh Madol | South Sudan | Black | 1 | Lichess |
| 2 | 1 | Saparmyrat Atabayev | Turkmenistan | White | 1 | Lichess |
| 3 | 1 | Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux | Canada | Black | 0 | Lichess |
| 4 | 1 | Ding Liren | China | White | ½ | Lichess |
| 6 | 1 | Nils Grandelius | Sweden | Black | ½ | Lichess |
| 7 | 1 | Denis Makhnev | Kazakhstan | White | 1 | Lichess |
| 8 | 1 | Fabiano Caruana | USA | Black | 0 | Lichess |
| 9 | 1 | Sebastian Bogner | Switzerland | White | 1 | Lichess |
| 10 | 1 | Titas Stremavicius | Lithuania | Black | ½ | Lichess |
| 11 | 1 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Azerbaijan | White | ½ | Lichess |
Our first pick: Sarana - Makhnev, round seven. Serbia returned from the rest day with a 3½:½ victory against Kazakhstan. Sarana, Inđić and Predke won, while Ivić drew. Sarana’s full point contributed to one of the team’s most emphatic match wins in the second half of the event. Open the game on Lichess
In the closing phase, White’s pawn reaches f6 while queen and knight create threats around the black king. After 44.Ng4 Qxd4 45.f6 Ke8 46.Ne5, the score ends in Sarana’s favour. The cooperation between pawn and pieces makes this our choice to revisit.
Sarana - Ding Liren from round four is also worth returning to. Sarana drew with White against an opponent who began the event rated 2733, compared with his own 2666. Predke also drew, and Serbia lost 1:3 to China. Open the game on Lichess
After 21.Bxb6 Nxb6 22.Qxb6 Qxb6 23.Rxb6, the queens leave the board. In the long ending, Sarana activates his king, reaching f5 via f3 and g4. Further exchanges leave rooks and pawns, and the draw is recorded after 50.Rd6. This choice adds another part of the story alongside the wins. Sarana’s half-point on board one was one of Serbia’s two draws against a very strong line-up. The encounter belongs in a review of his tournament even without a decisive result.
Teodora Injac: four wins in her first six appearances
Teodora Injac sat out round one. She began by beating Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant in a match Serbia won 4:0. After drawing with Maili-Jade Ouellet, she beat Mobina Alinasab in Serbia’s 3½:½ victory against Iran.
She then drew with Ulviyya Fataliyeva and beat Ekaterina Atalik and Yerisbel Miranda Llanes. After round seven she had 5/6 without a loss. Those two consecutive full points were important to the drawn matches against Türkiye and Cuba.
Her final two appearances brought defeats, against Aleksandra Tarasenka and Deimante Daulyte-Cornette. Against Belarus, her teammates secured a 2½:1½ win; against France, Serbia lost by the same margin. Teodora sat out rounds ten and eleven, leaving her final score at 5/8.
All of Teodora’s games
Final record, 27 September 2026. Points are from Teodora’s perspective. She sat out rounds one, ten and eleven. Results source
| Round | Board | Opponent | Team | Colour | Points | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant | Scotland | White | 1 | Lichess |
| 3 | 1 | Maili-Jade Ouellet | Canada | Black | ½ | Lichess |
| 4 | 1 | Mobina Alinasab | Iran | White | 1 | Lichess |
| 5 | 1 | Ulviyya Fataliyeva | Azerbaijan | Black | ½ | Lichess |
| 6 | 1 | Ekaterina Atalik | Türkiye | Black | 1 | Lichess |
| 7 | 1 | Yerisbel Miranda Llanes | Cuba | White | 1 | Lichess |
| 8 | 1 | Aleksandra Tarasenka | Belarus | White | 0 | Lichess |
| 9 | 1 | Deimante Daulyte-Cornette | France | Black | 0 | Lichess |
Our pick: Atalik - Injac, round six. Teodora beat Ekaterina Atalik with Black. Atalik started the tournament rated 2354, compared with Teodora’s 2406. Alina Bivol won on board two, while Türkiye took full points on boards three and four. That produced 2:2, with no individual game drawn. Open the game on Lichess
The attack develops as Black’s rook travels through e6 to h6. 26...Nxf2 27.Rxf2 Bxg3 starts a sharp fight; later Teodora creates a dangerous passed pawn with 45...Qe3+ 46.Qxe3 dxe3. It reaches e2 while the black king advances through f5 and e4 to d3. The score ends with 59...fxg4+.
We chose this game for the win with Black on board one and its direct contribution to the match result. In the next round Teodora scored another full point, this time with White against Miranda Llanes. Alongside Sofia’s win, it gave Serbia another 2:2, against Cuba.
Completing the review of Serbia’s boards
The official individual records give Sarana a 2644 performance and Teodora a 2402 performance. These describe their results at this tournament, not new monthly ratings. Sarana’s record · Teodora’s record
From Sarana’s early wins to Teodora’s points against Türkiye and Cuba, the top boards gave us plenty to cheer. Games against some of the world’s leading players also deserve another look. Thank you both for the effort and the points.
This article completes our review of all ten Serbian players. Earlier instalments covered the reserves, the fourth-board players and the third-board players, as well as the second-board players, Inđić and Bivol. Final team standings and all the individual scores are in our closing report from Samarkand.