In recent days, a prestigious chess tournament – the European Corporate Championship – took place in the Paris suburb of Asnières-sur-Seine, featuring teams from leading business brands across the continent. According to the Kyiv Chess Federation, the Kyiv-based club GRECO took first place among representatives of major banks, large corporations, and other business elites.
The GRECO club, established by the namesake law firm, has long been known in the chess world. Its professional grandmaster teams (both men’s and women’s) have won medals at various European Club Championships over the years. Now the corporate team, led by GRECO managing partner Pavlo Kuftyryev – a well-known attorney and the President of the Kyiv Chess Federation – has also made its mark. Alongside him, international grandmaster Ihor Kovalenko and international masters Roman Dehtiarov, Valerii Hryniov, and Oleksii Malyi conquered Europe.
GRECO entered the tournament as the top-rated favorite, but the victory was far from easy: most main competitors fielded strong, highly motivated lineups with invited stars. In the end, the club shared 1st–2nd place, finishing with the same number of points as Bulgaria’s Agrofert, led by legendary former world champion Veselin Topalov. However, thanks to superior tiebreaks, GRECO secured first place.
European Corporate Chess Championship 2025
(Asnières-sur-Seine, France – 53 teams)
MVCMI-1 (France) – 22 …
GRECO (Ukraine) – 24
Agrofert (Bulgaria) – 24
PROBIT Sp (Poland) – 22
Respect to a Soldier–Chess Player
Notably, GRECO’s invited star – Armed Forces of Ukraine serviceman Ihor Kovalenko – became a three-time European champion within a single month! In mid-October, he won the continental championship as part of the Ukrainian national team and also claimed individual gold on his board. Bravo, maestro!
Kovalenko’s wartime chess story deeply moved the mayor of Asnières-sur-Seine and former member of the French National Assembly, Manuel Aeschlimann, one of the championship’s main organizers. He published a heartfelt Facebook post with many photos, expressing how proud he was to meet the Ukrainian grandmaster.
Next Stop: The World Stage
However, GRECO has no time to rest. On November 14, the FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship 2025 begins in Goa, India, and the team has already arrived from France – though in a slightly different lineup.
Representing GRECO in Goa are:
grandmaster Volodymyr Onyshchuk, international masters Valerii Hryniov, Oleksii Malyi, Serhii Pavlov, and the constant team leader Pavlo Kuftyryev.
These players excelled in the online world championship qualifiers held on Lichess, which consisted of two rounds. Oleksii Malyi delivered a phenomenal result – 11 wins out of 11 games! In the decisive matches, GRECO crushed Probit Team 7:1 (4:0 and 3:1) and then secured a tough victory over Emphie Solutions 4.5:3.5 (2:2 and 2.5:1.5).
A year ago, GRECO already played in the final of the World Corporate Championship in New York. The Ukrainians performed brilliantly, narrowly missing the podium but finishing in the top 5. Among the twelve finalists, GRECO was the only legal-services brand, making it effectively the strongest law-firm team in the world – a fact highlighted at the closing ceremony.
This year, GRECO is aiming for the highest possible result, despite fierce competition from globally renowned business giants strengthened with star players – including two teams each from Deloitte and Morgan, as well as Microsoft. Ukrainians have defeated these “billionaires” before, and we hope they will do it again.