Chess showdown: OSG Baden-Baden celebrates the perfect start to the season!

Chess showdown: OSG Baden-Baden celebrates the perfect start to the season!

A brilliant start to the 2025/2026 season of the Chess Bundesliga: OSG Baden-Baden excelled in the first rounds and recorded an impressive four victories in four leagues. Goodnews4 reports that the team opened in the top German chess league with a strong 5:3 away win against FC St. Pauli. The team also secured a convincing 6-2 win against Hamburger SK. This performance makes the fans sit up and take notice and lifts the mood in Baden-Baden.

But it's not just the first team that's making people sit up and take notice. The second and third teams also recorded victories in their leagues. The second team triumphed in the second Bundesliga South over Nickelhütte Aue and Schachfreunde Bad-Mergentheim. OSG III made short work of Schachfreunde Karlsruhe and SK Ettlingen in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, while the fourth team also defeated Schachfreunde Gottmadingen in the Oberliga Baden. This is a strong record for the club, which is only slightly behind other teams with the same points in the table.

The goal: regain championship

After a titleless drought of two years, OSG Baden-Baden is aiming for its 18th German championship title. But the competition is strong. The promoted Schachfreunde Wolfhagen were able to move to the top of the table with two wins, while the runner-up SC Viernheim is considered a serious challenger. The pressure on the other teams is increasing, especially after an unexpected loss by the defending champions SC Viernheim, who lost 3:5 to Hamburger SK.

Javokhir Sindarov, Richard Rapport and Alexander Donchenko particularly stood out on the chessboard in the game against St. Pauli. Donchenko achieved a rare triumph by catching the opponent's queen. Rapport and Donchenko shone again in the match against Hamburger SK, supported by their teammates Radosław Wojtaszek and Etienne Bacrot. It is interesting that the young talents Vincent Keymer, Sindarov, Nikita Vitiugov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov were also able to draw their games, which underlines the strength of the team.

A look into the past

Let's remember last season: OSG Baden-Baden was able to win the title again in 2022/23 and thus celebrate its 16th championship since 2006 Chessbase reports. SC Viernheim came runner-up, making the competition for the championship that has now ignited all the more exciting. The current season is also promising and the team seems to be in top form, which the cheering fans on the boards can only confirm.

Important games await OSG Baden-Baden in the coming weeks, and it remains to be seen whether they can bring the coveted trophy home again. One thing is certain: the start of the new season was promising and the players have proven that they have a good hand.