GM Nikita Petrov successfully defended his national title, winning the 2025 Montenegrin Championship.
Held at the National Library “Radosav Ljumović”, the 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control took place from January 31 to February 9 in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. The event featured 50 of the country’s strongest players, including five Grandmasters and five International Masters.
Top-seeded Petrov took the lead at the tournament’s midpoint and maintained a half-point advantage over FM Nemanja Vukčević heading into the final round. After Vukčević made a quick draw against Peko Đurović, Petrov (pictured below, left) needed only a half-point against Veljko Šćekić to clinch the title. However, he was not content with settling for less and defeated Šćekić, finishing clear first with an impressive 9.5/11. The champion scored eight wins, conceding only three draws throughout the event.
Eighth-seeded Nemanja Vukčević remained in contention for gold until the very end and secured silver with 8.5/11, gaining an impressive 46 rating points and securing an IM norm. GM Denis Kadrić won his final-round game to complete the podium.
Mateja Popovic became the most successful lady, while Ilija Milović was the best youngster in the event.
Final standings:
| 1 | GM | Petrov, Nikita | 2585 | 9½ |
| 2 | FM | Vukcevic, Nemanja | 2312 | 8½ |
| 3 | GM | Kadric, Denis | 2551 | 8 |
| 4 | FM | Djurovic, Peko | 2265 | 7½ |
| 5 | FM | Sukovic, Andrej | 2264 | 7½ |
| 6 | GM | Nikcevic, Nebojsa | 2333 | 7 |
| 7 | IM | Kalezic, Blazo | 2382 | 7 |
| 8 | IM | Podlesnik, Bogdan | 2288 | 7 |
| 9 | IM | Vujosevic, Vladimir | 2250 | 6½ |
| 10 | IM | Tomic, Aleksandar | 2309 | 6½ |
