Won the European Championship without being a grandmaster: Zelenskyy awarded 17-year-old Roman Degtyaryov

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the "Future of Ukraine" award to 17-year-old Roman Degtyaryov, who became the first chess player in history to win the European Championship without being a grandmaster. This is stated in a message on the Official Internet Representation of the President of Ukraine, reports UNN. 

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with 17-year-old chess player Roman Degtyaryov, who became the first European champion in history without having the title of grandmaster, and presented him with the "Future of Ukraine" award. 

It is reported that Degtyaryov scored nine out of 11 possible points based on the results of the continental championship, which took place in Katowice (Poland). The Ukrainian's winning performance was estimated at 2781 points according to the FIDE rating. In addition, he earned a ticket to the FIDE World Cup. 

Zelenskyy congratulated the athlete on his important victory and spoke with the chess player about his training and plans. The boy has been playing chess since he was five years old. In 2022 and 2024, he became the champion of Ukraine, and in 2025, he won the European Corporate Chess Championship as part of the Greco (Ukraine) team.

Thank you from all of us for such a representation of Ukraine on the international arena, at such a level. I wish you great victories, and not only in sports 

Recall 

Ukrainian athlete, international master Roman Degtyaryov won the European Championship in Katowice, Poland.