The international grandmaster Ion Dosca won his seventh world champion title. In the decisive match played yesterday for the world champion title in the draughts-64 blitz competition, Dosca defeated Israel’s champion Yuri Kirillov.

Elena Tkacheko, Dosca’s coach and wife, told IPN that the preparations for the world championship, which takes place in the Bulgarian town of Kranevo during August 22-29, went successfully. The 19 times Moldovan champion is now looking forward to the classic section, which begins today.

A month earlier, Ion Dosca won the Estonian championship.

This is the seventh world champion title for Ion Dosca, who also boasts three European champion titles.

Ion Dosca is Moldova’s most successful draughts player He is the holder of the USSR Cup (1980 and 1990), champion of the Soviet Union (1991), Russian variant, prize-winner of World Championships, universal variant, world champion (1999), universal variant, US champion, pool-checkers variant (2000) and 19 times champion of Moldova.