Dimitris Alexakis

Overview

Dimitris Alexakis (born April 25, 2003) is a Greek chess grandmaster (GM) representing the Greek Chess Federation (GRE). He was awarded the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 2025. Alexakis achieved his career-high classical FIDE rating of 2548 in October 2025. He is primarily known as an active open-tournament competitor, university-level team player, and World Junior Rapid Championship medalist.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Dimitris Alexakis developed through the Greek junior ranks, earning the FIDE Master (FM) title in 2019 and the International Master (IM) title in 2021. In December 2021, he competed in the 70th Greek Individual Chess Championship in Lamia, securing the bronze medal with a score of 4.5/8, finishing third on direct tie-break encounters. In 2022, he won the 12th Mediterranean Chess Championship in Cairo, Egypt, finishing with an undefeated score of 8/9.

In February 2023, Alexakis represented the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) "Le Roi" chess team in the Kasparov Cup, a prestigious online university chess tournament. The team ranked first in Europe and fifth globally. In April 2023, he shared first place at the 2nd Mikis Theodorakis tournament in Chania, Greece, scoring 7.5/9. Later that year, in October 2023, Alexakis won the bronze medal at the FIDE World Junior Rapid Chess Championship in Pula, Sardinia, finishing with 8/11 points.

Alexakis secured his Grandmaster title in 2025 after earning his three required norms across European open and invitational events:

1. Piraeus GM Tournament "Korentinis Memorial" in Piraeus, Greece (August 2024).
2. 5th Wood Green Invitational in Stafford, England (March 2025), which he won outright with a dominant score of 7.5/9.
3. 11th Cesme International Open Chess Tournament in Cesme, Turkey (June 2025), where he took first place on tie-breaks with 7/9 to cross the required rating threshold.

Elite Team & Event Performance

• Kasparov Cup (2023): Represented the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) "Le Roi" team, helping secure the top rank among European university teams.
• Montenegro Premier League (2025–2026): Represented his club in the premier league, contesting games against elite grandmasters including Denis Kadric and Ivan Cheparinov.

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Dimitris Alexakis is a dynamic and concrete calculator who aligns with the modern computer-era style. He prioritizes coordination and the initiative over material integrity, a trait frequently demonstrated in his choice of sharp, unbalancing systems. Rather than striving for quiet positional maneuvering, Alexakis routinely seeks structures where active piece coordination and open files compensate for pawn deficits or minor structural weaknesses.

His handling of king safety is pragmatic; he is willing to accept open files and pawn weaknesses near his own king if it grants him active counterplay. His technical endgame skills are highly developed, as demonstrated by his ability to convert slight advantages into full points during his title run at the Wood Green Invitational and the Cesme Open. He excels in active minor-piece play and rook endgames where king activity is paramount.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

1. As White

Alexakis predominantly opens with standard king's pawn setups.

Against the Sicilian Defense, he frequently employs the Rossolimo Variation to bypass mainlines and target structural imbalances:

Against open Sicilian variations, he utilizes classical setups to target the center:

Against the French Defense, he is prepared to contest the Winawer variation directly:

Against 1...e5, he utilizes the Ruy Lopez:

2. As Black

As Black, Alexakis plays actively, aiming for asymmetric structures.

Against 1.e4, his primary weapon is the Sicilian Taimanov, aiming for rapid development and central flexibility:

Against 1.d4, he frequently plays the highly dynamic Benko Gambit, sacrificing a queenside pawn to activate his major pieces on the open a- and b-files:

He also employs the Nimzo-Indian Defense to combat queenside setups:

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/4277023
• Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitris_Alexakis