Representing the University of Belgrade, Velikic won seven matches and drew only once on her way to taking gold ahead of Russia’s Baira Kovanova from the Ural State Mining University in Yekaterinburg.

She has played chess for approximately 10 years and has three caps for the Serbian national team.

Velikić’s fellow University of Belgrade student Jovana Eric came third behind Kovanova, who had been in the lead for the first few rounds at the Pauk Hall in Zagreb.

"I thought she was going to win, but the situation changed in the sixth and the seventh round," grandmaster Alozjije Jankovic, the technical delegate and the organiser of the chess tournament, said. 

The top two places in the men’s tournament went to Hovhannes Gabuzyan and Zaven Andriasian - both students of the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture - with 8.0 and 6.5 points respectively.

Russia’s Maksim Chigaev from the Ural State Mining University came third with 6.5 points.

Velikic and Eric triumphed in the women’s team competition, while Kovanova and fellow Ural State Mining University student Anastasia Travkina finished second.

Slovenia’s Spela Orehek and Caterina Leonardi from the University of Ljubljana came third.

Gabuzyan and Andriasian took the men’s team gold with Ural State Mining University's Chigaev and Pavel Ponkratov finishing second, and the University of Belgrade's Milos Stankovic and Vladimir Lukovic winning the bronze.

Around 5,000 athletes from 300 universities are competing in the EUG in Rijeka and Zagreb, where action is due to continue tomorrow.