NEWSLETTER 145 (February 19, 2014)

EXCELLENT ORGANIZATION OF THE ECU BOARD MEETING IN JERUSALEM, ISRAEL The Board meeting of the European Chess Union was held from 11th to 13th of February, 2014 in Jerusalem, Israel.

It was excellently organized by the host of the event – the Israeli Chess Federation with the help of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

During their stay, President of the European Chess Union Mr. Silvio Danailov and the Board members discussed very important topics concerning the future of the European chess and met with some very important persons.

First, they had an official meeting with the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport, Mrs. Limor Livnat and her delegation. They had a discussion about chess as sport, art, culture and education. Mrs. Livnat agreed that chess can be a very helpful tool for imroving the educational process.

The President of the Israeli Chess Fedeartion, Mr. Moshe Slav gave Mr. Silvio Danailov a very special present - unique and impressive hand-made chess set.

The next day the ECU Board met with the Mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Nir Barkat. Mr. Barkat presented the current situation in Jerusalem. Mr. Silvio Danailov acquainted the mayor with the progress of the ECU program “Chess in school”. They both agreed that chess is an excellent educational tool and that its implementation into the Israeli educational system needs to be continued.

Mr. Nir Barkat expressed the willingness of Jerusalem to host the European Youth Championship in 2016.

After the meeting in the City Hall, the ECU President and Board members visited the Open Experimental School of Jerusalem. They played blitz match vs students from the school. The headmaster of the school and the chess teacher of the students explained the guests that the study of chess has an excellent influence on the development of the youngsters.

The organizers of the Board meeting in Jerusalem, Mr. Moshe Slav, President of the Israeli Chess Federation and Mr. Almog Burstein, ECU Treasurer, arranged very interesting and rich supporting program – including historical tour around the city, farewell party and others.

Photos from Jerusalem

Official website: www.ecuonline.net

CHESS-NEWS.RU: ECF Board "Passed a Motion of No Confidence in Andrew Paulson"

Thursday, 13.02.2014 23:43

Last Saturday the ECF Board meeting was held where the Board "passed a motion of No Confidence in Andrew Paulson." This is published on the English Chess Forum.

"The voting was: For: 5, Against: 2 (incl Andrew Paulson) and Ab: 2." David Robertson then writes, "I believe I know how individuals voted; and who moved the motion. But for the moment, those details can wait. Rumours of this vote were circulating at the 4NCL (3N) event last Sunday. I've been checking details since. I understand Paulson had previously offered, in writing, to resign if he ever lost the confidence of the Board. He has now changed his mind. I'm shocked, utterly shocked!"

Let us remind you, Paulson became the president of English Chess Federation on October 12 last year.

The original article you could read here: http://chess-news.ru/en/node/14692

EICC YEREVAN 2014 – REMINDER FOR PARTICIPANTS

It is already certain that the upcoming European Individual Championship in Yerevan will be a very strong competition. 210 participants from 26 national federations have registered by the registration deadline. More than half of them (121) have the Grandmaster’s title and let us draw special attention to the record number of 14 participants with rating above 2700.

European Chess Union would like to remind the participants that the ECU Tournament Rules and Regulations will be applied at the championship without any exceptions. This means:

Players may only agree to a draw after the 40th move has been made by black. Players violating this rule will be forfeited. If a player is offered a draw before the 40th move has been made by black, he should call an arbiter. His opponent shall be punished for distracting, according to the FIDE Laws of Chess.

- Zero–tolerance rule will be applied for each round.

- The ECU Rule related to dress code – Chapter B Article 13 - will be applied.

www.ecuonline.net

GAIOZ NIGALIDZE WINS GEORGIAN CHAMPIONSHIP AND GM TITLE The 73rd edition of Georgian Individual Championship for Men finished yesterday.

The tournament took place in Tbilisi/Georgia, January 25 - February 6, in the famous Tbilisi Chess Palace.

After 11 rounds, International master from Batumi, Gaioz Nigalidze (ELO 2494)

won the title, with 8.5 points. Nigalidze was leading for almost whole tournament, and won quite convincingly, with 6 wins and 5 draws. With this title, Nigalidze gained his third GM norm, and Georgia will soon get another Grandmaster!

The silver medal went to GM Merab Gagunashvili (ELO 2547) with 8 points, and bronze went to GM Tornike Sanikidze (ELO 2541) who scored 7.5 points.

Final standings can be found on chess-results: http://www.chess- results.com/tnr122785.aspx?lan=1&art=1&wi=821

The tournament was played as a Round Robin tournament in 11 rounds. The rate of play was 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. The Championship was organized by Georgian Chess Federation. The Chief Arbiter was IA Margalita Tandashvili. More information can be found here - http://www.gcf.org.ge Photo source http://www.gcf.org.ge IVAN SARIC AND VALENTINA GOLUBENKO NEW CROATIAN CHAMPIONS FOR 2014 This month in Croatia, National Chess Championships for Men and Women took place. This year, the championships were organized separately, in different cities. Men's Championship was held in Porec, small costal town in the Western Croatia from 2nd till 14th February, while Women's Championship was held in the capital – Zagreb, 4-9 February, 2014. Men's Championship was played as a Round Robin tournament in 11 rounds, with time control 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one.

Grandmaster Ivan Saric (ELO 2661) has convincingly won the title, scoring 7 points out of 11. Second place went to GM Robert Zelcic (ELO 2540) with 6.5 points, and the third place was won by GM Marin Bosiocic (ELO 2548) with 6 points, and better tie-break than GMs Stevic, Jankovic and Palac.

Final ranking can be found here: http://chess-results.com/tnr123567.aspx?lan=13

The tournament was organized by Croatian Chess Federation, with the help of sponsors Valamar Hotels & Resorts, Porec. The playing venue was Valamar Diamant Hotel 4*, Porec, and the Chief Arbiter was IA Denis Rosandic.

In Women's Championship the title went to WGM Valentina Golubenko (ELO 2270) who gained 7.5 points out of 9. Silver medal went ot WIM Borka Franciskovic (ELO 2277) with 7 points, and bronze went to WGM Mirjana Medic (ELO 2227) with 6 points. Final standings can be seen here: http://chess- results.com/tnr123461.aspx?lan=1. Ladies played a Round Robin tournament in 9 rounds, with the rate of play 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one.

The Championship was organized by Croatian Chess Federation, under the patronage of the City of zagreb and the Mayor Milan Bandic.

For all other information, you can visit the website of the Croatian Chess Federation http://crochess.com/ , Photo source http://crochess.com/

OTTOMAR LADVA, MARGARETH OLDE WIN THE ESTONIAN U18 CHAMPIONSHIPS From February 6 to 9, the Estonian U18 Championships took place in Tallinn. In total, there were 46 participants (28 in the Boys and 18 in the Girls tournament).

In Boys tournament, FM Ottomar Ladva scored 6 points out of 7, and this is his third consecutive U18 title. The silver medal went to Dmitri Petrov and bronze to Ilja Siros.

At the Girls tournament, sisters Margareth and Grete Olde were beyond striking distance and secured the gold and silver medals, respectively. Bronze went to Anastassia Moisejeva. The rating favorite, WFM Anna Sagadijeva, had a shaky start and withdrew due to health reasons. Another potential winner, Mai Narva, put her powers to the test at the Boys tournament, where she finished fourth.

Additional information you could find here: http://chess-results.com/tnr123624.aspx?lan=1 – Boys Tournament; http://chess-results.com/tnr123647.aspx?lan=1 – Girls Tournament

ARBITERS FOR THE CHESS OLYMPIAD "TROMSO 2014" The European Chess Union is opening the application procedure for Arbiters for the Chess Olympiad in Tromso 2014. Namely, ECU President Silvio Danailov has the right to propose 12 Arbiters from Europe to FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

President Danailov will directly nominate 2 arbiters, while the remaining 10 arbiters will be nominated after the reception of proposals from national federations. Each of the national federations is allowed to propose a single Arbiter. If the European Chess Union office receives more than 10 proposals, the following criteria will be applied: the title and classification of Arbiters, previous experience and knowledge of languages.

The application form which national federations should fill in and send back to the ECU office in order to apply a candidate for the position of Arbiter at the Chess Olympiad you could download from here: http://www.ecuonline.net/com/news/single/593.html The deadline for sending application forms is March 10, 2014. Official website: www.ecuonline.net

FORTHCOMING TOURNAMENTS

EXCITING CHESS SUMMER IN BULGARIA THIS YEAR – TRADITION CONTINUES! The same as last year, many chess players and chess lovers will have the opportunity to participate in two big tournaments in Bulgaria this summer - Grand Europe Cup Albena and Grand Europe Cup Golden Sands, within the event Bulgarian Chess

Summer 2014. Both tournaments are organized under the patronage of Mr. Silvio Danailov, President of the European Chess Union and President of Bulgarian Chess Federation, with rich prize funds and guaranteed chess fun. The first tournament on schedule is Grand Europe Cup in Albena, which will be held 1-9 June, 2014 in Albena Sports Hall. The tournament will be played according to the Swiss System in 9 rounds, with the time control 90 minutes for the whole game + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. The prize fund will be 30 000 Euros.

Armenian Grandmaster Tigran L. Petrosian won last year in a very strong competition, and this year's tournament is expected to be even stronger. The organizers of the tournament are Bulgarian Chess Federation and Albena Resort. For all information, you can contact Maya Stoyanova Phone: 00 359 883 345 937, 00 359 883 345 937 e-mail: [email protected], http://albena.bulchesssummer.eu/

After Albena, chess battles will continue in another beautiful Bulgarian coastal town - Golden Sands. The tournament will take part from 10th till 18th June, 2014 in European Chess House. The organizers are Bulgarian Chess Federation and Bankya Chess Club. The rate of play is 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move, starting from move one. The guaranteed prize fund is 40 000 Euros.

Contact person for all information is Hristo Velchev Phone: 00 359 887 986 383, 00 359 887 986 383 e-mail:[email protected], http://goldensands.bulchesssummer.eu/

See you at Bulgarian Chess Summer 2014!