September 2017/ August 2018 REPORT OF ACTIVITIES & EVENTS 1 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS September 2017_________________________________3 October 2017___________________________________5 November 2017 _________________________________8 December 2017_________________________________12 January 2018 __________________________________13 February 2018 _________________________________14 March 2018 ___________________________________15 April 2018____________________________________ 18 May 2018_____________________________________21 June 2018____________________________________ 24 July 2018_____________________________________26 August 2018___________________________________27 2 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT September 2017 EUROPEAN YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 The 27th European Youth Chess Championship, one of the most numerous Championships in the ECU calendar, took place in Mamaia, Romania, from 5th-14th September. The event gathered 1142 players from 46 European federations and after 9 days of great fights, 12 new European Youth Champions were crowned. The Championship opened with a ceremony which took place on Perla Square of Mamaia, with attendance of ECU Secretary General, Mr. Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, ECU Deputy President Mr. Ion Serban Dobronauteanu, FIDE Deputy President, Mr. Georgios Makropoulos, the President of the Romanian Chess Federation, Mr. Sorin Iakoban, the Mayor of Constanza, Mr. Decebal Fagadau, and the President of the Romanian Olympic Committee, Mr. Mihai Covaliu. The event was organized by Romanian Chess Federation, "Mind Games&Events" Sports Association under the auspices of the European Chess Union. "LET US FIND THE WAY TO EACH OTHER"- ECU AND CHESS4EUROPE European Chess Union was working hard on promoting chess as a useful tool not only to increase intellectual capacities but also as a social inclusion instrument helping very much in developing core competencies. Chess4Europe was established solely to promote the values of the European Chess Union and to build the chess networks around the Europe in order to design and implement projects focused on European issues of these days. Albanian Chess Federation and Chess Club Prievidza agreed to join the efforts, and under the ECU initiative Chess4Europe, designed the project “Let us find the way to each other!” which got finances under the Erasmus plus Youth Mobility Programme. Along the project aims, 17 participants of the age 13- 16 spent 16 days together in a beautiful Slovak nature. The participants were led by 4 experienced and educated facilitators who motivated the participants to increase their knowledge in areas like Man and values, language and communication, Man and nature, Man and society and Art and Culture, bioth form Albania and Slovakia point of view. 3 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 European Universities Chess Championship 2017 took place in Las Palmeras Hotel, Fuengirola/Spain, from 21st to 25th September. The Championship had two competitions: team tournament and individual tournament, both played in two categories: Open and Women. The winners became Russia-Ural State Mining University in both Open and Women section. The Championship was organized by Universidad Internacional de Andalucia and Spanish University Sport Committee in collaboration with local partners in Fuengirola. ECU AWARDED PROF. KURT JUNGWIRTH On 23rd of September Prof. Kurt Jungwirth was honoured by the European Chess Union for his contributions to the international chess movement. ECU Deputy President Mr. Ion-Serban Dobronauteanu arrived together with the Austrian ECU Board Member Mr. Johann Pöcksteiner to Graz, the city where the European Chess Union was founded in 1985 with the aim to unite and to strengthen the chess in Europe. Prof. Jungwirth was one of the initiators co-founders of the European Chess Union and its president for 12 years, in the period 1986-1998. In Austria he has retired this year after 46- years presidency of the Austrian Chess Federation. ECU officials awarded to Prof. Kurt Jungwirth the ECU Medal of Honour which was specially designed and constructed in 2017. 4 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT October 2017 EUROPEAN CLUB CUP 2018 The teams Globus from Russia in the Open section and Batumi Chess Club NONA in Women's section were the winners of the European Club Cup 2017, which took place in Antalya, Turkey, from 7th-15th October 2017. The event participated 48 teams representing 24 European federations, among 36 teams in Open section and 12 teams in Women's section. The total prize fund of the event was The President of European Chess Union, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili has welcomed all the players and guests before the start of the event, while the event has officially started when the President of ECU and the President of Turkish Chess Federation, Mrs. Gulkiz Tulay made the first move in the game between Karjakin Sergey and Johannesson Oliver. The Closing ceremony took place on 15th October with attendance of the President of ECU, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, the ECU Secretary General, Mr. Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, the FIDE President, Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the FIDE Deputy President, Mr. Georgios Makropoulos and the president of the Turkish Chess Federation, Mrs. Gulkiz Tulay. EUROPEAN YOUTH GRAND PRIX 2017/2018 The second leg of European Youth Gran Prix series took place in beautiful mountain town Jermuk, in Armenia, from 3rd-16th October. IM Shevchenko Kirill (UKR, 2531) triumphed at the second stage of the European Youth Gran Prix. On 6th of October, during the 3rd round of this prestigious youth event, the President of Armenia and the President of the Armenian Chess Federation, Serzh Sargsyan visited the playing venue and observed the games. 5 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT GLOBAL CHESS FESTIVAL 2017 The 3rd edition of the annual Global Chess Festival (GCF) in Budapest, held on Saturday October 14th 2017, was a huge success. About two thousand chess enthusiasts visited the beautiful location by the river Danube at the Graphisoft Park, the Silicon Valley of Hungary, which turned into a true chess resort on Saturday. The Global Chess Festival 2017 was officially opened by the Founder of the Graphisoft Park, Gabor Bojar, whereafter a variety of chess-themed activities started. The patronage of the festival, mayor of Budapest, Mr. Istvan Tarlos, could not attend the official opening ceremony but his supportive speech was presented by Melinda Nagyne Varga from the Mayor's office. The highlight of the Opening Ceremony was the special artistic performance of Jason Kouchak-"Queen's Journey". EUROPEAN WOMEN'S RAPID & BLITZ CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 The European ACP Women's Rapid&Blitz Chess Championship 2017 took place in Monaco, from 21st- 24th October. Ukrainian Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk became the European ACP Women's Rapid Chess Champion for 2017. She finished as the sole Winner with 9 points and without a lost game! The event gathered 91 participants and top women chess players. The Blitz Championship was played on 23rd October, where Russian ladies took all the trophies and medals. Kosteniuk Alexandra (RUS,2477 Blitz rtg) became the Winner of European ACP Women's Blitz Chess Championship 2017 with 10.5 points! The total prize fund for the Rapid event was 8.100 EUR+ 150 EUR PACA prizes+ 150 EUR CD06 + 5000 EUR ACP, as well as the category prizes- watch Yves BERTELIN, while the total prize fund for the Blitz event was 5.500 EUR+150 EUR PACA prizes + 150 EUR CD06+ special prizes. The Closing Ceremony of the event was attended by the President of European Chess Union who joined the prize giving ceremony and officially declared the event closed. 6 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT THE SECOND ECU SCHOOL CHESS TEACHER TRAINING COURSE 2017 The 2nd ECU School Chess Teacher training course took place in London, United Kingdom, from 14th to 15th October 2017. The ECU School Chess Teacher Training course comprised two days of interactive presentations, group discussions and practical exercises. The focus of the course was on the teaching aspects of chess and the course was suitable for teachers and tutors who want to make chess an exciting and educational experience for children. 19 participants of the course completed it and passed an online test at the end of the course and were awarded with the School Chess Teacher Certificate. The Certificates were awarded by the ECU to recognize that the individual has an adequate level of chess knowledge and is familiar with didactic methods for the classroom. The course leaders were: • Jasper Hall- Chairman of the ECU Education Commission, FIDE Senior Trainer, Director of the Chess in Schools project in Sweden, author of several chess training books. • John Foley- member of the ECU Education Commission, former Director of Education and Training at Chess in Schools and Communities in the UK. Author of classroom books for chess teachers and pupils. • Rita Atkins- Woman International Master, Mathematics and physics teacher. 7 EUROPEAN CHESS UNION ANNUAL REPORT November 2017 EUROPEAN TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 Teams of Azerbaijan and Russia became the European Team Chess Champions for 2017 in Open and Women's section respectively. The event took place in beautiful Creta Maris beach resort, in Crete, Greece, from 27th October- 7th November. 72 teams participate the event and made the European Team Chess Championship 2017 one of the most numerous ever! The Championship was declared opened at the Opening ceremony which took place on 27th