Circular Letter 2008/03

Written by : ECU Press Officer Gerald Schendel

Thursday, 20 March 2008, id:450 Article cached on Friday, 09 May 2008 09:55:23

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To:
All European Federations
Associated members, Board members,
FIDE and FIDE Zone Presidents

5 March 2008

Dear Friends,

As we already informed you in our last Circular Letter the dates of the European Club Cup (Men/Open and Women) will be kept. These outstanding events will be held in Kallithea/Greece from 11 to 19 October 2008. Attached you will find the official announcement and invitation.

Following the discussion of the ECU General Assembly 2007 in Heraklion/Greece an additional meeting with representatives of Chess Federation of Montenegro took place in Struga. All necessary details of the European Club Cup 2009 were discussed. As a result it can be recorded that the venue is suitable and the government fully supports the event.

Please pay attention to the fact that the deadline of registration for the European Individual Championships 2008 in Plovdiv/Bulgaria is 15 March and that late applications will be charged with an extra fee of 100 Euro. The entry fee of 65 Euro to be paid to ECU will not yet be increased to 130 Euro as the championships have been granted to the organisers under the former financial conditions.

President Boris Kutin has successfully concluded the negotiation about the European Individual Championship 2009. It will be held in Budva/Montenegro from 14 to 28 March. The prize fund will be 150.000 Euro. Details will be published later. Consultations about the 2009 European Women?s Championship are still in progress.

The 10^th European Senior Team Championship in Dresden was held with a new record of participants. 68 teams found the way to the city of this year's Chess Olympiad. For the first time 12 national teams took part and contributed to the success of this senior's event. The team of the Czech Republic won ahead of Rostov and Moscow.

After having held the European Senior Team Championship in Dresden 10 times in a row there will be a change next year. Velden/Austria has come up with a real good bid which was thoroughly checked. The proposed dates are 5 to 13 April. The Board still has to take the final decision.

The dates of the European Youth Team Championship this year in Szeged/Hungary have been changed. New period will be 13 to 22 June. Invitations are supposed to be distributed soon.

The Organizing Committee of the 4^th EU Individual Championship in Liverpool/England has announced to move the dates by 4 days. The new dates of this event are 9 to 18 September 2008. Please note that the ECU General Assembly 2007 approved a motion to establish a EU Challengers Championship. The first edition should be held parallel to the Individual Championship.

Attached you will find an updated Tournament Calendar. Please note that we have not received any bid for the European Team Championship 2011. Deadline was 1 March 2008.

ECU sponsored a chess tournament for diplomats which was organised in the German embassy in Yerevan/Armenia and which was supported by the Chess Federation of Armenia. This idea was gratefully accepted by the diplomats and should be continued once a year.

The idea of the Slovenian Chess Federation to establish a European Union Chess Federation on the occasion of the EU conference of the sport ministers and presidents of the National Olympic Committees had to be postponed. The planned meeting in Brdo on 16 and 17 March 2008 was cancelled. There was not enough interest among the national federations. President Boris Kutin will use this conference to meet Commissioner Ján Figel'.

The next ECU Board meeting will probably be held in Plovdiv on 19 and 20 April 2008. Therefore the Board members will be able to attend the opening ceremony of the European Individual Championships.

Change of addresses

Chess Federation of Portugal
Federacao Portuguesa de Xadrez
Rua Frei Francisco Foreiro, 2, 4° Esq°
1150-166 Lisboa, Portugal
phone: +351 213 579 144
fax: +351 213 579 144
Email: fpx@fpx.pt or por.chess.fed@gmail.com
www.fpx.pt

President: Antonio Bravo

Best regards,

Horst Metzing

Secretary General

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