NAJER IS THE EUROPEAN CHAMPION!

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1 BANK OF GEORGIA OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE ECU CHESS OFFICIAL SPORT AT EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES MEETING IN DRESDEN FOR SENIOR CHESS ECU PRESIDENT IN REYKJAVIK E U R O P E A N C H E S S U N I O N NEWSLETTER NAJER IS THE EUROPEAN CHAMPION! Russian GM Evgeny Najer won the European Individual Chess Championship 2015, which was held in Jerusalem/Israel from 23 February to 8 March, The new champion scored 8.5 points ahead of Navara, Bartel and Khismatullin 8 each. 22 players scored 7.5 points each securing a place in the world cup games next October in the Azeri capital of Baku. 1

2 The great upset of the championship was the poor finish of the former continental champion, Russian Ian Nepomnianchtchi; who had led the field to what seemed to be a second title but managed to score just half a point in the last three rounds with painful defeat against Polish Mateusz Bartel in the final round. The complete results and the final standings may be seen here The prize giving was attended by the board of the European Chess Union and started with a projected greeting by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speeches were made by President of the ECU, GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili (himself a former European champion) and ACP (Association of chess professionals) president GM Emil Sutovsky who both praised the superb organization of the event expressing their hope for more such major tournaments in Israel soon enough. Together with Moshe Slav chairman of the Israel chess federation and Amiram Kaplan, chairman of the organizing committee and secretary of the ECU Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou awarded the Euros prize-fund and the huge trophies. In addition to the general standings winners special prizes were given to the best ACP premium members and to the best seniors headed by GMs Alexander Beliavsky (Slovenia), Valery Neverov (Ukraine) and Alex Khuzman (Israel) on 6.5 points each. Best junior was Polish GM Jan Krzysztof Duda on 6.5 points and best Jerusalem player was Ori Kobo on 5.5 and a final norm for the IM title. 250 players from 33 countries took part in the championship. 167 of them title holders of which 112 Grandmasters. Seven past European champions including the current champion, the Russian Alexander Motylev participated in Jerusalem. Official Website Photos by Yoav Nis During the Championship, the ECU Board meeting took place from 6th to 8th March, with the full agenda. ECU would like to thank the Israel Chess Federation for an excellent organization and hosting of the meeting. The ECU Commissions budgets and Media partnerships were approved. 2

3 One of the important proposals at the Board meeting, which was approved, was to waive the club membership restrictions of the article F.1.1.8, F1.2 of the regulations for the European Women Club Cup 2015, in order to encourage more women teams participation. The ECU also waives the fee of 1000 euros for players at the European Women Club Cup 2015, as defined in the article F Also, ECU Board decided to launch the ECU Congress, which will be organized every odd year, in connection with the ECU General Assembly, and recognized the necessity for the ECU Chess Academy, which will be eligible to apply for EU Educational programs. More information about the ECU Board meeting Jerusalem 2015 ECU NEWS Chess an Official Sport at the European Universities On Saturday 28th March, in Zagreb, Croatia a memorandum between the European Universities Sports Association (EUSA) and the European Chess Union (ECU) was signed. The memorandum represents the inclusion of chess in the official sports program of the EUSA annual events. Chess is the 19th sport included in EUSA competitions. The agreement was signed during the EUSA annual Gala, between Mr. Adam Roczek, President of EUSA and Mr. Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, ECU General Secretary. ECU Board member Mr. Adrian Michailchisin was also present at the ceremony. Chess is included in the following competitions: 2015: European Universities Chess Championship, 6-11 October, Yerevan/Armenia 2016: European Universities Games (5000 participants), July, Zagreb/Croatia 2017: European Universities Chess Championship, Fuengirola/Spain 2018: European Universities Games (5000 participants), Coimbra/Portugal 3

4 European National Chess Federations can contact the National EUSA members in order to get more information about registrations procedure and provide technical support and organize championships within National or European level. The EUSA events in Croatian capital Zagreb held March, 2015 were: Executive and Student Commission meetings, EUSA Conference, EUSA Convention and inspection visits, concluded with the special EUSA Gala, held on Saturday evening. Parallel to the EUSA meetings, a working and creative meeting with the Croatian Chess Federation took place. On behalf of the Croatian Chess Federation, the President Josip Leko, the Secretary General Ervin Sindik and the Councilor Branimir Jukic were present at the meeting. During the meeting the preparations for the European Youth Chess Championships 2015 in Porec and the future co-operation between ECU and Croatian Chess Federation were discussed. Zurab Azmaiparashvili in Reykjavik The ECU President, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili visited Iceland, during the Reykjavik Open The ECU President was invited from Icelandic Chess federation for the celebration of the 80th birthday of Mr. Fridrik Olafsson and the preparation of the European Team Chess Championship 2015, which will be held in November in Reykjavik. 4

5 Mr. Azmaiparashvili attended the opening ceremony of the tournament, gave a short speech and made a symbolic move before the 3rd round, and also visited Robert Fischer s grave in Sunderland. Reykjavik Open 2015 took place from 10th till 18th March in Harpa, Reykjavik s spectacular new music hall on the harbour. The tournament broke the record of participants number, as this year a total of 274 players from 37 countries participated in Reykjavik. The 29-year-old Dutch grandmaster Erwin l Ami won the tournament with 8.5/10, and secured the tournament victory after the penultimate round. GM Pavel Eljanov, the winner in 2013, finished second with 8.0/10 and on the same number of points ended French GM Fabien Libiszewski. Top seed GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov scored 7.5/10, while GM David Navara, European vice- Champion lost in the final round to finish on 6.5 points. Official Website 5

6 ECU Sponsors & Partners European Chess Union is proud to announce three new sponsorships and key partnerships. The ECU presents the official launch of the sponsorship programs by the Bank of Georgia, Chessbase GmbH and Chess Informant. Bank of Georgia will financially support the European Chess Union in a 4 years-program as announced at the ECU General Assembly in Batumi. The first installments for the 2015 ECU budget have already reached the ECU Bank account in Switzerland. Additionally Bank of Georgia is already supporting the establishment and popularization of chess in schools, as well as the training of prospective players, coaches at chess training centers. Moreover there is a number of services in the private banking that will be offered to the chess world in premium conditions. It also has on display rare chess sets of the 17th-21st centuries, including the artworks of world level, some of them the envy of the big art museums. More about the sponsorship with the Bank of Georgia The new media policy of the European Chess Union is a long-term partnership with the main chess media for the better and wider promotion of chess, the better conditions for press and multiple benefits for the ECU members and annual competitions. Therefore, ChessBase GmbH became an official Media Partner of the ECU after an agreement signed by both sides. 6

7 Main points of the agreement: A. The co-operation in the coverage of the ECU annual championships. ECU will provide all the necessary materials for the events coverage and the Media partner will promote the ECU and tournament logos through the coverage pages. B. A large package of free (or discount) offers for the European National Chess Federations. More about the Partnership with ChessBase Another offer comes from the Chess Informant who will be the official ECU Partner and Sponsor of the European Chess Championships. Main points of the agreement: 1. European National Federations will receive for free the 2015 Chess Informant issues 123, 124, 125, 126, in electronic and printed format as follows: These deliveries will be carried out, 4 times per year through , in March, June, September and December, after publishing and 2 times per year, June and December, the printed versions through the DHL Global Mail service. The electronic version is used by Chessbase software which will also be sent to all National Federations. PGN files could be used anywhere, including Android and ios for any PGN viewer. 2. Sponsorship of the European Competitions Chess Informant will be the sponsor of the official European events, by donating suitable educational products, books, CDs. The main proposal is to reward all the winners and runners-up (2nd and 3rd places) from each youth, senior, women category at any particular event. Organizers will receive the material free of charge and they will have the obligation to provide photo materials from the awards ceremonies and place the Chess Informant s logo in the tournament website. More about the Partnership with Chess Informant 7

8 Meeting for Senior Chess in Dresden On Saturday, 28th February 2015, the meeting with the FIDE and ECU representatives took place in the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Dresden/Germany, during the World Senior Team Chess Championship. Players and team captains gathered together to discuss current topics of Senior chess, in the event hosted by Dr. Dirk Jordan, FIDE Director for Seniors. He was supported by Mr. Herbert Bastian, FIDE Vice President, and Mr. Johann Pöcksteiner, the ECU Seniors Tournament Director. Some of the topics of the meeting were the organization of future tournaments, the evaluation of the current age limits and the annual calendar of seniors evetns. In addition to these points, the participants were able to express their own proposals and requests. The meeting was very successful and all the good ideas and suggestions of the attendances will be useful for the next FIDE and ECU meetings. Official Website of the Championship Photos by Karsten Wieland Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov promote Chess in Schools at the Norwegian Parliament Photo source Stormester & Stormester On Monday, 23rd March, chess world champions Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov promoted chess at the Norwegian Parliament by the initiative of the Chess Federation of Norway. Norwegian Chess Federation intends to launch a pilot chess program in schools. Carlsen and Kasparov increased chess popularity inside the Norwegian parliament with simultaneous exhibitions and other chess activities. 8

9 FUN ZONE In March edition of the Fun Zone section we give you four nice mate combinations. The first position is from the game Alexander Riazantsev vs Magnus Carlsen, from EU-ch 2005, Black to move. The second diagram presents the game Boris Gelfand vs Vladimir Kramnik from European Club Cup 1996, Black to play. The third position shows the game Yasser Seirawan vs Igor Vasilievich Ivanov from US Championship (1991), Black to play. The fourth diagram is from the game between Paul Keres and Svetozar Gligoric, played in Zurich White plays and wins. 9

10 Solutions from the NL February 2015: Carlsen, Magnus (2865) vs. Naiditsch, Arkadij (2706) 3rd GRENKE Chess Classic Baden Baden GER Round 5 9 Feb Qe2! Very nice exchange sacrifice for the initiative Bc4 17. Qf3 Bxf1 18. Bxf1 d5 19. exd5 e4 20. Qf5 Rbd8 21. Bf4 Qc5 22. Rd1 Qb4 23. Be5 Bc5 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Nxe4 Qxb2 26. Bd3 Rfe8 27. Nxf6+ Kf8 28. Nxh7+ Ke7 29. Re1+ Kd6 30. Qf4+ Kxd5 31. Nf6+ Kc6 32. Nxe8 1-0 Adhiban, Baskaran (2630) vs. Nakamura, Hikaru (2776) Gibraltar Masters 2015 Caleta ENG Round Jan Nc3 Bb4 13. Bd2 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 b4 15. d5 bxc3 16. dxc6 Qxd Kxd1 cxb3 18. c7 Kd7 (better was 18 Ne7) 19. Ra3 b2 20. c8=q+ Kxc8 21. Rxc3+ Kd7 22. Bd3 b1=q+ 23. Bxb1 Bxb1 24. Rb3 Be4 25. Rb8 g5 26. Ke2 Ke7 27. h4 gxh4 28. Rxh4 Bc6 29. Rc4 Be8 30. Rc7+ Kd6 31. Ra7 Ne7 32. Rd8+ Ke5 33. Rb7 Kf6 34. Rdb8 Ng6 35. Rb6 h5 36. f3 Ba4 37. Rxh8 Nxh8 38. Ke3 Ng6 39. Ra6 Bb3 40. Ra5 Bd5 41. Ra7 e5 42. Ra5 Be6 43. Rb5 h4 44. Rb1 Kg5 45. Rb5 f6 46. Rb7 Nf4 47. Kf2 Nh5 48. Rb6 Bf5 49. Rb8 Bg6 50. Rb4 Nf4 51. Ra4 Bf7 52. Ra7 Kg6 53. Ra1 Bd5 54. Rd1 Kg5 55. Rd2 f5 1-0 Chekhov, Sergei (2470) vs. Inarkiev, Ernesto (2675) Moscow Open A 2015 Moscow RUS Round Feb c4 Bg5! All pieces participate. 29. Ke2 Qd4 30. Rad1 Qxe Kf1 Be3 32. h3 Qxf Ke2 Qc Kf1 Nh2+! Anand, V. (2797) vs. Aronian, L. (2777) 4th Zurich CC Classical Zurich SUI Round 3 16 Feb Bf4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Re4 17. Qb5 Rxf4 18. Qxb7 Ra4 19. d7! Be4?! 20. Qb3 Bc6? (better was Ra5 but White keeps the advantage after 21. Nd2) 21. Rd6! Bxd7 22. Rad1 Qb8 23. Rxd7 Qxb3 24. axb3 Ra2 25. Bc4 Rf8 26. R7d6 Kg7 27. Rxa6 Rxf2 28. Re1 They told about chess To play for a draw, at any rate with white, is to some degree a crime against chess. Mikhail Tal, Latvian Soviet chess Grandmaster and the 8th World Chess Champion. 10

11 UPCOMING EVENTS IN APRIL ECU EVENTS EUROPEAN SMALL NATIONS TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 The 4th European Small Nations Team Championship will be held from April 18th (arrival) to 26th 2015 (departure) in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Federations participating in the event are as follows: LIECHTENSTEIN, JERSEY, FAROE ISLANDS, GUERNSEY, MALTA, SAN MARINO, ANDORRA, LUXEMBOURG, CYPRUS and MONACO. The playing venue will be the Harry Bound room at Les Cotils and the accommodation will be at the Albany apartments. Official Website EUROPEAN SENIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 The 15th European Senior Chess Championship for Men and Women will be held in Eretria, Greece, from 28th April untill 8th May, The official venue is the conference center of the 4- star Eretria Village Hotel, which is near the ancient city of Eretria. The Championship will be played in two categories: category SENIOR 50+ and category SENIOR 65+, Men and Women separately. More Information EUROPEAN EVENTS INTERNATIONAL OPEN LA RODA 2015 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN SPRING CHESS FESTIVAL BUNDESLIGA ROUND SHAMKIR CHESS April La Roda/Spain Official Website 7-15 April Budapest/Hungary Official Website April Germany Official Website April Shamkir/Azerbaijan Official Website 11