The 41st European Chess Club Cup and the 30th European Chess Club Cup for Women were officially declared opened yesterday!
The Opening Ceremony of the event took place at the Hotel Complex Slovenska Plaza, starting with musical performances, speeches by officials, and finishing with a spectacular firework show.
The Opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Sports and Youth of Montenegro Mr. Zoran Jojic, Mayor of the Municipality of Budva Mr. Nikola Jovanovic, the ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, President of Montenegro Chess Federation Mr. Jovan Milovic, ECU Honorary Vice President Mr. Veselin Draskovic, ECU Tournament Director Mr. Peter Pisk, ECU Honorary Vice President Mr. Moshe Slav, and other distinguished guests.
In his opening speech, the Minister of Sports and Youth of Montenegro, Mr. Zoran Jojic, welcomed all the teams, players, and captains to Montenegro and expressed his satisfaction that Montenegro is hosting one of the strongest and most numerous European chess events of 2026. He wished everyone a pleasant stay and good luck at the tournament.
The Mayor of the Municipality of Budva, Mr. Nikola Jovanovic, wished everyone a pleasant stay in Budva and emphasized that Budva has been a proud organizer of many European and world chess events in the past, as it is now, and as he hopes it will be in the future.
The ECU Honorary Vice President and Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Montenegro Chess Federation, Mr. Veselin Draskovic, addressed the attendees and wished them a warm welcome to Budva, Montenegro. Mr. Draskovic thanked the European Chess Union for entrusting them with the organisation of a top-tier tournament like the European Chess Club Cup, and emphasized that he looks forward to the continuation of the great cooperation between the European Chess Union and the Montenegro Chess Federation.
The ECU President, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, thanked the Montenegro Chess Federation for the excellent organisation of the tournament and congratulated them on all the efforts taken to promote the growth of chess in their country, Europe, and worldwide. Mr. Azmaiparashvili also welcomed everyone to the competition and declared the event officially open.
To celebrate the start of the tournament, the organizers prepared a spectacular fireworks show, which brought the Opening Ceremony to a grand conclusion.
The evening concluded with the official Technical Meeting, attended by team captains, Chief Arbiter Mr. Igor Vujacic, President of the Montenegro Chess Federation and Tournament Director Mr. Jovan Milovic, ECU Tournament Director Mr. Petr Pisk, and other officials.
During the meeting, team captains were briefed on the official regulations and key organisational details of the championship.
The event will officially commence today with the first round scheduled to start at 14:00 CEST. Live video broadcast of the event with commentaries by GM Simon Williams, WIM Sandra Djukic, WIM Lena Govedarica and WCM Tallulah Roberts can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel.
Starting list of teams and players as well as the pairings and results can be found here.
Detailed information can be found on the Official website of the event.
Photos by ECU/Mark Livshits can be found here.