CIRCULAR LETTER NO1- 2019. COMMUNIQUE OF THE ECU BOARD & GA

CIRCULAR LETTER NO1- 27.03.2019.

COMMUNIQUE OF THE ECU BOARD AND ECU EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The European Chess Union Board meeting took place on the 22^nd of March in Skopje, North Macedonia. The meeting was held under excellent conditions in the hotel Hilton during the European Individual Chess Championship 2019. The President of the National Chess Federation, Mr. Blagoja Bogoevski, opened the meeting and welcomed the ECU Board in Skopje.

The main areas under discussion and decisions made were the following:

Funding – Sponsorship

• ECU Board approved an annual sponsorship from the company “Chess Evolution”.
• The agreement and annexes for the FIDE development fund were approved and so were the first pilot projects.
• ECU Board was informed about the new and the already running Erasmus projects submitted to EU with the ECU partnership.

European Championships-Tournaments

• After the request of the Estonian Chess Federation, the European Youth Rapid & Blitz Championship 2019 will be organized in Tallinn from 30^th November to 4^th December and will follow the European Rapid & Blitz Championship 2019 from 4^th to 8^th December 2019. ECU Board approved the new dates.
• A special resolution was decided for the players competing in the 3^rd leg of FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg, which partly coincides with the European Club Cup 2019. The resolution will be included in the tournament invitation.
• The option to organise the European Open Club Cup 2021 was awarded to North Macedonia Chess Federation and the proposal shall be submitted till the 1^st of July 2019 to the ECU Board.
• European Chess Union will be a supporter of the Global Chess Festival 2019 (Budapest, Hungary) and of the Tournament of Peace 2019 (Zagreb, Croatia).
• The proposal and regulations for the European Women Rapid & Blitz Championship 2019 in Monaco were approved.

Standardization & Information Technology

• The first pieces of the ECU branded clothing were presented and gifted to the organisers of the European Individual Chess Championship 2019.

• The new project “Chess Google Maps”, which is under construction, was presented to the Board and to the General Assembly.
• The ECU Board confirmed the “European Chess TV” as a strategical partner in live-transmissions.
• The “ECU Brand book” was approved and is in the final stage of the process to be published and distributed.
• The draft version of the “Chess in Schools Promotion Video”, produced by the ECU EDU Commission was approved and was decided to be translated in as many languages as possible.
• An adviser was hired for the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within the organisation.

 Appointments-Awards

• The ECU Vice President Johann Poecksteiner was appointed as the ECU Data Protection officer.
• Ashot Vardapetyan (ARM) was appointed in the ECU Board of Trustees as an appreciation to the Armenian Chess Federation and his valuable experience.
• FIDE Trainer Valeri Gaprindashvilli (GEO) was appointed as the European representative in the FIDE Trainers Commission. Jop Delamarre (NED) is proposed additionally for the FIDE TRG.
• The ECU Board decided to award Alexander Kostyev, President of the International School Chess Union (ISCU) with the ECU Honorary Award for the 20 years of the Union establishment and their high contribution to the development of the Chess in School programs and championships.
• The ECU Board decided to propose the city of Vienna as the European Chess Capital for the year 2020, on the occasion of the 100 years of the Austrian Chess Federation.

European Chess Union Extra Ordinary Assembly

The European Chess Union Extra Ordinary Assembly meeting took place on the 23^rd of March in Skopje, North Macedonia with the representation of 42 federations members.

The decisions of the meeting:

• The ECU budget of 2019 was amended and reallocated. The total budget voted is 510,000 euros. This amount is not including possible income from the FIDE Development Fund and EU Programs.
• The proposed amendments in the ECU regulations were accepted with main changes in the pairing system for the team events and the adoption of the ECU brand dress code for Arbiters.
• A resolution against individual boycotts from players was adopted unanimously. Additionally, ECU General Assembly is asking FIDE to ban the practice of “special pairings” at the Chess Olympiads, FIDE tournaments and all FIDE rated events, when players from certain countries are discreetly kept apart by adjusting the pairing software.

European Championships – Meetings

• The European Club Cup Open & Women 2020 is awarded as to Mayrhofen, Austria.
• The European Individual Senior Chess Championship 2020 is awarded to Jastrzębia Góra, Poland
• The European Individual Women Chess Championship 2020 is awarded to Mamaia, Romania.
• The European Youth Chess Championship 2021 is awarded as a combined bid to Mamaia, Romania.
• The European School  Chess Championship 2020 is awarded to Halkidiki, Greece.
• The European Youth Chess Rapid & Blitz Championship 2020 is awarded as to Novisad, Serbia.
• The option of the European Women Rapid & Blitz Championship 2020 is awarded to Lviv, Ukraine till the 30^th of May 2019.

 

Sincerely,

Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou
ECU Secretary General