The fourth quarter meeting of the ECU Board took place on 22 and 23 October 2026 in Budva, Montenegro, under the well-known hospitality of the Montenegro Chess Federation.
The President of the Montenegro Chess Federation, Mr Jovan Milovic, warmly welcomed the members of the ECU Board to Budva.
Main information and decisions
ECU Statutes
The ECU Board launched the procedure to review and amend the ECU Statutes. The newly established Chess Olympic Affairs Commission will be the main contributor to this process.
Finance
The ECU Board took note of the ECU income statement and of the expected revenues and expenses for the third quarter of 2026.
Sponsorships
- The ECU Board took note that two contracts have been signed with the Super Foundation.
- The ECU Board took note that the new agreement with Sense Robot has been fully executed and that ECU received the agreed sponsorship amount in October 2026.
- The ECU Board welcomed the sponsorship proposal from WR Events in support of European development and social projects. The ECU Swiss legal counsel was instructed to take the necessary procedural steps and to draft the final agreement for approval.
Development Support
In implementation of the 2027–2030 programme, and following the requests received, the ECU Board decided to support:
- the European Small Nations Individual Championships in Monaco
- the Chess in School programme of Andorra;
- the Chess in School programme of Guernsey;
- the 2027 Glorney and Gilbert Cup;
- the 2027 Futures (girls) tournament of the Prague Chess Festival.
ECU will prepare guidelines for applying for, and reporting on, projects funded by ECU.
Requests for Institutional Support
- The ECU Board supports the Ukrainian Chess Federation in its motion against the decision and interpretation of the FIDE Council allowing a FIDE ID under the Ukrainian federation to be issued to Mr Podolyak without the Ukrainian national federation having been consulted or informed.
- The ECU Board supports the right of Israeli players to compete in the World Amateur Chess Championship 2026 in Malaysia.
- The ECU Board reconfirms its full support for the Bulgarian Sports Chess Federation and remains committed to the unification process in Bulgaria agreed by ECU, FIDE and the Bulgarian Ministry of Sports.
ECU will inform FIDE of its position in all of these cases by official letters.
European Championships
ECU opens the bidding procedure for the European Championships scheduled for 2028. The procedure was delayed owing to the election period. The detailed announcement will be published in November.
ECU Commissions 2027–2030
On the basis of the proposals of the Chairpersons and of the applications received through the open call for interest, the ECU Board approved the composition of the ECU Commissions for the 2027–2030 term, as follows. We note that the ECU Commissions members serve their role, individually and independently, and not as representatives of their National Chess Federations.
Trainers Commission
| Chairperson | Ivan Sokolov (NED) |
| Secretary | Efstratios Grivas (GRE) |
| Members | Miguel Illescas (ESP), Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL), Laurent Fressinet (FRA), Vladimir Grabinsky (UKR) |
Social Commission
| Chairperson | Geert Bailleul (BEL) |
| Members | Prodromos Gerontopoulos (GRE), Luis Blasco de la Cruz (ESP), Susana Alexandra Paiva da Silva Gonçalves (POR), Anders Petterson (SWE), Ayhan Kartal (TUR), Attila Balla (HUN) |
Arbiters Council
| Chairperson | Takis Nikolopoulos (GRE) |
| Secretary | Melih Cicek (TUR) |
| Members | Alon Shulman (ISR), Tamas Gyomber (HUN), Frank Jaeger (GER), Aleksander Sokolski (POL), Arta Driza (ALB), Agim Shemshiji (MKD), Javier Perez Llera (ESP), Zsolt Kardkovacs (IRL), Kristoffer Gressli (NOR), Klara Vidmar (SLO) |
| Ad hoc member | Marco Biagioli (ITA) |
Events Commission
| Chairperson | Paris Klerides (CYP) |
| Members | Bojana Bejatovic (SRB), Nikolaos Kalesis (GRE), Sandra Schmidt (GER), Milan Roman (SVK) |
| Ad hoc members | Petr Pisk (CZE), Ion Dobronauteanu (ROU) |
Commission for Women’s Chess
| Chairperson | Eva Repkova (SVK) |
| Secretary | Christelle Jager-Hafstad (UK) |
| Members | Elena-Luminita Cosma (ROU), Nandita Kanyamarala (IRL), Tereza Rodshtein (CZE) |
Education Commission
| Chairperson | Jesper Hall (NOR) |
| Secretary | Brigitta Peszleg (HUN) |
| Members | Madalina Lejean (ROU), Pep Suarez (ESP), Philippe Vukuojevic (BEL), Alessandro Dominici (ITA), Walter Raedler (GER), John Foley (ENG), Vera Avramidou (GRE), Mykola Spiridonov (UKR) |
Chess Olympic Affairs Commission
| Chairperson | Hakan Jalling (SWE) |
| Members | Nina Rob (SLO), Majlinda Pilinci (ALB), Polina Tsedenova (GRE), Alisa Maric (SRB) |
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