Dear Chess Friends,
ECU Board meeting took place from 6th to 8th March in Jerusalem/Israel, with a full agenda. Many important decisions were made. We would like to thank the Israel Chess Federation for an excellent organization and hosting of the meeting.
Main information and decisions of the meeting:
- ECU Board was informed by the ECU bookkeeper Kurt Gretener that the first 2 months of 2015, the amount of 40.000€, was deposited to the ECU Bank account through sponsorship and development funds. The additional funds in budget give the opportunity to ECU to support more development actions.
- The budgets for the ECU Commissions were discussed and approved. The budgets for the ECU Commissions are reallocated mainly from the President’s stipend, which was waived from September 2014.
- Jesper Hall (SWE), Chairman of Educational Commission, Mr. Ashot Vardapetian (ARM), Chairman of Arbiters Council and Mrs. Almira Scripchenko (FRA), Chairperson of Women’s Commission, presented the operational plans of their Commissions.
- ECU Board approved the partnerships with ChessBase and Chess Informant. ECU Board also agreed to the necessity for an ECU Chess Academy, which will be eligible to apply for EU Educational programs.
- After a proposal by the ECU Women’s Commission Chairperson Almira Scripchenko, the ECU Board decided to waive the 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. ECU also waives the fee of 1000 euros for players at the European Women Club Cup 2015, as defined in the article F.1.2.1. Permanent changes on the ECU tournament regulations will be discussed and decided at the ECU General Assembly.
- ECU Board discussed a proposal by the Nordic Chess Association, which is also supported by other regions, concerning a 2 years-qualification cycle, including one-year European Zones tournaments and one-year qualifications through the European Championship. The ECU Board decided to include this proposal for final decision at the annual ECU General Assembly. ECU Board will discuss the matter in detail at the next Board meeting. Any proposal or input on this matter is welcome.
- In the frame of upgrading the ECU profile and the extension of the ECU operations, ECU Board decided to launch the ECU Congress, which will be organized every odd year, in connection with the ECU General Assembly. The Congress will include 2 days of the ECU Commissions’ meetings and one day of the ECU General Assembly. The ECU Board is ready to organize the 1st ECU Congress in 2015. More details will be notified through the invitation for the annual General Assembly.
- With regard to the ECU Championships 2015 and 2016, which had not been awarded in previous bidding procedures, we inform you that the Board decided to award the following competitions:
The European Rapid and Blitz Championship 2015 will take place in Minsk, Belarus, from 17th to 20th December 2015.
The European Senior Chess Championship 2016 will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 25th May to 5th June 2016.
European Championships and affiliated events
The European Youth Team Chess Championship 2015 will take place in Karpacz, Poland from 12th to 20th July 2015. (Annex 1)
The European Union Youth Chess Championship 2015, under the patronage of the ECU, will take place in Kouty nad Desnou, Czech Republic from 17th to 26th August. (Annex 2)
The deadline for bids for the 2017 European Championship is 1st July 2015. The detailed regulations for the bidding procedure will be published in the next ECU Circular Letter.
- The next ECU Board meeting will take place from 11th to 14th June in Bucharest, Romania. The agenda for the meeting will be completed on the 20th May. The ECU Board welcomes any proposal from Board members and National Federations.
- The ECU secretariat expands its daily (email) communication in French and German language, additionally to English. For any information needed in French and German language, please contact Ms. Ismini Tzegka, ecu.secretariat@gmail.com
With kind regards,
Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou
ECU Secretary General