The largest university sport event in Europe, the 3rd European Universities Games start tomorrow in two Croatian cities Zagreb and Rijeka, featuring the chess event.
The host city for the chess tournament will be Zagreb, and the official venue is Pauk Hall.
11 Universities confirmed their participation in Open section: Ural State Mining University (Russia), Armenian State Institute of Physica (Armenia), University of Zagreb (Croatia), Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania), University of Porto (Portugal), University of Bristol (England), University of Cambridge (England), University of Manchester (England), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Yeditepe University (Turkey) and University Toulouse III – Paul Saba (France).
In Women’s tournament six different Universities will compete: Ural State Mining University (Russia), University of Zagreb (Croatia), University J.J.Strossmayera of Osij (Croatia), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania) and Mustafa Kemal University (Turkey).
The top seeds of the event are GM Pavel Ponkratov (RUS 2692), GM Zaven Andriasian (ARM 2597), IM Maksim Chigaev (RUS 2587), GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan (ARM 2554), GM Sasa Martinovic (CRO 2551), WGM Baira Kovanova (RUS 2407), WFM Anastasia Travkina (RUS 2251), WFM Ivona Purgar (CRO 2159), WFM Ana Ivekovic (CRO 2102), WFM Spela Orehek (SLO 2020), etc.
The Games will be held in two Croatian cities, the capital Zagreb and the coastal city of Rijeka, encompassing the event slogan Heart Believes – Mind Achieves. European Universities Games will feature competitions for men and women in 21 sports: Badminton, Basketball, Basketball 3×3, Beach Volleyball, Bridge, Chess, Football, Futsal, Golf, Handball, Judo, Karate, Rowing, Rugby 7’s, Sport Climbing, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball and Water Polo. Two of the sports – Table Tennis and Swimming – will also include competitions for students with disabilities.
Apart of the sports competitions, the Games will be accompanied by the Rector’s Conference, educational side-events, cultural program and other activities.
The opening ceremony of the event will be held in Zagreb on 13th July, while the closing will take place on 25th July in Rijeka.