The European Individual Rapid&Blitz Chess Championships 2018 took place from 5th-9th December in Skopje, FYR of Macedonia. After four days of fights, the Winner of European Blitz Championship became twenty years old Russian player Artemiev Vladislav (RUS, 2825 blitz rtg), while the European Rapid Chess Champion became Popov Valerij (RUS, 2531 rapid rtg).
The event has started with European Individual Blitz Chess Championship, which was played on 6th and 7th of December with participation of 311 players from 37 European federations. The winner of the event was already known after 21 played rounds, since Artemiev Vladislav had one and a half point more than the runner-ups and won the Championship with a round to spare. With a draw in the last round, Artemiev claimed the title of European Blitz Chess Champion 2018 with score of 18.5 points. The second place went to Cheparinov Ivan (GEO, 2618 blitz rtg), while Navara David (CZE, 2707 blitz rtg) took bronze medal.
European Individual Rapid Chess Championship 2018 was played on 8th and 9th December, with participation of 395 players coming from 37 countries. After 13 played rounds, another Russian player, Popov Valerij, emerged on the top to become European Rapid Chess Champion 2018. The dramatic and very intense finish of the Championship ended with four players tying for gold: Popov Valerij (RUS, 2531 rapid rtg), and three youth competitors- 16 years old Esipenko Andrey (RUS. 2643 rapid rtg), 20 years old Sanal Vahap (TUR, 2476 rapid rtg) and 18 years old Moroni Luca Jr (ITA, 2482 rapid rtg). According to the tiebreak system, the Winner was Popov Valerij, Esipenko Andrey took silver medal, Sanal Vahap was bronze, while Moroni Luca Jr ended on the 4th place.
The total prize fund of the events was 30.000 EUR + 4.000 EUR of special prizes. The special prizes were awarded to the best ranked player rated under 2600, the best ranked player rated under 2300, the best ranked players rated under 2000, the best ranked players rated under 1700, the best female players, the best senior players, the best Junior players and the best Macedonian players.
The event was opened by the President of European Chess Union, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, while the ECU was represented on the closing ceremony by ECU Vice President, Mr. Ivan Sokolov. Technical Organizer of the Championship was Chess Club Gambit Asseco See and Chess Federation of FYR of Macedonia, supported by the European Chess Union.
Official Website of Championship
Photographs by: Patricia Claros Aguilar