The European Team Chess Championship 2021 kicked off today in Terme Catez, Slovenia.
The first part of the Opening ceremony organized for special guests, delegates, captains and officials took place on Thursday, 11th of November. The Ceremony was held in the Museum of Brezice, with attendance of ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, ECU Vice President and FIDE CEO Ms. Dana Reizniece-Ozola, FIDE President Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich, President of Slovenian Chess Federation Mr. Milan Brglez, Slovenian Parliament Speaker Mr. Igor Zorcic, and other distinguished guests.
The Opening ceremony started with intonation of the ECU anthem and anthem of Slovenia. The ECU President took an opening speech, and thanked to Slovenian Chess Organization for the organization of the European Team Chess Championship 2021 in difficult conditions during the Covid19 pandemic.
The President of Slovenian Chess Federation Mr. Milan Brglez thanked the European Chess Union for its contribution to chess under difficult circumstances and expressed his hopes that the Slovenian Chess Federation will show success and good organization skills during the event. He wished all the guests a pleasant stay in Slovenia.
FIDE President, Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich, warmly addresses all the guests, and wished the organizers and to all participants and guests a successful tournament.
Slovenian Parliament Speaker Mr. Igor Zorcic, using the parallels between politics and chess, expressed the satisfaction that Slovenia is the host of the European Team Chess Championship. He welcomed all the participants and wished them a nice and safe stay in Terme Catez, Slovenia.
After inagural speeches, the Captains of Russian Women’s and Open chess teams were invited on the stage for drawing of lots. The drawing of lots decided that the Russian Women’s team takes white pieces in the first round, while the open team plays the first round as black.
The first round of the event started today after the short opening ceremony prepared for the players and trainers of the teams. After speeches of ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili and Slovenian Chess Federation President Mr. Milan Brglez, the Chief Arbiter of the event announced the start of the competition.
FIDE President Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE CEO and ECU Vice President Ms. Dana Reizniece-Ozola, and ECU President Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, made a first ceremonial move on the first boards of both Open and Women’s sections, in the matches between Greece and Russia (Open section), and Russia and Czech Republic (Women’s event).
All the games from the event can be followed LIVE through the Official website of the event. The live stream of the games with live commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic can be followed from the European Team Chess Championship youtube channel.