European Individual Championship,6-18 March

[Keith Arkell]

Hi,
I am intending to play in this event,which doubles up as a world championship qualifier.

Perhaps anybody else who is intending to play could identify themselves - either on here or by messaging me.

Many thanks
Keith

[IM Jack Rudd]

Sounds interesting. Where is it?

[LozCooper]

Sounds interesting. Where is it?

The tournament website is here: http://www.eurorijeka2010.com/home

The tournament starts on the 6th of March and finishes on the 18th. It is being held in Croatia, in a place called Rijeka. The nearest airport is Zagreb. Whilst I think it's a great tournament to play in in terms of meeting strong opponents it is also very expensive. In order to pay you are looking at the following costs:

Entry fee €65
Organisation fee €70
Flights to Zagreb approx £150
Accom full board: approx €600

Whilst I welcome enquiries from any player looking to enter I also have to advise that no funding is available from the ECF so players will have to pay the total amount themselves.

I should also mention that the closing date to enter is 10th February but the accommodation is 10% cheaper if you enter before 31st January.

Lawrence Cooper
Director of International Chess
English Chess Federation

[Phil Makepeace]

During my holiday to Croatia and Slovenia in September, I spent a few days in Rijeka from where we could visit the local islands. It's a great little city that's atypical for Croatia insofar as it has a railway connection and caters amply for vegetarians (which was popular with one of my co-travellers). Unfortunately, the fantastic hostel we stayed in is only open during the summer, otherwise I'd recommend it. If I had the time, I'd definitely be looking to play in this.

Oh, and it's worth looking to see if there are any cheap flights to Ljubljana instead. The train journey from Ljubljana to Rijeka (2½ hours) is much shorter than that from Zagreb to Rijeka (4 hours).

[J T Melsom]

Phil, I wonder if you and your fellow Sharks have considered writing a Rough Guide to International Chess Tournaments. Some of you could do the 'stag week with chess' angle, whilst others could consider the practicalities of transport, diet , and culture. Would definitely work as an on-line information service.

[Ola Winfridsson]

Ryanair still flies to Trieste, which is a lot closer than either Ljubljana or Zagreb. From there you can take the train, but it's probably easier, and most likely cheaper, to go by coach (the coach and railway stations at Trieste are adjacent to each other, so basically it's just a matter of checking which is most convenient on the day).

[Andy Burnett]

I seem to recall reading something on the tournament website which says that you have to pay an additional fee (£100 perhaps?!) if you don't use the 'official' accommodation?
Andy

[Justin Hadi]

Oh, and it's worth looking to see if there are any cheap flights to Ljubljana instead. The train journey from Ljubljana to Rijeka (2½ hours) is much shorter than that from Zagreb to Rijeka (4 hours).

I did exactly that same train trip about 2 years back. Funnily enough outside the railway station one of the locals (by the name of Ljubojevic of all people) just came up to us plus some other random english guy and asked if we wanted to stay at their place. Much cheaper than the hotels. Rijeka is a great place and we ended up in a nightclub playing 90s britpop all night. Awesome. Good luck with the chess if any of you decide to go.

[Ben Purton]

I seem to recall reading something on the tournament website which says that you have to pay an additional fee (£100 perhaps?!) if you don't use the 'official' accommodation?
Andy

Very popular in the high class events. The same was nearly true in Feugen if you remember that Loz?

Ben

[LozCooper]

I seem to recall reading something on the tournament website which says that you have to pay an additional fee (£100 perhaps?!) if you don't use the 'official' accommodation?
Andy

Very popular in the high class events. The same was nearly true in Feugen if you remember that Loz?

Ben

I certainly do. Most events such as the European Club, European Team etc have expensive hotels but penalties if you don't stay in them. There are ways around it if you have some knowledge of the area and can find a bargain but I think most players/teams tend to choose the official hotels for convenience, especially if they are also the tournament venue or have free transport laid on to the venue. No idea what to expect yet from Khanty-Mansiysk for the Olympiad but no doubt I'll find out soon enough.

[Leonard Barden]

Sounds interesting. Where is it?

you are looking at the following costs:

Entry fee €65
Organisation fee €70
Flights to Zagreb approx £150
Accom full board: approx €600

Whilst I welcome enquiries from any player looking to enter I also have to advise that no funding is available from the ECF so players will have to pay the total amount themselves.

Lawrence Cooper
Director of International Chess
English Chess Federation

Loz, just to clarify: the entry list on the official site includes three English GMs: Michael Adams, Keith Arkell, and David Howell. Is it correct to deduce from what you say above that both England's top ranked player and the reigning British champion are having to find all of £1000 each themselves to compete in this European championship and world championship qualifier?

[LozCooper]

Sounds interesting. Where is it?

you are looking at the following costs:

Entry fee €65
Organisation fee €70
Flights to Zagreb approx £150
Accom full board: approx €600

Whilst I welcome enquiries from any player looking to enter I also have to advise that no funding is available from the ECF so players will have to pay the total amount themselves.

Lawrence Cooper
Director of International Chess
English Chess Federation

Loz, just to clarify: the entry list on the official site includes three English GMs: Michael Adams, Keith Arkell, and David Howell. Is it correct to deduce from what you say above that both England's top ranked player and the reigning British champion are having to find all of £1000 each themselves to compete in this European championship and world championship qualifier?

That's correct. I was elected in October and the budget for 2009-2010 had already been allocated so I won't have access to any funding until April at the earliest. I have been in contact with the John Robinson Fund and Friends of Chess to try and obtain some funding for the three players. The irony is that when the ECF had significant funding last year only 1 GM, 3 IMs and one other played entered.

[Keith Arkell]

As I don't intend doing an article for any magazines on this event,I thought I would just express a few thanks here to those who,one way or another,helped me with the exorbitant costs of participating.

So,thank you to,in alphabetical order :


Lawrence Cooper
John Doidge
ECF
Friends of Chess
Peter Griffiths
Larry Guard
Bob Jones
David Sedgwick
Trefor Thynne

I think that in terms of the number of GMs,and in many other categories,this was the strongest ever gathering of players for an individual event in history.

It has already been reported elsewhere that David Howell beat 2 strong GMs with Black in the last 2 rounds to climb up to plus 4 (7.5/11),and Michael Adams scored 7.
I got 6,which on paper was ok,in the company of so many strong players,but in truth I threw 3 games away with silly blunders(rounds 4,6 and 7).
Blunders aside,my overall level of play was fine though,and I was pleased with 4 of my 5 wins - those from rounds 3,5,8 and 11.

It's a strange feeling to be thrashing around down on something like board 100 in the last round of an event,and then to discover that you have outscored 38 fellow GMs - to see that 2714 rated Bacrot withdrew because he couldn't win any of his 8 games from round 2 onwards;and to find that though you are only =123rd,you shared that place with such stars as Beliavsky,kotronius,Krasenkov,and the brilliant young talent Caruana,rated 2680.

I would like to play again though,because quite frankly I didn't do myself justice against my strongest opponents.