Chess will make its first step in the European Games – European Olympic Committees as an accompanying event under the aegis of the Organising Committee of Krakow-Maloposka 2023. This is yet one more expansion for European chess, as it recently set participation record in the EICC (European Individual Chess Championship 2023 – breaking the titled players record / European Individual Chess Championship 2023 breaking the participation record ) and did the same in the Senior event (European Senior Chess 2023 sets participation record).
ECU regulated a new special competition the European Pair Blitz Chess Championship 2023 which will take place on 19th of June 2023 in Krakow, Poland, as the accompanying event and part of the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023. The Championship is organised by Malopolska and Silesian Chess Association under the auspices of the European Chess Union and Polish Chess Federation with the support of International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The official website of the European Games read, “The game of chess is one of the oldest cultural forms, found in almost every environment, all over the world and in all cultures. In the Middle Ages, it was loved by kings, hence chess is called “the Game of Kings”. Nowadays, the International Chess Federation FIDE unites 190 countries in the form of state chess associations. As a part of the accompanying events, Chess, as a sporting discipline belonging to the family of Olympic sports, will be presented at the highest sporting level.”
The European Pairs Championship will be held on June 19 at the Krakow Opera House. The event, organized by the Malopolska Chess Union and the Silesian Chess Union, under the auspices of the European Chess Union ECU, the International Chess Federation FIDE and the Polish Chess Federation, will feature the 8 leading chess federations with the best average FIDE ranking of pairs as of 1.03.2023: Poland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, France, Romania, Germany, Armenia and the Netherlands. Each team will consist of one player above 2650 (classical classification) and one female player above 2350 (classical classification).
The European Pairs Championships will b held in Krakow Opera
Medals & Standings:
The individual medals are decided by the playoffs in each section. The gold medal is for the winner of the final match and the silver medal goes to the runner-up. The winner of the match for positions 3-4 will win the bronze medal.
The combined Pair medals are decided by the final position of the players of each team after the play offs in each section (sum of points): 1st 8-points, 2nd 7–points, 3rd 6-points, 4th 5-points, 5th 4-points, 6th 3 points, 7th 2-points, and 8th 1-point. In case of a tie between two teams, the tiebreak criteria are the sum of points in open and women’s sections in the qualification round.
Prizes
The 3 winners of the Open, Women’s and Combine Pair sections will receive gold, silver and bronze medals, the same as European Olympic Games medals. The best European Pair will receive the title of European Pair Chess Blitz Champion 2023.
