European Team Chess Championships in Warsaw

You might remember that there was a similar sounding event that happened only recently, the European Club Championship, but the events are certainly different as the Club Championship allows players from outside Europe to compete while the European Team Championship is a battle between different nations.

The tournament is held in the heart of Warsaw at the Novotel Warsaw Central. The event has been extensively advertised by the Polish Federation and it has done an amazing campaign to bring attention to it. Among its efforts is a endorsement from different Polish sports celebrities, for example:

Dorota Idzi is a female Polish pentathlete, one of the most titled player in this discipline. She is a multiple medalist of world championships (24 medals), European championships (12 medals), which she reached individual and for team. She participated in the Olympic Games in Sydney. She won 5 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals in the polish championships. Currently Dorota Idzi is the President of the Polish Association of Women Sport.

Otylia Jedrzejczak belongs to the most famous of Polish swimmers. She is the Olympic champion from Athens 2004 in the 200m butterfly where she won silver medals in 400 m freestyle and 100 m butterfly as well. Otylia Jedrzejczak was two times a world swimming champion (2003, 2005) in the 200 m butterfly. She won 3 silver medals (2001, 2003, 2007) and 2 bronze medals (2005, 2007) in the world championship in a 50 m pool too. Three times she broke the world record in the women’s 200 m butterfly. She is also a multiple medallist of European championships where she won 15 medals (in a short and long course pool).

Marcin Gortat is a Polish professional basketball player with the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the leader of the Polish National Team. In 2005 he was selected by Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft and he still plays in the best basketball league. Marcin Gortat is the third Pole to play in the NBA and the first Pole to play in the NBA Finals, which he did with the Orlando Magic when facing the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.

Sławomir Szmal is a polish handball player, goalkeeper and captain of polish representation. He won two medals of World Championship with polish representation: silver in Germany in 2007, bronze in Croatia in 2009. In 2009, Szmal was voted IHF World Player of the Year. Currently Slawomir Szmal plays for the Polish champion Vive Targi Kielce.

Mariusz Czerkawski – the best Polish hockey player in the history. He started his career in GKS Tychy. In 1994 he made his NHL debut, the best hockey league in the world. During ten seasons he played over 700 matches and scored over 200 goals. In 2000 he played in the historical 50th NHL stars match, All Stars Game in Toronto. Mariusz Czerkawski represented Poland in the Winter Olympic Games in Albertville in 1992.

Wojciech Szuchnicki is a polish foil fencer, a team medalist of world, European and Polish championships. Achievements (team): bronze medal of the World (Fencing) Championship in 1999; silver medal of the European Championship in 2004 and 2006; bronze medal of the European Championship in 1991 and 2001; gold medal of Polish Championship in 2007. Achievements (individual): two gold and one silver medal of Polish championship.

Many other polish sports celebrities have given their support to the Polish team and to the tournament as a whole. The tournament also promises a fantastic closing ceremony with many different artists and light shows.

Photos: Marek Skrzypczak

Statistics of the European Team Chess Championships

As far as the tournament itself, Michał Paterek has prepared some wonderful maps to show exactly what is predicted from this tournament. Move your mouse over the maps and charts for detailed information.

Average rating of women's teams - European Countries (Interactive Map)

Average rating of men's teams - European Countries (Interactive Map)

European Teams Chess Championship 2013 in Numbers (Interactive Table)

Russia and Armenia will be the big favorites in the Men's section as they are the only 2700+ teams. France is a surprising third rated team as Ukraine is not fielding neither Ponomariov nor Ivanchuk. History shows that any team is capable of taking the gold medal though as even the tenth ranked team fields a strong 2650 average rating. Montenegro, which is ranked 29th out of 37 teams, fields a team full of grandmasters.

• Here is a list of the starting teams of the Open Section.

In the women's section things are even less obvious. Ukraine is the highest rated team, but it is only eight points ahead of Georgia and Russia. Poland comes a full 81 points behind either of these teams in the fourth ranking but they are very dangerous as well. The next nine teams are all powerful 2300+ dangerous opponents, including Hungary which is fielding the current Women's European Champion GM Thanh Trang Hoang on its third board for some reason.

• Here is a list of the starting teams or the Women's Section.

Links Official tournament site PGN of all games The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.