The event is being organized by the chess club “Rijeka” together with the Croatian Chess Federation under the auspices of the City of Rijeka and the European Chess Union. All players who represent chess federations of the European Chess Union are eligible to participate. The European Championship is a qualification event for the next World Cup, with 22 players qualifying.

The championship is an eleven round Swiss tournament with a playing rate of 90 minutes for 40 moves, 30 minutes for the rest of the game, and an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Games start at 3:30 p.m. EST. Saturday, March 13 is a rest day.

The event is being held in the new Zamet Centre sports hall located near the market place at Zamet, Rijeka. It is a modern public complex designed by the architect studio 3LHD and has gained fame due to the 50,000 ceramic tiles used in the buildings. The name "Centar Zamet" is traced out on the square in front of the hall, and should be visible in satellite images. If anyone can locate it in Google Earth or Maps please send us a link.

Note that you can pan and zoom in the above map, or click to view a larger version

The playing venue inside the sports complex

This is normally a hall were sports like basketball are staged

The spectators can walk between the blocks and see the top boards up close

The women's section

Top scorers in the men's section

Top scorers in the women's section

Links Official tournament site All games in zipped PGN: Men – Women A selection of the games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!