Last Saturday (18 July), the European Chess Union held its General Assembly in Bucharest. As host, the Romanian Chess Federation invited former outstanding gymnast and five-time Olympic champion Nadia Elena Comaneci to the opening of the event. Mihai Claudiu Covaliu, President of the Romanian Olympic Committee and himself a former Olympic fencing champion, welcomed the delegates of the European chess federations. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich was also present.
Vlad Ardeleanu, Arkady Dvorkovich, Nadia Comaneci
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Delegates and guests
The most important item on the agenda of the assembly, which took place on the premises of the Romanian Olympic Committee, was the election of the board.
As with FIDE, presidential candidates in European Chess Union elections stand together with a ticket, i.e. a team of candidates for the various offices.
The incumbent ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili, in office since 2014, stood for re-election with his ticket at last Saturday's General Assembly, and he had two rivals for the presidency: Poland's Lukasz Turlej and France's Bachar Kouatly.
The candidates' tickets:
List: Zurab Azmaiparashvili
- President: Mr Zurab Azmaiparashvili (GEO)
- Deputy President: Mr Vlad Ardeleanu (ROM)
- Vice President: Ms Ingrid Lauterbach (GER)
- Vice President: Mr Lasse Ostebo Lovik (NOR)
- General Secretary: Mr Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou (GRE)
- Treasurer: Ms Prabitha Urwyler (SUI)
List: Bachar Kouatly
- President: Mr Bachar Kouatly (FRA)
- Deputy President: Mr Radoslaw Jedynak (POL)
- Vice President: Mr Loek van Wely (NED)
- Vice President: Ms Maria Gevorgyan (ARM)
- General Secretary: Mr Tom Kalnins (LAT)
- Treasurer: Mr Birger Wenzel (GER)
List: Lukasz Turlej
- President: Mr Lukasz Turlej (POL)
- Deputy President: Mr Roman Muzik (CZE)
- Vice President: Mr Jonathan O’Connor (IRL)
- Vice President: Ms Katrin Didriksen Apol (FAI)
- General Secretary: Mr Alojzije Jankovic (CRO)
- Treasurer: Mr Gunnar Bjornsson (ISL)
The election result was ultimately clear. Zurab Azmaiparashvili and his ticket were elected with 35 votes. Lukasz Turlej's list received 11 votes, while Bachar Kouatly's list received 7 votes, out of a total of 53 votes cast.
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Ingrid Lauterbach, the former President of the German Chess Federation, is now a Vice President of the European Chess Union.
The new board
Zurab Azmaiparashvili was born in 1960 in Tbilisi, Georgia, then part of the USSR, and developed into one of the best talents in the Soviet Union. He has been a grandmaster since 1988. In 1987 and 1990, he was one of Garry Kasparov's seconds in his World Championship matches against Anatoly Karpov. Between 1992 and 2004, he represented Georgia seven times at Chess Olympiads. In 2003, Zurab Azmaiparashvili became European Champion. After ending his active career, Azmaiparashvili worked as a chess organiser and official, became President of the Georgian Chess Federation, Vice President of FIDE and, in 2014, President of the European Chess Union.
ECU website...
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
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