The 19th edition of the European Union Youth Chess Championship took place on August 14-22 at the Hotel Dlouhe Strane in Kouty nad Desnou, Czech Republic. The events were organized under the patronage of the European Chess Union by the Sachovy klub Svetla nad Sazavou in cooperation with the Czech Chess Federation.
Boys and girls in each category played in the same tournament. Once the event came to an end, girls were evaluated separately to find the winners in the girls’ categories.
The rate of play was 90 min for the whole game plus 30-second increments. The events were 9-round Swiss opens. Many young chess players made their way to the northeastern city in the Czech Republic: 104 players from 12 national federations registered to participate, but due to the new travel restrictions in EU countries, the number of players was reduced to 81 and the number of federations to 10. The highest rated player of the event was Bulgarian CM Nikola Kanov (U14).
For players’ parents and chess fans, the organizers prepared chess and non-chess activities, plus on-line transmissions of all the games! Visitors in Kouty nad Desnou could enjoy the games presented in projectors in the hall of the Hotel Dlouhe Strane.
Aleksandra Pehlivanova won the U8 girls’ championship
Every category had a clear winner, as tiebreaks were not needed to decide who got first place. The winners:
Under 14
Under 12
Under 10
Under 8
Complete standings: Under 14 | Under 12 | Under 10 | Under 8
Simul with IM Petr Pisk
A simultaneous exhibition was given by IM Petr Pisk last Monday. Sixteen participants had 30 minutes against Pisk’s 60 minutes. The final score was 15½-½ for IM Pisk. The draw was achieved by Czech player Jan Vana.
On Wednesday, a blitz tournament was organized, with 19 players from 3 countries participating (players from the EUYCC, coaches, parents). WIM Vera Medunova from the Czech Republic won with an 8½/9 score! Find all the results here.
