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The 23rd edition of the European Team Championships will take place on November 12-21 at the Hotel Toplice in the Terme Čatež Spa Complex, situated near the city of Brežice in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley.
An open championship and a women’s championship will be played concurrently, with each event a 9-round Swiss tournament. The time control will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30-second increments for every move from the first move.
Each ECU member has the right to enter one team of four players plus one reserve in the open competition, and one team of four female players plus one reserve in the women’s competition. A total of 39 teams registered to participate in the open, while 31 squads will fight for first place in the women’s event.
The action kicks off daily at 15.00 CET (09.00 ET, 19.30 IST)
Ready for the event — the Russian Federation in Slovenia | Photo: Artem Pugachev
A total of 13 players rated 2700 or above will participate in the tournament, with no fewer than 66 players surpassing the 2600 rating barrier in the open section. Nonetheless, only the defending champions from Russia can boast of having all 2700+ rated players in their lineup.
The top 5 teams according to rating average:
The Classical French - Main Line
After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3, the author takes a detailed look at a daring line with 7... cxd4 8. Nd4 Qb6, as well as the quieter plans with 7...cxd4 8. Nd4 Bc5, and the main line with 7... a6 and b5.
| 1. Russia (RtgAvg:2728) | |||
| 1 | GM | Grischuk Alexander | 2773 |
| 2 | GM | Dubov Daniil | 2714 |
| 3 | GM | Alekseenko Kirill | 2710 |
| 4 | GM | Artemiev Vladislav | 2699 |
| 5 | GM | Esipenko Andrey | 2713 |
| 2. Azerbaijan (RtgAvg:2717) | |||
| 1 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2765 |
| 2 | GM | Radjabov Teimour | 2763 |
| 3 | GM | Mamedov Rauf | 2673 |
| 4 | GM | Guseinov Gadir | 2665 |
| 5 | GM | Abasov Nijat | 2634 |
| 3. France (RtgAvg:2708) | |||
| 1 | GM | Firouzja Alireza | 2770 |
| 2 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2766 |
| 3 | GM | Bacrot Etienne | 2647 |
| 4 | GM | Lagarde Maxime | 2647 |
| 5 | GM | Moussard Jules | 2632 |
| 4. Poland (RtgAvg:2678) | |||
| 1 | GM | Duda Jan-Krzysztof | 2756 |
| 2 | GM | Wojtaszek Radoslaw | 2700 |
| 3 | GM | Piorun Kacper | 2634 |
| 4 | GM | Moranda Wojciech | 2623 |
| 5 | IM | Teclaf Pawel | 2543 |
| 5. England (RtgAvg:2671) | |||
| 1 | GM | Adams Michael | 2714 |
| 2 | GM | Mcshane Luke J | 2667 |
| 3 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | 2654 |
| 4 | GM | Howell David W L | 2648 |
| 5 | IM | Haria Ravi | 2497 |
In the Russian squad, Daniil Dubov and Kirill Alekseenko were part of the team that took gold in Batumi two years ago. Back then, Ukraine came in second place — this time around, they arrive as seventh seeds, with the absences of Pavel Eljanov and Vasyl Ivanchuk. England finished third in Batumi, when they presented the same players on the top four boards as in this edition.
A big attraction for chess fans will be to see how the French team fares with Alireza Firouzja on top board. France has never obtained a gold medal in this championship. Similarly, Poland will try to get a first medal (of any kind) in a European Team Championship — while France will have the Grand Swiss winner on top board, the Polish will get to play with the latest World Cup winner as their leader.
Among the women, Russia will also arrive in Slovenia as the defending champions and rating favourites. They will have almost a 100-point advantage in average rating over Georgia, since they will send a star lineup, with only Alexandra Kosteniuk missing.
The top 5 teams according to rating average:
The Accelerated Dragon - a sharp weapon against 1.e4
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6! leads to the so-called "Accelerated Dragon Defense". On this DVD the Russian grandmaster and top women player Nadezhda Kosintseva reveals the secrets of her favourite opening.
| 1. Russia (RtgAvg:2538) | |||
| 1 | GM | Goryachkina Aleksandra | 2604 |
| 2 | GM | Lagno Kateryna | 2550 |
| 3 | GM | Gunina Valentina | 2480 |
| 4 | IM | Shuvalova Polina | 2515 |
| 5 | IM | Kashlinskaya Alina | 2482 |
| 2. Georgia (RtgAvg:2446) | |||
| 1 | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2524 |
| 2 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | 2446 |
| 3 | IM | Arabidze Meri | 2441 |
| 4 | IM | Melia Salome | 2371 |
| 5 | IM | Gvetadze Sofio | 2302 |
| 3. Poland (RtgAvg:2410) | |||
| 1 | WGM | Zawadzka Jolanta | 2429 |
| 2 | IM | Cyfka Karina | 2416 |
| 3 | WIM | Kiolbasa Oliwia | 2403 |
| 4 | GM | Socko Monika | 2393 |
| 5 | IM | Kulon Klaudia | 2328 |
| 4. Ukraine (RtgAvg:2400) | |||
| 1 | GM | Ushenina Anna | 2426 |
| 2 | IM | Osmak Iulija | 2423 |
| 3 | IM | Buksa Nataliya | 2410 |
| 4 | IM | Gaponenko Inna | 2339 |
| 5 | GM | Zhukova Natalia | 2331 |
| 5. Azerbaijan (RtgAvg:2383) | |||
| 1 | IM | Mammadzada Gunay | 2459 |
| 2 | IM | Mammadova Gulnar | 2395 |
| 3 | WGM | Balajayeva Khanim | 2369 |
| 4 | WGM | Fataliyeva Ulviyya | 2309 |
| 5 | WIM | Beydullayeva Govhar | 2278 |
Russia is a clear favourite among the women, both in terms of ratings and their historical record in this competition. They have won gold in six out of the previous seven editions — they got silver in 2013, behind Ukraine. Four out of five players from the squad that won the championship in 2019 will be playing, with Polina Shuvalova replacing Olga Girya this year.
Georgia is also fielding four out of five players from the team that got silver in the previous edition, with Sofia Gvetadze replacing Bela Khotenashvili.
How to play the Sicilian Defence!
The continuous stream of new ideas in the Sicilian makes 1..c5 the most popular answer to 1.e4. On this DVD I do give an introduction to the most important Sicilian systems.
