Next Friday, the 2025 European Championship will officially begin with the Opening Ceremony in the evening. The event is hosted by the Romanian Chess Federation and will take place in the seaside resort of Eforie-Nord on Romania's Black Sea coast, connected to Eforie-South by a land bridge that separates Lake Techirghiol from the Black Sea. The tournament will be held at the Ana Hotel Europa, the official tournament hotel, where the players will be accommodated.
The first round will be played on Saturday, March 15. It is an 11-round Swiss tournament that ends on Wednesday, March 26. Friday, March 21, is a rest day, all rounds start at 3 p.m. CET, though the last round starts at 2 p.m.
The organisers are offering a total prize pool of €100,000, with €20,000 going to the tournament winner.
Perhaps even more important for the top players is the chance to qualify for the next FIDE World Cup. The top 20 players get a ticket for the FIDE knockout tournament, in which three players can win a ticket for the Candidates Tournament.
A total of 385 players have registered. The host country provides the largest contingent with 80 players, followed by Turkey (33), Israel (32), Poland and Ukraine (both 29).
The top European players with ratings above 2700 are missing from this tournament, which is why Romanian number one Bogdan-Daniel Deac tops the seeding list. He is followed by some familiar names, including younger players like Daniel Dardha and experienced players like Pawel Eljanov.
The field of participants is predominantly male, but a few women have also registered, including around 25 titleholders. The best women player is Nurgyul Salimova in 170th place.
List of players
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