EUROPEAN INDIVIDUAL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

The European Individual Chess Championship 2023 is set to take place from 2nd to 14th March, 2023, in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia.

R E G U L A T I O N S

1. Organizers

The Serbian Chess Federation under the auspices of the European Chess Union.

2. Venue, Date & Schedule

The championship will be held in Hotel Zepter, Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia, from March 2th (arrival date) until March 14th (departure date) 2023. The playing venue will be Hotel Zepter Conference Hall.

Schedule:
Thursday March 2nd All day Arrival day
Thursday March 2nd 20:00 Opening ceremony
Friday March 3rd 10:00 Technical meeting
Friday March 3rd 15:00 Round 1
Saturday March 4th 15:00 Round 2
Sunday March 5th 15:00 Round 3
Monday March 6th 15:00 Round 4
Tuesday March 7th 15:00 Round 5
Wednesday March 8th 15:00 Round 6
Thursday March 9th 15:00 Round 7
Friday March 10th 15:00 Round 8
Saturday March 11th 15:00 Round 9
Sunday March 12th 15:00 Round 10
Monday March 13th 15:00 Round 11
Monday March 13th 21:00 Closing ceremony
Tuesday March 14th All day Departure day

Vrnjacka Banja is the largest and most famous spa resort in Serbia, informally called “the queen of spa tourism”. It is located 200 km south from Belgrade. Vrnjacka Banja is rich in mineral water which are known for their healing properties. The health benefits of Vrnjacka Banja’s water were first announced in time of Romans. Apart from health tourism, Vrnjacka Banja is also famous for other interesting things.

3. Participation

3.1. The European Individual Chess Championship is open to all players representing Chess Federations which are members of the European Chess Union regardless of their title or rating. There is no limit of number of participants per federation. However, applications can only be sent by national chess federations.

3.2. Players with FIDE ID registered in the Bulgarian Chess Federation can send direct the applications of participation.

3.3. According to decisions of ECU Board and ECU General Assembly 2022 FIDE flag players can participate according to the special status for transfer for players registered before to Russian and Belarus Chess federations. By FIDE decision these FIDE flag players are eligible for FIDE norms.

4. Registration

The registration deadline is February 2nd, 2023. An extension of the registration deadline may be possible for some federations if a very special reason is presented as a justification for the delay.

To ensure proper tournament standards, only ECU member federations may present a complete official Registration Form (word) and send it to the contact person before the registration deadline on February 2nd, 2023. Incomplete registrations will not be accepted.

Once the registration deadline expires, organizers reserve the right to refuse late registrations, or, in case of availability, a penalty fee of 100€ will be charged for each late registration.

Participants are obliged to pay the registration fee in amount of 100€ at the moment of their registration before the registration deadline. This registration fee is compulsory and is considered as confirmation of participation. If the amount is not paid, the registration will be considered invalid and will not be accepted. This payment includes accreditation badges, refreshments for participants and transfer from Belgrade “Nikola Tesla” airport, from Nis “Konstantin Veliki” airport and from Kraljevo “Morava” airport to the official hotels and back to the airport. More details at Article 6.

Each coach or accompanying person shall pay the registration fee of 100 € if he or she wishes to receive the accreditation badges necessary for the playing venue and ceremonies.

5. ECU Fee

According to the ECU regulations, players holding GM, IM, FM, WGM, WIM and WFM title are required to pay a ECU fee of 65€/person, while other players have to pay 130€/person as the entry fee. ECU issues invoices only to national federations.

According to the ECU regulations (Art. B.9.5.1), the entry fee shall be paid by federations to ECU before or at the start of the competition. If the entry fee is not paid for a player until the end of round 2, this player will not be paired in subsequent rounds. The ECU fees must be paid to the account of the European Chess Union as follows:
Bank: Credit Suisse, Postfach 357, CH – 6301 Zug
Account number: 1835105-42
Holder: European Chess Union National
Bank Code: 4835
BIC: CRESCHZZXXX
IBAN Code: CH3604835183510542000

6. Travel Information

For all accredited participants and accompanying persons, the organizer will provide the transfer services from Belgrade “Nikola Tesla” airport, from Nis “Konstantin Veliki” airport and from Kraljevo “Morava” airport to the official hotels on March 2nd as well as the departure transfer on March 14th free of charge. All travel information must be sent by e-mail to eicc2023@gmail.com not later than February 10th, 2023.

The organizer will publish the transfer schedule and other important details at least 7 days prior to arrival.

7. Hotels and Meals

For all players, coaches and accompanying persons, the organizer has provided official hotels with prices which are indicated below.

Number of rooms in Hotel “Zepter” is limited to 100 rooms and the reservation will be done on the “first come, first served” basis.

Hotel “Vrnjacke Terme” is located 8 minutes walking distance to the playing hall. In case of severe weather conditions, transfer for participants will be provided.

Daily cost of full board accommodation (buffet service for all meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner), per person:

Hotel Zepter ****
Double room 75 €
Single room 95 €

Hotel Vrnjacke Terme ****
Double room 77 €
Single room 97 €

Wellness & SPA Center is free of charge for participants and accompanying persons accommodated at the official hotels (swimming pools, spa and gym).

All hotels’ reservations must be done before registration deadline on February 2nd, 2023. 50% of the payment for the official hotels must be made to Serbian Chess Federation bank account not later than February 1st, 2023. The rest of the payment must be made to Serbian Chess Federation bank account not later than February 28th. See details at Article 8.

8. Payments

After the registration form has been filled in, sent to the organizer and approved by the organizer, the national federations will receive invoices for bank payments. The invoices will contain all the necessary details for the bank payment. The sender must pay all bank commissions.

The registration fee in amount of 100€ and payments for the official hotels must be transferred to the following account:
Account holder: Chess Federation of Serbia, Nušićeva 25 / II, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia)
Name and address of the bank: Banca Intesa AD, 7B Milentija Popovica str., Belgrade (Serbia)
Swift Bank Code (BIC): DBDBRSBG
IBAN: RS35160005080003775935

Once the bank transfer is validated, the Organising Committee will confirm the assigned booking confirmation for all the rooms.

9. Qualifying & Prizes

The European Individual Chess Championship 2023 is a qualifying event for the FIDE World Cup 2023.
According to the FIDE regulations for World Cup and the ECU Board decision, 23 players* will qualify. In case of a tie, the qualification will be determined according to Article 10. According to Article 14.1.1 of the ECU Tournament Rules and Regulations, if one of the prize winners was absent during the closing ceremony, his/her prize will be reduced by 20% with a minimum of 100 €.

*Under the current FIDE World Cup regulations, FIDE is the only body responsible for the qualification spots.

The total prize fund is 100.000 €

General Standings (92.000 €)

1. 20.000
2. 15.000
3. 10.000
4. 7.000
5. 6.000
6. 5.000
7. 4.000
8. 3.000
9. 2.500
10. 2.500
11. 2.000
12. 2.000
13. 1.500
14. 1.500
15. 1.400
16. 1.300
17. 1.200
18. 1.100
19. 1.000
20. 1.000
21. 1.000
22. 1.000
23. 1.000

Special prizes (8.000 €)

Juniors (U18) born on 2005 or later:
1. 1.000
2. 600
3. 400
Seniors (S50) born before 31.12.1973.:
1. 1.000
2. 600
3. 400
Female players:
1. 1.200
2. 900
3. 700
4. 500
5. 400
6. 300

Distribution of Prizes

A player can win only one money prize (general standings or special prize), the highest one available.

According to Article D.4.5 of the ECU Tournament Rules and Regulations, the prizes will be equally shared among the players with the same score for the general standings` prizes.

The special prizes will not be shared but will be awarded according to the tie-break criteria.

The prizes will be transferred to the ECU bank account by the Serbian Chess Federation and then the ECU will transfer the funds to the awarded players’ bank accounts.

10. Tie-Break System

The order of players that finish with the same number of points shall be determined according to the ECU tie-break criteria rules.

11. System & Rate of Play

The Championship will be played in 11 rounds, Swiss system according to the ECU Tournament Rules and FIDE Rules of Chess. The rate of play will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one.
The default time is 15 minutes for each round.

12. Additional Regulations

Flash photography may only be taken in the first ten minutes of each round. Only the players and arbiters shall be allowed access to the actual playing area.

Players are not allowed to enter the closed area of the top boards unless they play there themselves. As long as the game is in progress a player may talk only to an arbiter or to his opponent as permitted by the Laws of Chess.

Players are not permitted to eat at the chessboard during the games.

The ECU Dress Code is obligatory as in detail described in the ECU regulations, (shorts, caps, slippers, sun glasses, hats-except for religious reasons etc. are not allowed).

The ECU anti-cheating guidelines, the FIDE Code of Ethics and the ECU Fair Play Code are valid for all the European Championships and all players, arbiters, organizers & participants shall follow these regulations.

13. Appeals Procedure

Protests against the Chief Arbiter`s decisions must be submitted in written form to the Chairman of the Appeals Committee within one hour after the completion of the playing session. The appeal has to be submitted by the player.

The appeal must be accompanied by the sum of 200 € as a deposit from the signatory.

If the appeal is upheld, the sum shall be returned immediately. If the appeal is refused, the deposit will be forfeited to the European Chess Union.

The Appeals Committee`s decisions are final.

14. Arbiters & Appeals Committee

The names of the Chief Arbiter, Deputy Arbiters and the Members of the Appeal Committee will be announced by ECU in a due time.

15. Anti-Cheating Measures

The organizer will implement strict measures to prevent any possible cheating attempts.

This implies detailed control before entering the playing hall, delayed transfer of games, control of the playing venue and prevention of any mutual verbal and non-verbal communication.

The Chief Arbiter will be encouraged to devise a system for conducting random checks during the tournament.

16. Medical Service

During the tournament, medical service will be provided according to the ECU Tournament Regulations. Players have to insure themselves against health risks and accidents for the duration of the Championship.

17. Local Information

The standard voltage in Serbia is 220 Volts.
The local currency is Dinar (RSD).

18. Visa Information

Citizens of European countries are not required to hold a visa to enter Serbia.

In case that there is interested player who is a member of ECU federation, but has a citizenship of a non-European country which has to apply for Serbian visa, request for Invitation Letter must be sent the latest on January 13th 2023.

19. Payment Protection

The registration fee of 100€, paid to the organizer, will not be returned in case of cancellation of participation.

Participation cancelling must be justified by valid documentation, and depending on the given reason as well as the hotel’s rules and the cancellation deadline, the organizer will decide if the payment for accommodation can be reimbursed.

20. COVID Information

The Organizer will take all the necessary measures according to the Serbian and ECU health protocols, valid for the event period.

At the moment of publishing these Regulations, there are no restrictions in Serbia regarding entering the country, and there are no restrictions for sports events.

All the information and details will be submitted later.

21. Contact information

Official e-mail: eicc2023@gmail.com
Contact person is IO Sasa Jevtic, +381 63 439497 (Viber, WhatsApp)
Official website: www.eicc2023.com

Invitation letter EICC 2023