EUROPEAN SCHOOL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022 (Rhodes, GREECE, 20 - 30 April 2022)

Age categories under 07, 09, 11, 13, 15, 17, Open and Girls

INVITATION & REGULATIONS

1. Invitation

This is the official invitation to all National Chess Federations of the European Chess Union (ECU) and eligible players to participate in the European School Championships 2022 organised in Rhodes island, Greece from 20 April (arrivals) to 30 April (departures). The event will be held in the 5-star “Rodos Palace” conference resort.

2. Participation

2.1 Entitled to participate are chess players from ECU Chess Federations, according to their age category:

 Tournaments Under 07 (Open & Girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2015 and after

 Tournaments Under 09 (Open & Girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2013 and after

 Tournaments Under 11 (Open & Girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2011 and after

 Tournaments Under 13 (Open & Girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2009 and after

 Tournaments Under 15 (Open & Girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2007 and after

 Tournaments Under 17 (Open & Girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2005 and after

2.2 Each ECU member federation can register an unlimited number of players that meet the age requirements of each of the 12 respective sections.

2.3 According to the ECU Rules (Article B.14.5.1), for youth tournaments the participants are accommodated by the Organizer in the official hotel. Access to playing areas and venues will be allowed only to persons accredited by the Organizer.

2.4 The Champions (1st place) in the previous European School Championships will have the personal right, as invited players, to participate in the tournament of the corresponding age-category or a higher age-category if they fulfil the conditions of Art. G.1.1. For players with personal rights, the board and lodging costs from the official day of arrival to the breakfast of the day of departure shall be covered by the Organizer.

3. Schedule

20 April, 13:00 Arrival of participants 25 April, 15:00 Round 5

20 April, 21:00 Technical meeting 26 April, 15:00 Round 6

21 April, 14:30 Opening Ceremony 27 April, 15:00 Round 7

21 April, 15:00 Round 1 28 April, 15:00 Round 8

22 April, 15:00 Round 2 29 April, 15:00 Round 9

23 April, 15:00 Round 3 29 April, 21:00 Closing Ceremony

24 April, 17:00 Round 4 (Orthodox Easter Sunday) 30 April, 11:00 Departure of participants

4. Registration deadline

All players, accompanying persons and delegation members have to register through their national federations before the deadline of 7th March 2022, together with a 30% deposit payment of the registrationaccommodation package described below in article (5). After the deadline, a late registration fee of 50 euros per participant may be required.

Players with FIDE ID registered in the Bulgarian Chess Federation can send the application of participation only individually, through the ECU secretariat’s email: ecu.secretariat@gmail.com and play under the ECU flag.

The complete registration of each delegation should be sent by the national federation, or have its approval, and must include the surname/s, first name/s, FIDE ID number, FIDE rating, dates of arrival/departure and passport number (for visa only purpose) of each player, each accompanying person and each delegation member where applicable. It must also include clearly the name, telephone and e-mail of the Chief of Delegation who must be an adult. Registrations and bookings for the European School Chess Championshipsn2022 are possible only through the appointed local Organizer and only by email: rodos2022@chess.travel

5. Registration - Accommodation package (10 nights)

OFFICIAL HOTEL: 5-star RODOS PALACE (*****)

Registration - Accommodation package includes (per person):

 Accommodation for 10 nights.

 Breakfast, lunch and dinner, including potable water (full board) daily.

 Transportation from and to Rhodes airport on 20th and 30th April.

 Registration and ECU fees.

 All taxes (including VAT, Municipality Tax and Tourism Tax).

Price in triple room Price in double room Price in single room 670 euros per person 710 euros per person 950 euros per person

Extra nights can be requested in advance and, upon availability, can be possible at a proportional cost. The deadline for registrations and bookings is 7th March 2022, together with a 30% deposit for the selected registration-accommodation package. Direct bank payments shall be done only to the organizing agency:

Bank: Piraeus Bank, Bank SWIFT: PIRBGRAA Account Holder: AT Holidays SMPC

Bank address: Patision 380, Athens 11141, Greece IBAN account no: GR02 0172 0450 0050 4509 2938 591

6. Fees

ECU and Registration fees are already included in the registration package of article (5) and the ECU fee will be paid directly by the Organizer to ECU.

7. Travel Details

Participants should book their flights to Rhodes International Airport (RHO). The bus transportation from and to Rhodes International Airport airport is included in the organisation package for all participants on the arrival day (20th April 2022) and the departure day (30th April 2022). Transportation from the organizers in other dates are possible upon request with an extra charge.

8. Titles and Prizes

8.1. Award of Trophies and Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to the players taking the first three places in each age category.

8.2. Special prizes (chess books) will be awarded to the players taking the first six places in each age category.

8.3. Award of Trophies and medals to the best 3 teams-federations of the Championship. For the team standings, the best 6 individual results (points) per federation in all categories will be calculated.

8.4. The 1st winner of each European School Championship category shall have the personal right to participate as an invited player in the World School Championship of the corresponding or of a higher age category if the relevant stipulation of the FIDE Tournament Regulation is met. This privilege may be exercised exclusively in the subsequent year following the qualification.

8.5. All players will receive Certificates of Participation.

9. Tournament Rules

The ECU Tournament Rules should be followed for any other matter not mentioned in this invitation. National ratings will not be taken into consideration for pairings. Default time is 15 minutes.

10. Anti-Cheating guidelines

The FIDE and ECU Anti-Cheating rules are valid for all the European Championships. (Article Q of the ECU Tournament Rules). Upon arrival or any time during the event, captains or players may be requested to present passports for verification of a player’s age eligibility.

11. Appeals procedure

Appeals Procedure Protests against decisions of the Chief Arbiter must be submitted in written form to the Chairman of the appeals committee within 30 minutes after the completion of the respective game. The protest must be accompanied with the sum of 200 euros, as a deposit from the signatory. If the appeal is granted, the sum shall be returned immediately. If the appeal is refused, the deposit is forfeited to the European Chess Union. The appeal has to be lodged by the player. The decisions of the Appeals Committee are final.

12. Scoring and tie-breaking system

12.1. The Championship will be played according to the Swiss System in 9 rounds, with time control 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. If, in any age group, there are 11 to 15 participants only 7 rounds will be played. If in any age group there are 10 or fewer participants a round robin tournament will be played.

12.2. The score in each game is 1 for a win, ½ for a draw and 0 for a lost game.

12.3. The order of players that finish with the same number of points shall be determined by application of the following tie-breaking procedures in sequence, proceeding from (a) to (b) to (c) to (d) to (e) the extent required:

(a) Results of direct encounters between the tied players (If all the tied players have met each other, the sum of points from these encounters is used. The player with the highest score is ranked number 1 and so on. If some but not all have played each other, the player with a score that could not be equaled by any other player (if all such games had been played) is ranked number 1 and so on.)

(b) Buchholz Cut 1,

(c) Buchholz,

(d) The greater number of games played with black, (e) The Greater number of wins.

13. Covid-19 and Health Protocol

The official information regarding travel regulations to Greece, including instructions for the PLF form to be filled 24h before the flight and the vaccine/testing policy of Greece, is published at: https://travel.gov.gr The organizers and the participants should follow the official ECU Health Protocols. The organizers and the participants should also comply with all the health and testing regulations applied by Greek Public Authorities.

14. Visa information

Any federation members, players and accompanying persons who need a visa to enter Greece, are requested to contact the Organizer before the 7th March 2022. The organizer will provide invitations for visas only after the necessary payments are wired, as described in articles (3) and (5) above. Schengen visas are valid in Greece.

15. Rhodes Chess Festival 2022

The European School Chess Championships are part of the “Rhodes Chess Festival 2022”, together with the Rhodes Spring Open (also 20 - 30 April 2022) and the FIDE World Youth/Cadet Blitz & Rapid Championships (30 April - 4 May 2022). A unique opportunity for young players to combine two chess events in a beautiful island with only one airticket!

The official website of all events: http://rodos2022.com

16. Tournament office / Contact Information

Tournament Office: Mr. Ioannis Kalesis, Tel.: (+30) 2112346251, Email: rodos2022@chess.travel