The EU Individual Open Championship was first contested in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland in 2005, under the auspices of organising body, the

European Chess Union The European Chess Union (ECU) is an independent association for the interests of European chess. Board members * Zurab Azmaiparashvili – President * Ion-Serban Dobronauteanu – Deputy President * Finnbjorn Vang – Vice President * Theodor ...

(ECU). The event is open to members of chess federations within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

. Exceptionally, at the discretion of the organisers, guest players have also been allowed to compete; for example, when the host nation has non-EU neighbours. The fifth championship, held in Arvier in 2010, was its last edition.

Background

The tournament has been held annually between 2005 and 2008, and again in 2010, sometimes in conjunction with the celebrations of cities awarded European Capital of Culture status. Financial backing has not been consistently high, but in the case of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

2008, the prize fund totalled £30,000, which was large enough to attract many of the EU's strongest players. The events were run on an inclusive format, open to a range of players of varying standard, typically from

Elo Elo or ELO may refer to: Music * Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group ** The Electric Light Orchestra (album), ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album ** ''ELO 2'', the group's second album * ELO Part II ...

1600 to 2700 or more, but unrated players are also eligible to play. Substantial prize money is awarded not just to the overall top finishers, but also to the highest finishing women and junior players. Additional prizes go to those showing the best rating improvement over the course of the tournament. The time limits for play tended not to follow the

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

format, but more closely resemble classical time limits, to give some assistance to players in the

endgame Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to: Film * ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film) * ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film * ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...

phase.

Results

1st EU Individual Open, Cork 2005

The first European Union Individual Open Championship formed part of the programme of events celebrating Cork City's status as European Capital of Culture for 2005. Played over ten rounds, the event took place 21 March – 3 April 2005 in the Ballroom Suite of the Gresham Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain Street, Cork, Ireland. There were one hundred and fifteen participants and Hungarian grandmaster

Zoltan Gyimesi Zoltán Gyimesi (born 31 March 1977) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and national champion in 2005. He has participated in four Chess Olympiads (1998, 2002, 2004, 2006) with a record of +11=18-4. In 2002, at the 35th Chess Olympiad, the Hun ...

won the event on tie-break from

Mateusz Bartel Mateusz Bartel (born 3 January 1985) is a Polish chess Grandmaster. He won the Polish Chess Championship in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Career Bartel learnt to play the game at the age of 6 from his father when he and his younger brother we ...

of Poland, who drew level on points in the final round. The highest placed woman player was IM

Viktorija Čmilytė Viktorija may refer to: * Viktorija (given name), including a list of people with this name * Viktorija (singer), Serbian singer See also * Viktoriya * Viktoria (disambiguation) * Victoria (disambiguation) * Viktor (disambiguation) * Victor (disa ...

of Lithuania with 6½ points. :

2nd EU Individual Open, Liverpool 2006

The second edition of the Championship took place at the World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool, England. Held 6–15 September 2006, the tournament entry totalled eighty-four. Going into the final round, host nation grandmaster

Nigel Short Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach, and commentator, who is the vice-president of FIDE since October 2018. Short earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19, and was ranked third in the ...

was the only leading player to win, defeating

Mark Hebden Mark Lesland Hebden (born 15 February 1958 in Leicester) is an English chess player who holds the title Grandmaster. Hebden is known for chess openings such as the Grand Prix Attack, the Barry Attack, and the 150 Attack. Hebden was Briti ...

to capture clear first place with 7½/10. The highest placed woman player was IM Dagnė Čiukšytė of Lithuania on 6½ points, repeating the achievement of compatriot Cmilyte, in the previous year's event. :

3rd EU Individual Open, Arvier 2007

The third European Union Individual Open Championship took place June 15-24th 2007, in

Arvier Arvier (Valdôtain: ' or '; frp, Arviér); is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy. Geography Wine The local wine, Enfer d'Arvier, had its own DOC designation before being subsumed into the Valle d'Aosta ...

(Aosta Valley), Italy. There were one hundred and ten competitors and the tournament was open to the players of the twenty-seven countries of the European Union, plus four additional countries close to the host nation, these being Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Serbian

Nikola Sedlak Nikola Sedlak (born 13 December 1983) is a Serbian chess player who holds the titles of Grandmaster (GM) (2003), Serbian Chess Championship winner (2010), Chess Olympiad individual gold medal winner (2014), and EU Individual Open Chess Champion ...

took the contest on tie-break from local favourite

Michele Godena Michele Godena (born 30 June 1967) is an Italian chess player. He achieved the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) in 1988 and Grandmaster (GM) in 1996, following a plus score on board one for Italy at the Chess Olympiad in Yerevan. Gode ...

, after both finished on 8/10. Godena was however awarded the Champion's title, due to Sedlak being a non-EU citizen. IM Cristina Foișor (ROM) was the top finishing woman player with 6½ points. :

4th EU Individual Open, Liverpool 2008

The fourth edition of the Championship saw a return to the venue of 2006—Liverpool's World Museum. Held September 9-18th 2008, during the city's reign as European Capital of Culture, there were one hundred and forty participants, from twenty member states, competing for a record prize fund. The event was won by

Jan Werle Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

of the Netherlands, the best tournament success of his chess career to date. He drew with

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French chess grandmaster who is the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2819, Vachier-Lagrave is the seventh-highest ...

in the final round, while Michael Adams, a half point behind, settled for an early draw with

Emanuel Berg Emanuel Berg (born 28 December 1981) is a Swedish chess grandmaster. He is a two-time Swedish Chess Champion. First moves and playing style As a youngster, he made solid progress and was consequently selected to represent his country in the var ...

, thereby securing a share of second place. The women's top spot was shared between

Jovanka Houska Jovanka Houska (born 10 June 1980) is an English chess player with the titles International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is a nine-time British Women's Chess Champion. Formative years Born in south London, her family name stem ...

Yelena Dembo Yelena Dembo (born December 8, 1983) is a Greek chess player, who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She is also a chess teacher and author. Family background Dembo was born on December 8, 1983, in Penza, Russia. ...

and

Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant (née Arakhamia) is a Georgian (former Soviet Union)-born Scottish Grandmaster of chess. Chess career In 1985, she won the World Junior Chess Championship for Girls, held in Dobrna (and taking silver in Adelaide th ...

, all on 6 points. :

5th EU Individual Open, Arvier 2010

The fifth edition of the championship took place 4–12 September in Arvier, Italy. There were forty-seven participants. Polish Grandmaster Pawel Jaracz took the title on tiebreak from other five players scoring 6½ points in 9 rounds, and

Woman Grandmaster FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating an ...

Monica Calzetta Ruiz Mónica Calzetta Ruiz (born 29 November 1972) is a Spanish chess player who holds the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM, 2003). Chess career She was a multiple Spanish Women's Chess championships participant, winning seven gold (1997, 200 ...

from Spain was the top finishing woman with 5½ points.V C.to Unione Europea
''LOTO – Lost Tournaments''. Italian Chess Federation. :

References

{{reflist

External links

Liverpool Chess International website – 2006, 2008 eventsChessbase article – 2008 event
Supranational chess championships Recurring events established in 2005 2005 in chess Chess competitions Chess in Europe