Twinning Chess Foundation

Jan Steenlaan 5

2102 BE HEEMSTEDE

The Netherlands

Tel: +31 (0)23 547 72 50 Fax: +31 (0)23 529 62 04

E-mail: info@twinningchess.com www.twinningchess.com

Heemstede, June 2001

Chess as a means of encouraging local and international communication

There is good news for municipalities looking for an instrument to help strengthen relations with their own residents, or to present themselves to other European municipalities and their residents. The Twinning Chess Competition will soon be starting. This chess tournament for European municipalities is organized by the Twinning Chess Foundation. The goal of this foundation is to encourage the communication between Europeans, create greater mutual understanding and to stimulate the exchange of information.

For municipalities, the tournament is a multi-functional instrument. It provides an excellent opportunity to establish contacts with possible partners abroad, which is vital nowadays as international issues become increasingly important. Participation in the tournament also offers opportunities to present one's city to other European municipalities and their residents. Finally, municipalities can use the competition to strengthen their links with their own residents and to strengthen European awareness.

Why chess?

Chess is very well suited to help realise the above-mentioned goals of the Twinning Chess Foundation. People of all ages and all walks of life play the game all over Europe. In addition, the game can be played over the Internet. As a result, any resident of a municipality can, in principle, participate.

More about the Twinning Chess Competition

The municipalities are divided into groups of similar strength, and each participant plays several matches inside its group. The website is the central point around which the tournament revolves. A coordinator relays the moves to the opposing players via the website. As well as the chess programme, municipal officials and other residents can use a forum on the site to discuss various topics or exchange ideas. So at the same time each participating municipality has the opportunity to profile itself via its own page on the site. An estimated six million Europeans will visit the website.

The Twinning Chess Competition is being organised for the second time. In 1985, 56 municipalities from 13 European countries took part in the tournament. This time, about 150 cities and towns will compete against each other. The competition will last from 14 January 2002 until December 2003. We experienced in 1985 that about 30% of the 'opponents' competing against each other ended up paying each other a visit.

Information and registration

Whoever wishes to find more information about the Twinning Chess Competition can visit the website. Those who wish to register for the tournament can also do so via the website. The total cost of participating in the two-year tournament is 3,000 Euro per municipality. The address of the website is: www.twinningchess.com The Twinning Chess Competition is subsidised by the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations and the Province of North Holland. The Twinning Chess Foundation also receives assistance from various European bodies, the Association of Dutch Municipalities and the European Chess Union. The Twinning Chess Foundation is a non-profit foundation.