The European Youth & Junior Chess Championships 2021 have just been advertised by the European Chess Union to take place from 15th to 21st of October. It is a "hybrid" event which means that although everybody competes online, everybody in the one country comes to a central venue where they are monitored by arbiters. Some of you may remember that last year, we had organised this but due to the tightening of restrictions, it became impossible and Scotland were one of the few countries given a special exemption to compete from home.

The age categories for this tournament go from Under-8 to Under-20, both open and girls. This tournament will be FIDE-rated which is an opportunity that has not been available for sometime.

All the details and regulations are available here

If we are to compete in the tournament as a federation, it will require a significant amount of organisation. I am however extremely grateful to our hard-working and dedicated arbiters for indicating that they would be willing to support Scotland's entry. Without hybrid-trained arbiters to supervise, we cannot enter.

I am therefore now looking for the following:

1. If you or your child are interested in being selected for this tournament and are able to take any time off school/work required to do this, please notify me by Friday 3rd of September by email.
2. We need a venue that would be willing to accommodate us. The week-long nature of the tournament with some days only having one round in the afternoon would be impractical for a hotel function suite. Ideally we would be looking for a school who would be willing to donate the use of a classroom. Once I have an idea of who is interested, this will help in identifying potential venues.

Ruairidh

Posted on: 17-08-2021
Categories: News