European Senior Team Championships 2016

[George Murphy]

Best wishes to all our Seniors playing in Haikidiki today. All eight games are live on ChessBomb Arena.

George

[Alan Borwell]

Games are underway in Greece. Great start by Ian Marks in beating GM Pushkov from Russia who is a past European Seniors Champion! Live boards available via Chess24 site
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[Jonathan Livingstone]

Congratulations to Ian on that superb result. Was really wanting to take a look at the game but can't. Don't know if its me being daft/my browser/or the website but I can't find a way to play through the game?

Is it available elsewhere?

[Alex Gillies]

Chessbomb

[Alan Borwell]

You can play through game on Chess24 site (as above)

[Jonathan Livingstone]

I think the website was having problems at the moment I looked yesterday. Lovely play by Ian there and black too, he looked like the GM in that game.

[Alan Borwell]

Good win by Alastair White today against player who beat Phil Giulian yesterday. With Ian and Jim drawing the B team cannot lose the match and could win it if Douglas can hold the draw which looks now increasingly likely.

[Alan Borwell]

Hard luck Douglas. Not easy to find best lines in double-edged endgame under time pressure and when tiring. However a creditable result for the B team.

[Craig Pritchett]

Well done indeed to Ian Marks in downing GM Pushkov. And good luck to all Scots in Halkidiki!

But am I reading the websites correctly? Only 8 teams in the 50+ event and 10 in the 65+? No separate women's event(s)?

This would appear to be a catastrophic collapse in support for this annual event. Can anyone on the ground explain why?

I suspect that the main culprit may be the introduction by FIDE of an annual seniors world teams championship in 2014, which has attracted effectively nil interest from non-euro teams and is in effect no more than a second (competitor) euro seniors team championship.

The so-called 'world' seniors teams championships (in Radebeul, near Dresden), to be held in late-June, already has a vastly more numerous and competitive entry and has (unsurprisingly) won out as the 'real' euro championships this year (as any event held in Germany inevitably attracts huge German and Central European interest, as that part of the world has far and away the greatest tradition of interest in seniors chess).

I also suspect that abolishing the old 60+ sections and replacing them by widely criticised 65+ events (since 2014) has not helped either. But what is the word on this in Greece?

One improvement might be to hold the world's teams championships every second year, with continental team championships held in alternate years. Adding a 4th annual international seniors event to the pre-2014 3 may have, as many feared (and pointed out), simply asked too much of the seniors chess community.

Oh dear!

[Alan Borwell]

Yes Craig, I agree with your thoughts but will be interesting to receive feedback from our players in Greece.
Our A team going well today and look very likely winners against Sweden - maybe a good chance of medals?!