The first on the schedule is European Blitz Chess Championship which will be played on 15th of December. 1138 players coming from 37 European federations registered for the blitz competition, 72 GMs, 68 IMs, 62 FMs, 4 WGMs, 12 WIMs, which is making the event one of the strongest and most numerous ever.

The Blitz championship will be played in 11 paired rounds, Swiss system, with the time control 3 minutes game + 2 seconds per move starting from the first move, with the total prize fund of 11.000 EUR (8.000 EUR for the main prizes and 3.000 EUR for special prizes).

Starting List- European Blitz Chess Championship 2017

The event will continue with European Rapid Chess Championship 2017 which will take place on 16th and 17th December. The President of European Chess Union, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili will attend the Opening Ceremony of the event which gathered 1238 players from 39 federations, among whom are 71 GMs, 68 IMs, 67 FMs, 4 WGMs and 12 WIMs.

The total prize fund of the Rapid competition will be 21.000 EUR (16.900 EUR for main prizes and 4.100 EUR for special prizes). The Championship will be played in 11 rounds, Swiss system, with time control 15 minutes game + 10 seconds per move starting from the first move.

Starting List- European Rapid Chess Championship 2017

Both Championships will be live transmitted and the live broadcast of the games can be followed through the Official Website of the Championship.

Official Website

The event is organized by Silesian Chess Federation, the Polish Chess Federation and City of Katowice, a city of chess, where authorities strongly supports chess in many fields and such a great European chess festival as well. The event is organized under the auspices of the European Chess Union.