The European Club Cup 2010 is officially opened

European Club Cup 2010 opening ceremony
October 17, 2010

Official link:  http://ecc2010.chessdom.com/


The opening ceremony of the European Club Cup 2010 was held Saturday evening at the Bendida Hall of Novotel Plovdiv. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, ECU President Silvio Danailov, the President of the BCF Stefan Sergiev, and Deputy Mayor of the City of Plovdiv Georgi Titiukov greeted the players and guests.
A total of 351 players will participate in the open section, of which 135 GMs, 61 IMs, and 247 titled altogether. The women section will have 64 players with 10 GMs, 23 IMs, and 51 players titled.

FIDE President Ilyumzhinov interviewed by national TV at the opening

ECU President Silvio Danailov and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Round 1 is tomorrow, October 17th, at 15:00 local time (14:00 CET). The games will take place in Novotel Plovdiv and you can follow the live broadcast here.
This was the first official event opening ceremony after Khanty-Mansiysk to be attended by the re-elected FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the newly elected ECU President Silvio Danailov together.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov congratulated the Bulgarian Chess Federation and Plovdiv for hosting yet another important event. “Bulgaria is now recognized as a center for chess development and Plovdiv itself is the chess center of Bulgaria.”
Silvio Danailov greeted the participants and guests of the European Club Cup and added, “It is an honor to open this prestigious event in my country, right after being elected ECU President.”
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov shared in an interview for Chessdom.com that the first joint project with the new ECU administration will be preparation of an international conference on the chess history, to take place in December in Sofia.
Photo gallery day 1 / Video report opening ceremony

Traditional dances at opening ceremony

Speakers at the opening ceremony


Here is the full schedule of the event:
Saturday October 16th - Arrival of participants
20.00 Opening ceremony
22.30 Captain’s meeting
Sunday October 17th - 15.00 1st Round
Monday October 18th 15.00 2nd Round
Tuesday October 19th 15.00 3rd Round
Wednesday October 20th 15.00 4th Round
Thursday October 21st 15.00 5th Round
Friday October 22nd 15.00 6th Round
Saturday October 23rd 15.00 7th Round
22.00 Closing Ceremony
Sunday October 24th -Departure of participants

Follow the results at Chess Results