The 17th European Individual Chess Championship commenced yesterday in Gjakova, Kosovo. The field is simply mind-boggling – a total of 245 players are participating, which includes as many as 103 Grandmasters! Czech GM David Navara, rated 2735, is the top seed at this 11-round Swiss event.
The tournament took off on a relatively easy note for the stronger players. A huge majority of the Grandmasters scored victories to commence their campaign, with GMs Kryvoruchko, Sargissian and David Howell being the only ones to be held for draws. No upsets were registered.
After an easy opening round, a staggering 41 GM vs GM encounters will be seen in Round 2, making it an absolute spectacle.
The rounds begin daily at 13:30 GMT or 7 PM Indian Standard Time, with the sole exception of the final round which commences at 9:00 GMT/ 2:30 PM IST. A rest day will be observed on the 18th of May.