European Team Championships to Open in Batumi on October 23
Russian teams head the starting lists.
The European Team Championships will take place in Batumi, Georgia, from October 23 till November 3, 2019.
40 teams will take part in the open event, and 32 teams will be fighting for prizes in the women’s section. Russian national teams are rating favourites in both tournaments.
Russian men's team:
Dmitry Andreikin (2741), Nikita Vitiugov (2732), Maxim Matlakov (2716), Daniil Dubov (2699), and Kirill Alekseenko (2674). Captain – Alexander Motylev.
Traditionally, the main rivals of the Russian team are the representatives of England, Poland, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.
Russian women's team:
Aleksandra Goryachkina (2575), Kateryna Lagno (2549), Valentina Gunina (2509), Alina Kashlinskaya (2481), and Olga Girya (2476). Captain, Head coach of the Russian national women’s chess team is Sergei Rublevsky.
Teams from Georgia, Ukraine, and Poland will challenge the Russian players in the fight for the medals.
General sponsor of the Russian national chess teams is FGC UES (Rosseti Group). General partner of the Chess Federation of Russia is PhosAgro.
CFR President, Head coach of the Russian national men’s chess team Andrey Filatov: “The Russian teams are traditionally head the starting lists in the European championships, and it’s always a big responsibility. However, both teams won the Championships many times confidently going through the tournament distance.
This time, both teams have debutants – Kirill Alekseenko and Alina Kashlinskaya, who have demonstrated their high class time and again this year. Other team members also showed high results both in individual and team events, and it allows to feel optimistic about their performance in Batumi.
I wish our teams beautiful play, wins and the best of luck in the European Championship!”
Head of FGC UES (Rosseti Group) Andrey Murov: “The European Team Championship is one of the most prestigious chess tournaments in the world, which is followed by thousands of people. Traditionally, the Russian teams are among the top seeds, deservedly taking high places and showing their high skills and well-coordinated play. Since 2016, the Federal Grid Company has been the general sponsor of the Russian national chess teams. We heartily root for our chess players, believe in their strength and, of course, we wish them victories in the forthcoming Championship!”
