Torquay NOT to Stage European Championships

Official BCF Press Release

EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 1998 FIDE Congress currently meeting in Elista has failed to approve the BCF's financial proposals for the European Team Championships due to be held in Torquay in July 1999. The Championships will therefore not now be held in England.

Project Chairman David Anderton commented: "This is regrettable, but was always on the cards given the sea change in rouble-based economies. It is likely that a venue will be found in a country where there will be Government support for the event."

"We would like to express our thanks to the Borough of Torbay and to the Torquay Riviera Centre for offering the facilities of the Centre to us".

John Richards comments: "This is a big blow to the West of England Chess Union and to Devon, which were hoping to build on the success of the British Championships in Torquay this year, with the European Team Championships next year. I know a number of people had cleared the decks so that they could work for these championships. It may also harm our relations with the Torquay Riviera Centre, which proved to be such a good venue for chess in the summer.

"Reading between the lines, the problem is that without a sponsor the BCF had to set a self-balancing budget for the event, so that costs had to be balanced by entry fees to be paid by national federations. I think the total budget was about £250,000 and about sixty teams were expected, so each team would have had to pay about £4,000. This would have been a large amount for most federations and, with the collapse in the rouble, it looks like it became totally unacceptable."