Welcome to the ECF Reports for the European Youth Chess Championships 2006

Saturday Evening - Arrival in Herceg Novi in the dark
“Due to the late departure from Heathrow it will be too dark to land in Tivat as planned, so we are going to Podgorica.”

At 7:30 in the evening the JAT Airways plane arrived in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, from where a bus took us to our destination of Herceg Novi on a 2.5 hour journey, including a ferry crossing. A steep winding mountain road took us down towards the lights of Budva on the way. Some members of the group remembered gong there for a previous championship.

On Sunday morning we woke up to glorious sunshine and views over the Adriatic from our hotel.

Where is Montenegro?
Montenegro boarders Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. Independent from the Middle Ages until 1918, the country was later a part of the various incarnations of Yugoslavia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. It declared its independence again in June this year - just days before the football world cup (for which a Serbia and Montenegro team was fielded).

Montenegro has a population of 630,000 according to a recent estimate. The name means “black mountain”, referring to the dark forests that once covered the slopes of the mountains seen from the coast. Herceg Novi, where we are staying, is at the foot of the 1892m Orjen mountain. The town has a population of around 20,000.

European Youth Championship
There is a record 742 entrants from 45 countries in the ten categories: U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18, boys and girls. The tournament takes place over ten days – nine rounds with a one-day break in the middle after round five. The rounds start at 3pm each day except for the last day, which starts at 1pm. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 15 minutes until the end of the game, followed by 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The official tournament website is http://www.scgchess.org/euro2006/english.htm.

Round 1 draw
The round 1 draw came out an hour or so before the start of the tournament. Game of the round has to go to Yang Fang Zhou, who earns his point in the U12 section with a faultless performance. With an uneven number of entrants and a Z surname he gets a bye.

Checking in for JAT at Heathrow Terminal 2. We are wearing distinctive team T shirts courtesy of Long Eaton/Ilkeston Specsavers

Coaches - Four of the five coaches at Heathrow (from left to right): Andrew Greet, Jovanka Houska, Thomas Rendle, Neil McDonald. Robert Bellin is the fifth

Front entrance of the Plaza Hotel. Curiously you enter on the eight floor and the team rooms are on the top two floors – nine and ten.

Stunning clear views over the Adriatic in hot weather

	Return
	Getting There
	Saturday Evening - Arrival in Herceg Novi in the dark “Due to the late departure from Heathrow it will be too dark to land in Tivat as planned, so we are going to Podgorica.” At 7:30 in the evening the JAT Airways plane arrived in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, from where a bus took us to our destination of Herceg Novi on a 2.5 hour journey, including a ferry crossing. A steep winding mountain road took us down towards the lights of Budva on the way. Some members of the group remembered gong there for a previous championship. On Sunday morning we woke up to glorious sunshine and views over the Adriatic from our hotel. Where is Montenegro? Montenegro boarders Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. Independent from the Middle Ages until 1918, the country was later a part of the various incarnations of Yugoslavia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. It declared its independence again in June this year - just days before the football world cup (for which a Serbia and Montenegro team was fielded). Montenegro has a population of 630,000 according to a recent estimate. The name means “black mountain”, referring to the dark forests that once covered the slopes of the mountains seen from the coast. Herceg Novi, where we are staying, is at the foot of the 1892m Orjen mountain. The town has a population of around 20,000. European Youth Championship There is a record 742 entrants from 45 countries in the ten categories: U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18, boys and girls. The tournament takes place over ten days – nine rounds with a one-day break in the middle after round five. The rounds start at 3pm each day except for the last day, which starts at 1pm. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 15 minutes until the end of the game, followed by 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The official tournament website is http://www.scgchess.org/euro2006/english.htm. Round 1 draw The round 1 draw came out an hour or so before the start of the tournament. Game of the round has to go to Yang Fang Zhou, who earns his point in the U12 section with a faultless performance. With an uneven number of entrants and a Z surname he gets a bye. Checking in for JAT at Heathrow Terminal 2. We are wearing distinctive team T shirts courtesy of Long Eaton/Ilkeston Specsavers Coaches - Four of the five coaches at Heathrow (from left to right): Andrew Greet, Jovanka Houska, Thomas Rendle, Neil McDonald. Robert Bellin is the fifth Front entrance of the Plaza Hotel. Curiously you enter on the eight floor and the team rooms are on the top two floors – nine and ten. Stunning clear views over the Adriatic in hot weather