European Individual Chess Championship 2021 – updated

Please note the additions at the bottom of this post, added 15/7/21

August 26th – September 5th, Reykjavík, Iceland – the Icelandic Chess Federation is organising, and invites entries to, the above event under the auspices of the European Chess Union.

  1. Entries need to be submitted by 15 July
  2. The Icelandic Chess Federation’s invitation letter here (as per this PDF) gives the requisite information for people wishing to play. The Icelandic Chess Federation and the ECF have agreed that entrants can pay accommodation costs (sections 6 and 7 of the invitation letter) and the 100€ entry fee (section 4 of the invitation letter) directly to the Icelandic Chess Federation. Please contact Gunnar Björnsson at ecreykjavik2021@gmail.com for details on how to arrange this (the Icelandic Chess Federation’s bank account details can be found in section 8 of the invitation letter)
  3. The registration form can be found here – https://www.reykjavikopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/etcc2021_registration_form_.xlsx. Again, the Icelandic Chess Federation and the ECF have agreed that the registration form can be submitted directly to the Icelandic Chess Federation at ecreykjavik2021@gmail.com. Please also send the completed registration form to office@englishchess.org.uk
  4. The European Chess Union also levies a fee on players – see section 5 of the invitation letter. This can be paid to the ECF’s bank account, and the ECF will then forward the fee to the European Chess Union on your behalf. Please contact the ECF Office on office@englishchess.org.uk for the ECF’s bank account details and also, once you have transferred the funds, to confirm your transfer
  5. Please note that apart from receiving and forwarding on the European Chess Union fee the ECF cannot involve itself in any payments regarding this event, and cannot be held responsible for any financial loss to a player wishing to play in the event (should, for example, a player wish to withdraw from the event if Iceland’s Covid-19 status changes in the period between payment of accommodation costs/entry fee/European Chess Union fee and the start of the event). Any disputes arising are the responsibility of the player to resolve with the Icelandic Chess Federation, the hotel and the European Chess Union as appropriate.

Additions added 15/7/21

According to the decision of Icelandic authorities, the following rules will apply at the border and are valid until August 15th —

If you are vaccinated with approved vaccination of EU/WHO or have certification of former infection there are no restrictions on traveling to Iceland and you don’t need a PCR-test to enter the country. More info here – https://www.covid.is/sub-categories/vaccination-and-antibodies

If you are however not vaccinated nor have certification of a former infection you cannot enter without having PCR, take a test at the airport at arrival, and quarantine in Iceland for five days. More info here – https://www.covid.is/sub-categories/risk-areas

We are truly sorry for the inconvenience this may cause players. If players that were already registered would like to cancel his/her participation because of these rules, the organizers will of course refund the organizing fees and accommodation in official hotels. 

Changes to these rules are expected around August 5th. The organizers are hoping that the travel restrictions will be eased. If a 5-day quarantine is still obligatory upon arrival, then special quarantine hotels will be offered to stay at, free of cost for tournament participants and accompanying persons.