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European Team Chess Championship

The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ETC) is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more or less accords with the wider definition of Europe used in other events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and includes Israel, Russia and the former Soviet States. The competition is run under the auspices of the European Chess Union (ECU).

Championship history

The idea was conceived in the early 1950s, when chess organisers became aware of the need for another international team event. Consequently, a men-only Championship was devised and held every four years, with the intention of filling in the gaps between Olympiads. More recently, the Championship has grown in importance and popularity and is regarded as a prestigious tournament in its own right, providing for male and female participants.

The first Championship Final was held in Vienna and Baden bei Wien in 1957 (August 22-28). It was a double round robin and notable for the surprise victory of the Yugoslav team over the mighty Soviet team in their second encounter.

For the next twenty years, Championships occurred at four-year intervals, although the Kapfenberg event was delayed by a year. Since 1977, successive tournaments have mainly been held on a three and then a two-year cycle. A Women's Championship, following the same cycle and venues as the men's, was established at Debrecen in 1992.

Championship format

Oberhausen 1961: former world champion Mikhail Tal (seated left) and future world champion Tigran Petrosian (standing right) follow events

Over the early years, the formula altered incrementally, to allow the participation of a growing number of teams. At the inaugural event, only four places were made available for the Finals and some teams expected to do well, simply failed to qualify from the preliminary rounds. By 1973, the competition had expanded to roughly double the size and there were twenty-four nations in the preliminaries, competing for eight places in the Finals, held in Bath. Conversely, over the same period, the number of boards played in a match was reduced from ten to eight, presumably to reduce costs for organisers and participatory federations.

Into the new millennium, the format has changed radically and is now based on a Swiss system in nine rounds, on the model of the Olympiad, with one section for the men's teams and one section for the women's teams, considered as separate competitions. At Gothenburg in 2005, the men's competition comprised 40 teams (including Sweden B and Sweden C) and the women's competition, 26 teams (including Sweden B). Each round was contested over four boards and squads included a reserve.

Historically, teams played for the pleasure of winning the Europa Cup, but nowadays this has been overshadowed by the popular medal-winning format of the 'Olympics' and Chess Olympiad. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded to the top three teams and also as board prizes for outstanding individual performances.

Plovdiv 2003 heralded a major change in the scoring methodology. Both the men's and women's events were, for the first time, scored by total of match points, rather than game points as had previously been the case. Game points are still recorded for purposes of tie-breaking.

Summary of results

Open section

This stamp is devoted to the victory of the national team of Azerbaijan in the 2013 European Team Chess Championship

Year Location Gold Silver Bronze
1957 Vienna Soviet Union
Paul Keres
David Bronstein
Mikhail Tal
Boris Spassky
Tigran Petrosian
Vasily Smyslov
Mark Taimanov
Viktor Korchnoi
Alexander Tolush
Isaac Boleslavsky
Yuri Averbakh
Lev Aronin
Yugoslavia
Svetozar Gligorić
Aleksandar Matanovic
Borislav Ivkov
Petar Trifunovic
Andrija Fuderer
Nikola Karaklajic
Srecko Nedeljkovic
Borislav Milic
Mario Bertok
Braslav Rabar
Bozidar Durasevic
Tomislav Rakic
Czech Republic
Miroslav Filip
Ludek Pachman
Ladislav Alster
František Zíta
Julius Kozma
Jan Sefc
Jiri Fichtl
Frantisek Pithart
Josef Rejfir
Jaroslav Jezek
Frantisek Blatny
Maximilian Ujtelky
1961 Oberhausen Soviet Union
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Tal
Paul Keres
Tigran Petrosian
Vasily Smyslov
Viktor Korchnoi
Efim Geller
Mark Taimanov
Lev Polugaevsky
Semen Furman
Alexander Tolush
Vladimir Bagirov
Yugoslavia
Svetozar Gligorić
Petar Trifunovic
Aleksandar Matanovic
Mario Bertok
Milan Matulovic
Mijo Udovcic
Dragoljub Ciric
Borislav Milic
Srecko Nedeljkovic
Dragoljub Minic
Dražen Marović
Bozidar Durasevic
Hungary
László Szabó
Lajos Portisch
Gedeon Barcza
István Bilek
Tibor Florian
Karol Honfi
Ervin Haag
Jozsef Pogats
Gyozo Forintos
Levente Lengyel
Jozsef Szily
Laszlo Navarovszky
1965 Hamburg Soviet Union
Tigran Petrosian
Mikhail Botvinnik
Viktor Korchnoi
Vasily Smyslov
David Bronstein
Leonid Stein
Mark Taimanov
Yuri Averbakh
Nikolai Krogius
Isaac Boleslavsky
Anatoly Lein
Anatoly Lutikov
Yugoslavia
Borislav Ivkov
Svetozar Gligorić
Aleksandar Matanovic
Milan Matulovic
Bruno Parma
Petar Trifunovic
Mato Damjanovic
Mijo Udovcic
Dragoljub Ciric
Dragoljub Minic
Dražen Marović
Ivan Buljovcic
Hungary
Lajos Portisch
László Szabó
István Bilek
Levente Lengyel
Gedeon Barcza
Gyozo Forintos
Karol Honfi
Peter Dely
Janos Flesch
Gyula Kluger
Joszef Pogats
Laszlo Navarovszky
1970 Kapfenberg Soviet Union
Tigran Petrosian
Viktor Korchnoi
Lev Polugaevsky
Efim Geller
Vasily Smyslov
Mark Taimanov
Mikhail Tal
Paul Keres
Leonid Stein
Ratmir Kholmov
Yuri Balashov
Aivars Gipslis
Hungary
Lajos Portisch
Levente Lengyel
László Szabó
Gedeon Barcza
Laszlo Barczay
István Bilek
Peter Dely
István Csom
Gyozo Forintos
Karol Honfi
Andras Adorjan
Ervin Haag
East Germany
Wolfgang Uhlmann
Burkhard Malich
Reinhart Fuchs
Arthur Hennings
Heinz Liebert
Lothar Zinn
Friedrich Baumbach
Lutz Espig
Werner Golz
Lothar Vogt
Manfred Schoneburg
Detlef Neukirch
1973 Bath Soviet Union
Boris Spassky
Tigran Petrosian
Viktor Korchnoi
Anatoly Karpov
Mikhail Tal
Vasily Smyslov
Efim Geller
Gennady Kuzmin
Vladimir Tukmakov
Yuri Balashov
Yugoslavia
Svetozar Gligorić
Borislav Ivkov
Ljubomir Ljubojević
Aleksandar Matanovic
Bruno Parma
Albin Planinc
Dragoljub Velimirovic
Milan Matulovic
Enver Bukic
Dragoljub Minic
Hungary
Lajos Portisch
László Szabó
István Bilek
Zoltán Ribli
István Csom
Gyozo Forintos
Andras Adorjan
Gyula Sax
Karol Honfi
Janos Tompa
1977 Moscow Soviet Union
Anatoly Karpov
Tigran Petrosian
Lev Polugaevsky
Mikhail Tal
Yuri Balashov
Efim Geller
Oleg Romanishin
Vitaly Tseshkovsky
Iosif Dorfman
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Hungary
Lajos Portisch
Zoltán Ribli
Gyula Sax
István Csom
Andras Adorjan
Ivan Farago
Laszlo Vadasz
Laszlo Barczay
Peter Lukacs
Laszlo Hazai
Yugoslavia
Ljubomir Ljubojević
Svetozar Gligorić
Aleksandar Matanovic
Dragoljub Velimirovic
Bruno Parma
Borislav Ivkov
Enver Bukic
Krunoslav Hulak
Milorad Knezevic
Srdjan Marangunic
1980 Skara Soviet Union
Anatoly Karpov
Mikhail Tal
Tigran Petrosian
Lev Polugaevsky
Efim Geller
Yuri Balashov
Oleg Romanishin
Rafael Vaganian
Artur Yusupov
Garry Kasparov
Hungary
Lajos Portisch
Zoltán Ribli
Andras Adorjan
Gyula Sax
István Csom
Ivan Farago
Laszlo Vadasz
József Pintér
Peter Lukacs
Laszlo Hazai
England
Tony Miles
Michael Stean
John Nunn
Jonathan Speelman
Raymond Keene
William Hartston
Jonathan Mestel
Robert Bellin
John Littlewood
Simon Webb
1983 Plovdiv Soviet Union
Anatoly Karpov
Lev Polugaevsky
Tigran Petrosian
Rafael Vaganian
Alexander Beliavsky
Vladimir Tukmakov
Lev Psakhis
Oleg Romanishin
Artur Yusupov
Efim Geller
Yugoslavia
Ljubomir Ljubojević
Svetozar Gligorić
Predrag Nikolić
Vlatko Kovačević
Bojan Kurajica
Krunoslav Hulak
Dusan Rajkovic
Bozidar Ivanović
Stefan Djuric
Mišo Cebalo
Hungary
Lajos Portisch
Zoltán Ribli
Gyula Sax
József Pintér
Andras Adorjan
István Csom
Ivan Farago
Atilla Groszpeter
Atilla Schneider
Tamas Horvath
1989 Haifa Soviet Union
Valery Salov
Alexander Beliavsky
Rafael Vaganian
Mikhail Gurevich
Boris Gelfand
Lev Polugaevsky
Viacheslav Eingorn
Vladimir Tukmakov
Yugoslavia
Ivan Sokolov
Krunoslav Hulak
Bogdan Lalić
Miodrag Todorcevic
Vlatko Kovačević
Dragan Barlov
Ognen Cvitan
Stefan Djuric
West Germany
Robert Hübner
Vlastimil Hort
Eric Lobron
Stefan Kindermann
Matthias Wahls
Joerg Hickl
Klaus Bischoff
Stefan Mohr
1992 Debrecen Russia
Garry Kasparov
Evgeny Bareev
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexei Dreev
Alexey Vyzmanavin
Ukraine
Vassily Ivanchuk
Alexander Beliavsky
Oleg Romanishin
Viacheslav Eingorn
Igor Novikov
England
Nigel Short
Jonathan Speelman
Michael Adams
John Nunn
Tony Miles
1997 Pula England
Nigel Short
Michael Adams
Jonathan Speelman
Matthew Sadler
Julian Hodgson
Russia
Evgeny Bareev
Peter Svidler
Vadim Zvjaginsev
Igor Glek
Yuri Yakovich
Armenia
Vladimir Akopian
Rafael Vaganian
Smbat Lputian
Artashes Minasian
Ashot Anastasian
1999 Batumi Armenia
Smbat Lputian
Artashes Minasian
Ashot Anastasian
Levon Aronian
Arshak Petrosian
Hungary
Peter Leko
Judit Polgár
Zoltán Almási
Alexander Chernin
József Pintér
Germany
Artur Yusupov
Robert Hübner
Rustem Dautov
Christopher Lutz
Christian Gabriel
2001 León Netherlands
Loek van Wely
Jeroen Piket
Sergei Tiviakov
Eric van den Doel
Friso Nijboer
France
Étienne Bacrot
Joël Lautier
Christian Bauer
Jean-Marc Degraeve
Laurent Fressinet
Germany
Christopher Lutz
Robert Hübner
Gerald Hertneck
Klaus Bischoff
Rainer Buhmann
2003 Plovdiv Russia
Peter Svidler
Evgeny Bareev
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Khalifman
Israel
Boris Gelfand
Ilia Smirin
Emil Sutovsky
Boris Avrukh
Michael Roiz
Georgia
Zurab Azmaiparashvili
Baadur Jobava
Mikheil Mchedlishvili
Georgi Kacheishvili
Merab Gagunashvili
2005 Gothenburg Netherlands
Loek van Wely
Ivan Sokolov
Sergei Tiviakov
Jan Timman
Eric van den Doel
Israel
Boris Gelfand
Emil Sutovsky
Ilia Smirin
Boris Avrukh
Sergey Erenburg
France
Étienne Bacrot
Joël Lautier
Iosif Dorfman
Laurent Fressinet
Christian Bauer
2007 Crete Russia
Peter Svidler
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Grischuk
Evgeny Alekseev
Dmitry Jakovenko
Armenia
Levon Aronian
Vladimir Akopian
Gabriel Sargissian
Karen Asrian
Smbat Lputian
Azerbaijan
Teimour Radjabov
Vugar Gashimov
Qadir Huseynov
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Rauf Mammadov
2009 Novi Sad Azerbaijan
Teimour Radjabov
Vugar Gashimov
Qadir Huseynov
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Rauf Mammadov
Russia
Peter Svidler
Alexander Morozevich
Dmitry Jakovenko
Evgeny Alekseev
Evgeny Tomashevsky
Ukraine
Pavel Eljanov
Andrei Volokitin
Zahar Efimenko
Yuri Drozdovskij
Yuriy Kryvoruchko
2011 Porto Carras Germany
Arkadij Naiditsch
Georg Meier
Daniel Fridman
Jan Gustafsson
Rainer Buhmann
Azerbaijan
Teimour Radjabov
Vugar Gashimov
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Qadir Huseynov
Eltaj Safarli
Hungary
Peter Leko
Zoltán Almási
Ferenc Berkes
Csaba Balogh
Zoltan Gyimesi
2013 Warsaw Azerbaijan
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Teimour Radjabov
Eltaj Safarli
Rauf Mamedov
Qadir Huseynov
France
Etienne Bacrot
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Romain Edouard
Vladislav Tkachiev
Hicham Hamdouchi
Russia
Alexander Grischuk
Peter Svidler
Dmitry Andreikin
Alexander Morozevich
Evgeny Tomashevsky
2015 Reykjavik Russia
Peter Svidler
Alexander Grischuk
Evgeny Tomashevsky
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Dmitry Jakovenko
Armenia
Levon Aronian
Gabriel Sargissian
Sergei Movsesian
Hrant Melkumyan
Karen H. Grigoryan
Hungary
Peter Leko
Richárd Rapport
Zoltán Almási
Ferenc Berkes
Csaba Balogh

Women section

Year Location
Gold Silver Bronze
1992 Debrecen
Ukraine
Alisa Galliamova
Marta Litinskaya
Irina Chelushkina
Georgia
Ketevan Arakhamia
Nino Gurieli
Ketino Kachiani
Azerbaijan
Firuza Valikhanli
Ilaha Kadimova
1997 Pula
Georgia
Maia Chiburdanidze
Nana Ioseliani
Ketevan Arakhamia
Romania
Corina Peptan
Cristina Foisor
Elena Cosma
England
Susan Lalic
Harriet Hunt
Ruth Sheldon
1999 Batumi
Slovakia
Zuzana Hagarova
Regina Pokorna
Alena Bekiarisova
FR Yugoslavia
Alisa Marić
Natasa Bojkovic
Maria Manakova
Romania
Corina Peptan
Szidonia Vajda
Elena Cosma
2001 León
France
Maria Nepeina-Leconte
Marie Sebag
Roza Lallemand
Moldova
Almira Skripchenko
Svetlana Petrenko
England
Harriet Hunt
Jovanka Houska
Susan Lalic
2003 Plovdiv
Armenia
Elina Danielian
Lilit Mkrtchian
Nelly Aginian
Hungary
Yelena Dembo
Szidonia Vajda
Anita Gara
Russia
Alisa Galliamova
Svetlana Matveeva
Alexandra Kosteniuk
2005 Gothenburg
Poland
Iweta Rajlich
Monika Soćko
Jolanta Zawadzka
Joanna Dworakowska
Marta Zielinska
Georgia
Maia Chiburdanidze
Nino Khurtsidze
Maia Lomineishvili
Nana Dzagnidze
Ketevan Arakhamia
Russia
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Nadezhda Kosintseva
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya
Tatiana Kosintseva
Alisa Galliamova
2007 Crete
Russia
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Tatiana Kosintseva
Nadezhda Kosintseva
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya
Ekaterina Korbut
Poland
Monica Socko
Iweta Rajlich
Jolanta Zawadzka
Joanna Dworakowska
Marta Przezdziecka
Armenia
Elina Danielian
Lilit Mkrtchian
Nelly Aginian
Siranush Andriasian
Liana Aghabekian
2009 Novi Sad
Russia
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Tatiana Kosintseva
Nadezhda Kosintseva
Marina Romanko
Valentina Gunina
Georgia
Nana Dzagnidze
Lela Javakhishvili
Sopiko Khukhashvili
Nino Khurtsidze
Bela Khotenashvili
Ukraine
Kateryna Lahno
Natalia Zhukova
Anna Ushenina
Inna Gaponenko
Natalia Zdebskaya
2011 Porto Carras
Russia
Nadezhda Kosintseva
Tatiana Kosintseva
Valentina Gunina
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Natalija Pogonina
Poland
Monica Socko
Jolanta Zawadzka
Joanna Majdan-Gajewska
Karina Szczepkowska-Horowska
Katarzyna Toma
Georgia
Nana Dzagnidze
Lela Javakhishvili
Nazi Paikidze
Nino Khurtsidze
Salome Melia
2013 Warsaw
Ukraine
Kateryna Lahno
Anna Ushenina
Mariya Muzychuk
Natalia Zhukova
Inna Gaponenko
Russia
Valentina Gunina
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Natalija Pogonina
Olga Girya
Aleksandra Goryachkina
Poland
Monika Socko
Jolanta Zawadzka
Joanna Majdan-Gajewska
Iweta Rajlich
Karina Szczepkowska-Horowska
2015 Reykjavik Russia
Alexandra Kosteniuk
Kateryna Lagno
Valentina Gunina
Aleksandra Goryachkina
Anastasia Bodnaruk
Ukraine
Mariya Muzychuk
Anna Muzychuk
Natalia Zhukova
Anna Ushenina
Inna Gaponenko
Georgia
Nana Dzagnidze
Bela Khotenashvili
Lela Javakhishvili
Nino Batsiashvili
Meri Arabidze

Total team ranking

Open section

The table contains the men's teams ranked by the medals won at the European Team Championship.

Rank Country 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Total
1 Soviet Union 9 0 0 9
2 Russia 4 2 1 7
3 Azerbaijan 2 1 1 4
4 Netherlands 2 0 0 2
5 Armenia 1 2 1 4
6 England 1 0 2 3
7 Germany 1 0 2 3
8 Yugoslavia 0 6 1 7
9 Hungary 0 4 6 10
10 France 0 2 1 3
11 Israel 0 2 0 2
12 Ukraine 0 1 1 2
13 Czech Republic 0 0 1 1
14 East Germany 0 0 1 1
15 Georgia 0 0 1 1
16 West Germany 0 0 1 1

Women section

The table contains the women's teams ranked by the medals won at the European Team Championship.

Rank Country 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Total
1 Russia 4 1 2 7
2 Ukraine 2 1 1 4
3 Georgia 1 3 2 6
4 Poland 1 2 1 4
5 Armenia 1 0 1 2
6 France 1 0 0 1
7 Slovakia 1 0 0 1
8 Romania 0 1 1 2
9 Hungary 0 1 0 1
10 Moldova 0 1 0 1
11 FR Yugoslavia 0 1 0 1
12 England 0 0 2 2
13 Azerbaijan 0 0 1 1

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