European Youth Chess Championship 2026

The 2026 European Youth Chess Championship kicked off Tuesday in Hersonissos, Crete, Greece! We wish all players exciting and inspiring games, and good luck in the tournament!

Belgium is represented by 26 players, with a total delegation of 66 members, making this one of the largest Belgian delegations ever.

The Opening ceremony of the event took place shortly before the start of the first round. The President of the European Chess Union, Mr. Zurab Azmaiparashvili, addressed the players and guests before officially declaring the championship open. Mr. Azmaiparashvili then played the ceremonial first move on the top board of the Open U12 section in the match between Jan Burel and Boris Kolodziejczyk. With the Chief Arbiter wishing the players good luck and inviting them to start their clocks, the battles officially began!

Nearly 1,250 players from across Europe are competing in this year’s championship, with the first round featuring an extraordinary 612 games!

All results, pairings and current standings can be found here.

Live games of the top boards of each group can be followed here, while the live video broadcast with commentaries by WIM Sandra Djukic can be followed through the ECU YouTube channel.

The official tournament page.