European Team Championship 2007

European Team Championships in Crete, Greece
29.10.2007 – Of the 197 players in the unrestricted ("men's") section 66 are rated 2600 or higher. The Russian team has brought no player rated below 2700, and the average rating of the team is 2726. In the women's section there are 146 players, of whom six are full ("male") GMs, and 35 are rated over 2400. The nine round Swiss tournament goes from October 28 to November 6. Round one report.

ETCC: Russian men and women beat Armenia 2.5:1.5
30.10.2007 – In both the men's and the women's sections Russia faced its arch-rival Armenia (remember: they won the 2006 Olympiad in Turin) at the European Team Championship in Crete. The result was identical in both matches. The Ukrainian men drew Spain while the women trounced England. Nine men's and six women's teams have maximum board points. Results, games and pictures.

ETCC: Russia, Azerbaijan lead, Poland heads women's section
31.10.2007 – In round four of the European Team Championship Russia beat Slovenia and Azerbaijan the Netherlands, which meant that the latter teams dropped out of the top group, which is now occupied by Russia and Azerbaijan. In the women's section Poland beat France while Russia and Hungary drew their encounter. Poland leads. Results, tables and games.

ETCC: Seven teams with maximum board points
31.10.2007 – After three rounds of the European Team Championship in Crete, Greece four teams are left in the men's section with the maximum of six board points: Slovenia, Azerbaidjan, Netherlands and Russia. In the women's section it is three teams: Hungary, Poland and Russia. We bring you full results, tables and games.

ETCC: Russia routs Azerbaijan to take sole lead
01.11.2007 – Round five of the European Team Championship saw the two leading teams pitted against each other. Russia came out of this summit with a 3.5:0.5 victory, with Svidler, Morozevich and Axekseev beating Mamedyarov, Radjabov and Guseinov. Ukraine drew France after a blackout by Ivanchuk. In the women's section Poland remained in the lead after drawing Russia. Results, tables and games.

ETCC: Russia take a three-point lead
04.11.2007 – In round seven Russia beat France by 2.5:1.5, the seventh match victory in succession. With its closest rivals, Slovenia, losing to Armenia this meant that with two rounds to go the Russian team has a solid three-point lead, with Armenia now being in second place. In the women's section both Poland and Russia won, and thus remain in the lead. Report with pictures, results and games.

ETCC: The Unstoppables win again
04.11.2007 – Russia continues to dominate the European Team Championship, beating Israel 3:1 to keep their clean 6-0 match tally and the lead in the table. Peter Svidler on board one has now scored 4.5/5 points with an Elo performance of over 3000. Way to go, Pyotr! In the women's section Poland "suffered" another draw while Russia won to catch them at the top of the table. Round six report.

ETCC: Russia leads in both men's and women's section
06.11.2007 – Actually the men are through, with a three-point lead before the final round they cannot be caught. But at least they were forced to concede their first draw, against Spain, led by the volatile Alexei Shirov, who defeated Alexander Morozevich. In the women's section Poland suffered a first defeat, while Russia won their match to take a two-point lead. Pictures, results and games.

ETCC: Russia are European men's and women's team champions
07.11.2007 – The men had already clinched it one round before the end, and on the final day the women's team joined them by scoring two match points more than their nearest rivals (the men were three points ahead of the field). The best player of the tournament was Peter Svidler who scored 6/7 on board one for Russia, with a performance of 2989. Report with pictures, results and games.