ECU responds to charges of GM van den Doel

Written by ECU President Boris Kutin
Monday, 23 April 2007

This is a response to the Open Letter from GM Erik van den Doel concerning the European Individual Championships 2007 in Dresden published on the TWIC Site and elsewhere.

His complaint is about the cost and quality of food in the IBIS Hotel. He does not mention the fact that this was the most successful ever European Championship with the highest ever prize fund of 250,000 Euros which was played in excellent conditions but chess organisers are, of course, used to hearing only negative comments from some quarters.

He alleges that the ECU received the money for the hotel accommodation, infers that ECU received a commission from these payments and negotiated with the hotels a low standard of meals. None of this is true nor were these allegations raised with me whilst in Dresden which I would have thought would be an elementary courtesy before publishing an Open Letter attacking the ECU.

The facts are:

1. There was no stipulation that players had to stay in any designated hotel. They were free to choose and to make their own arrangements direct with any hotel of which there are many in Dresden with a wide range of prices.

2. The Organising Committee (of which the ECU is not part – we only sanction the event) negotiated deals with hotels which players could either take up or not as they wished.

3. No payments for hotel accommodation were made through the ECU nor did the ECU receive any commission.

A retraction by Erik would be appreciated.

Boris Kutin
President ECU
www.eurochess.org