The only document available regarding the 2015 European Open Championship can be found at: http://test.tromso2015.no/

In Antalya-2007, Sanremo-2009 and Poznan-2011, the participants were guaranteed to play 3 days of qualifiers at the Open Teams event, after which the KO’s would start with the round of 32. I think that was fair enough.

In 2013 Ostend, the EBL ruined the format completely. The qualification lasted only 2 days (playing just 100 boards!) and then the KO’s started with the round of 16 !!! So you had to be among the world’s best 16 teams to be able to play at the third day of the competition and get your money’s worth (the entry fee was a massive 800 € per team).

Now, for Tromsö-2015, the format (according to the above web page) seems to have been slightly improved. You still get only 2 days of guaranteed play, but the KO’s start with the round of 32. Am I the only one who still finds this dreadful?

I believe all participants should be able to play at least 3 days (like in the previous editions of European Open). The EBL seems to have a different idea obviously. They squeeze 8 different European championships into 2 weeks, collect approx 200€ entry fee per person per event, and get it over with.

EBL will probably argue: “All eliminated players are welcome to play free of charge in the EBL Cup BAM side event”. Would you like to go all the way to Tromsö to play in a side event? The Side Event where all losers congregate?

The preliminary entry fees for Tromsö have also been posted at the above web page. The Open Teams entry fee is 800€ again. So, start saving now.