Alice O’Gorman U16 girls

This year I was lucky enough to go to the EYCC in Croatia. I scored 4/9. I was very pleased with this score and felt I gained a lot of valuable experience. I have never before been to a tournament of such a high standard. I would highly recommend going to one of these tournaments because of the experience you gain and the fun you have with your team mates.

Agustin Plaza U16 Open

The European Chess Championship is a great opportunity to learn, I personally only got 14 rating points, but I got an unlucky bye the second round and a walkover of a possible 36 points on the last one. Even if you are luckier than me though, it will be a very hard tournament with people who, specially in early rounds, will exploit every single small mistake you make.

The latter part of the tournament is where you will find the real gold, I had many well disputed matches, and was very close to drawing with a 2000, though I lost on endgame technique. I also won a game very convincingly against an opponent my rating.

Also, the tournament is great for acquiring FIDE rating if you don't have any, for starters, your opponents are likely to be confident and willing to risk a lot since losing won’t affect their rating; and also if you get a couple of points your FIDE rating will start off very high and you won't be needing to go through the tedious process of raising it.

I encourage anyone to try it, if you don't do well, you will still have an amazing time with the other members of the group.

FOR IRELAND!!!!!!!!!

Mercedes Plaza U14 girls

This year 2015, the other Irish players and I participated in the European Youth and Cadets Chess Championships held in Porec, Croatia this September. I finished on 3 1/2 out of 9, even though I could have won some other matches, for example I was a piece up against a 1800 Slovakian girl but didn't have much time and missed a winning combination. I got a few rating points and had the chance to play against people from 8 different countries: Armenia, Netherlands, Slovakia, Moldavia, Russia, Slovenia, Latvia. The place was great, they had two swimming pools, one indoors one outdoors, a football table, a gym, a buffet for each meal, the beach was only a few minutes walk away and the playing area was a huge room with everything needed including water and stands so that the parents and coaches would be able to follow the games. During the closing ceremony -who no one wanted to go to- the English Federation organised a fun blitz in pairs. I went with Alice O'Gorman, and we hammered everyone :P -we lost all our games and got a bye on the last one- it was great fun and I really hope we can go again sometime. Oh, and congratulations to Pippa and Amancio who passed the exam and got a FIDE trainers title. Well done!

Tom O’Gorman U14 open

I really enjoyed the EYCC. This is one of my favourite games: In round 8 I found myself paired against Daniel Morgunov from Austria. He had a rating of 2109 which was much higher than mine (1931). I had played him before in the European Union Youth Chess Championships U11 and although I had a winning advantage I only managed to draw. I got a Ruy Lopez Chigorin variation with white, where I went for an early d5. He played the Bf8, g6, Bg7 plan with bad timing allowing me to meet Bf8 with Bg5 with a very strong position. I won a lot of time and opened up the position with f4. After exf4 Qxf4 I built up a large attack forcing him to play f6 and dxe5, two strategically awful moves. I got a good advantage, but he managed to completely close the game up. However, he overlooked a temporary piece sacrifice which won me a pawn and made it possible to make inroads into his position. From there I beat him very quickly.

Leire Plaza U12 girls

The European Youth Chess Championships are great, I feel so glad I went. I had lots of fun in the tournament in the swimming pool and made lots of friends. I liked the way players exchanged presents before the match started and it was fantastic to see many girls play chess.

Aisling Ni Llaighleis U12 girls

The European chess championship in Porec Croatia was my first international tournament. It was very exciting to play for Ireland & to play against the top players of my age in Europe. The highlight of the trip was winning against an Estonian player who was very good. I played lots of different nationalities including a Russian girl who was really good. I learned a lot from the games. I also enjoyed the company of the other players and the girls beat the boys at foosball. Porec was a great experience and I was really happy to be there.

Denis Ruchko U12 open

Playing in my first international event was very interesting, the venue was great. I had opportunities to play strong players from different countries. Overall I had a great time and I will take it as a learning experience.

Mateo Plaza U10 open

I'm so lucky to go to the European Youth Chess Championships. It is a great experience for anyone who likes swimming. Just kidding. There are people of all sorts of levels so I'm sure you won't lose all of your games. Nearly everyone speaks English so you won't have a problem with language. I really encourage anyone who is reading this to go and give it a go.