# European Team Chess Championship

The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ETC) is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more or less accords with the wider definition of Europe used in other events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and includes Israel, Russia and the former Soviet States. The competition is run under the auspices of the European Chess Union (ECU).

## Championship history

The idea was conceived in the early 1950s, when chess organisers became aware of the need for another international team event. Consequently, a men-only Championship was devised and held every four years, with the intention of filling in the gaps between Olympiads. More recently, the Championship has grown in importance and popularity and is regarded as a prestigious tournament in its own right, providing for male and female participants.
The first Championship Final was held in Vienna and Baden bei Wien in 1957 (August 22–28). It was a double round robin and notable for the surprise victory of the Yugoslav team over the mighty Soviet team in their second encounter.
For the next twenty years, Championships occurred at four-year intervals, although the Kapfenberg event was delayed by a year. Since 1977, successive tournaments have mainly been held on a three and then a two-year cycle. A Women's Championship, following the same cycle and venues as the men's, was established at Debrecen in 1992.

## Championship format

Over the early years, the formula altered incrementally, to allow the participation of a growing number of teams. At the inaugural event, only four places were made available for the Finals and some teams expected to do well, simply failed to qualify from the preliminary rounds. By 1973, the competition had expanded to roughly double the size and there were twenty-four nations in the preliminaries, competing for eight places in the Finals, held in Bath. Conversely, over the same period, the number of boards played in a match was reduced from ten to eight, presumably to reduce costs for organisers and participatory federations.
Into the new millennium, the format has changed radically and is now based on a Swiss system in nine rounds, on the model of the Olympiad, with one section for the men's teams and one section for the women's teams, considered as separate competitions. At Gothenburg in 2005, the men's competition comprised 40 teams (including Sweden B and Sweden C) and the women's competition, 26 teams (including Sweden B). Each round was contested over four boards and squads included a reserve.
Historically, teams played for the pleasure of winning the Europa Cup, but nowadays this has been overshadowed by the popular medal-winning format of the 'Olympics' and Chess Olympiad. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the top three teams and also as board prizes for outstanding individual performances.
Plovdiv 2003 heralded a major change in the scoring methodology. Both the men's and women's events were, for the first time, scored by total of match points, rather than game points as had previously been the case. Game points are still recorded for purposes of tie-breaking.

## Summary of results
### Open section

| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1957 | Vienna | Soviet Union Paul Keres David Bronstein Mikhail Tal Boris Spassky Tigran Petrosian Vasily Smyslov Mark Taimanov Viktor Korchnoi Alexander Tolush Isaac Boleslavsky Yuri Averbakh Lev Aronin | Yugoslavia Svetozar Gligorić Aleksandar Matanović Borislav Ivkov Petar Trifunović Andrija Fuderer Nikola Karaklajić Srećko Nedeljković Borislav Milić Mario Bertok Braslav Rabar Božidar Đurašević Tomislav Rakić | Czechoslovakia Miroslav Filip Luděk Pachman Ladislav Alster František Zíta Július Kozma Ján Šefc Jiří Fichtl František Pithart Josef Rejfíř Jaroslav Ježek František Blatný Maximilian Ujtelky |
| 1961 | Oberhausen | Soviet Union Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Tal Paul Keres Tigran Petrosian Vasily Smyslov Viktor Korchnoi Efim Geller Mark Taimanov Lev Polugaevsky Semyon Furman Alexander Tolush Vladimir Bagirov | Yugoslavia Svetozar Gligorić Petar Trifunović Aleksandar Matanović Mario Bertok Milan Matulović Mijo Udovčić Dragoljub Čirić Borislav Milić Srećko Nedeljković Dragoljub Minić Dražen Marović Božidar Đurašević | Hungary László Szabó Lajos Portisch Gedeon Barcza István Bilek Tibor Florian Karoly Honfi Ervin Haág József Pogáts Győző Forintos Levente Lengyel József Szily László Navarovszky |
| 1965 | Hamburg | Soviet Union Tigran Petrosian Mikhail Botvinnik Viktor Korchnoi Vasily Smyslov David Bronstein Leonid Stein Mark Taimanov Yuri Averbakh Nikolai Krogius Isaac Boleslavsky Anatoly Lein Anatoly Lutikov | Yugoslavia Borislav Ivkov Svetozar Gligorić Aleksandar Matanović Milan Matulović Bruno Parma Petar Trifunović Mato Damjanović Mijo Udovčić Dragoljub Čirić Dragoljub Minić Dražen Marović Ivan Buljovčić | Hungary Lajos Portisch László Szabó István Bilek Levente Lengyel Gedeon Barcza Győző Forintos Karoly Honfi Péter Dely János Flesch Gyula Kluger József Pogáts László Navarovszky |
| 1970 | Kapfenberg | Soviet Union Tigran Petrosian Viktor Korchnoi Lev Polugaevsky Efim Geller Vasily Smyslov Mark Taimanov Mikhail Tal Paul Keres Leonid Stein Ratmir Kholmov Yuri Balashov Aivars Gipslis | Hungary Lajos Portisch Levente Lengyel László Szabó Gedeon Barcza László Bárczay István Bilek Péter Dely István Csom Győző Forintos Karoly Honfi András Adorján Ervin Haág | East Germany Wolfgang Uhlmann Burkhard Malich Reinhart Fuchs Artur Hennings Heinz Liebert Lothar Zinn Friedrich Baumbach Lutz Espig Werner Golz Lothar Vogt Manfred Schöneberg Detlef Neukirch |
| 1973 | Bath | Soviet Union Boris Spassky Tigran Petrosian Viktor Korchnoi Anatoly Karpov Mikhail Tal Vasily Smyslov Efim Geller Gennady Kuzmin Vladimir Tukmakov Yuri Balashov | Yugoslavia Svetozar Gligorić Borislav Ivkov Ljubomir Ljubojević Aleksandar Matanović Bruno Parma Albin Planinc Dragoljub Velimirović Milan Matulović Enver Bukić Dragoljub Minić | Hungary Lajos Portisch László Szabó István Bilek Zoltán Ribli István Csom Győző Forintos András Adorján Gyula Sax Karoly Honfi János Tompa |
| 1977 | Moscow | Soviet Union Anatoly Karpov Tigran Petrosian Lev Polugaevsky Mikhail Tal Yuri Balashov Efim Geller Oleg Romanishin Vitaly Tseshkovsky Iosif Dorfman Evgeny Sveshnikov | Hungary Lajos Portisch Zoltán Ribli Gyula Sax István Csom András Adorján Iván Faragó László Vadász László Bárczay Péter Lukács László Hazai | Yugoslavia Ljubomir Ljubojević Svetozar Gligorić Aleksandar Matanović Dragoljub Velimirović Bruno Parma Borislav Ivkov Enver Bukić Krunoslav Hulak Milorad Knežević Srđan Marangunić |
| 1980 | Skara | Soviet Union Anatoly Karpov Mikhail Tal Tigran Petrosian Lev Polugaevsky Efim Geller Yuri Balashov Oleg Romanishin Rafael Vaganian Artur Yusupov Garry Kasparov | Hungary Lajos Portisch Zoltán Ribli András Adorján Gyula Sax István Csom Iván Faragó László Vadász József Pintér Péter Lukács László Hazai | England Tony Miles Michael Stean John Nunn Jonathan Speelman Raymond Keene William Hartston Jonathan Mestel Robert Bellin John Littlewood Simon Webb |
| 1983 | Plovdiv | Soviet Union Anatoly Karpov Lev Polugaevsky Tigran Petrosian Rafael Vaganian Alexander Beliavsky Vladimir Tukmakov Lev Psakhis Oleg Romanishin Artur Yusupov Efim Geller | Yugoslavia Ljubomir Ljubojević Svetozar Gligorić Predrag Nikolić Vlatko Kovačević Bojan Kurajica Krunoslav Hulak Dušan Rajković Božidar Ivanović Stefan Đurić Mišo Cebalo | Hungary Lajos Portisch Zoltán Ribli Gyula Sax József Pintér András Adorján István Csom Iván Faragó Attila Grószpéter Attila Schneider Tamás Horváth |
| 1989 | Haifa | Soviet Union Valery Salov Alexander Beliavsky Rafael Vaganian Mikhail Gurevich Boris Gelfand Lev Polugaevsky Viacheslav Eingorn Vladimir Tukmakov | Yugoslavia Ivan Sokolov Krunoslav Hulak Bogdan Lalić Miodrag Todorcevic Vlatko Kovačević Dragan Barlov Ognjen Cvitan Stefan Đurić | West Germany Robert Hübner Vlastimil Hort Eric Lobron Stefan Kindermann Matthias Wahls Jörg Hickl Klaus Bischoff Stefan Mohr |
| 1992 | Debrecen | Russia Garry Kasparov Evgeny Bareev Vladimir Kramnik Alexey Dreev Alexey Vyzmanavin | Ukraine Vassily Ivanchuk Alexander Beliavsky Oleg Romanishin Viacheslav Eingorn Igor Novikov | England Nigel Short Jonathan Speelman Michael Adams John Nunn Tony Miles |
| 1997 | Pula | England Nigel Short Michael Adams Jonathan Speelman Matthew Sadler Julian Hodgson | Russia Evgeny Bareev Peter Svidler Vadim Zvjaginsev Igor Glek Yuri Yakovich | Armenia Vladimir Akopian Rafael Vaganian Smbat Lputian Artashes Minasian Ashot Anastasian |
| 1999 | Batumi | Armenia Smbat Lputian Artashes Minasian Ashot Anastasian Levon Aronian Arshak Petrosian | Hungary Peter Leko Judit Polgár Zoltán Almási Alexander Chernin József Pintér | Germany Artur Yusupov Robert Hübner Rustem Dautov Christopher Lutz Christian Gabriel |
| 2001 | León | Netherlands Loek van Wely Jeroen Piket Sergei Tiviakov Erik van den Doel Friso Nijboer | France Étienne Bacrot Joël Lautier Christian Bauer Jean-Marc Degraeve Laurent Fressinet | Germany Christopher Lutz Robert Hübner Gerald Hertneck Klaus Bischoff Rainer Buhmann |
| 2003 | Plovdiv | Russia Peter Svidler Evgeny Bareev Alexander Grischuk Alexander Morozevich Alexander Khalifman | Israel Boris Gelfand Ilya Smirin Emil Sutovsky Boris Avrukh Michael Roiz | Georgia Zurab Azmaiparashvili Baadur Jobava Mikheil Mchedlishvili Giorgi Kacheishvili Merab Gagunashvili |
| 2005 | Gothenburg | Netherlands Loek van Wely Ivan Sokolov Sergei Tiviakov Jan Timman Erik van den Doel | Israel Boris Gelfand Emil Sutovsky Ilya Smirin Boris Avrukh Sergey Erenburg | France Étienne Bacrot Joël Lautier Iosif Dorfman Laurent Fressinet Christian Bauer |
| 2007 | Crete | Russia Peter Svidler Alexander Morozevich Alexander Grischuk Evgeny Alekseev Dmitry Jakovenko | Armenia Levon Aronian Vladimir Akopian Gabriel Sargissian Karen Asrian Smbat Lputian | Azerbaijan Teimour Radjabov Vugar Gashimov Qadir Huseynov Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Rauf Mamedov |
| 2009 | Novi Sad | Azerbaijan Teimour Radjabov Vugar Gashimov Qadir Huseynov Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Rauf Mamedov | Russia Peter Svidler Alexander Morozevich Dmitry Jakovenko Evgeny Alekseev Evgeny Tomashevsky | Ukraine Pavel Eljanov Andrei Volokitin Zahar Efimenko Yuri Drozdovskij Yuriy Kryvoruchko |
| 2011 | Porto Carras | Germany Arkadij Naiditsch Georg Meier Daniel Fridman Jan Gustafsson Rainer Buhmann | Azerbaijan Teimour Radjabov Vugar Gashimov Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Qadir Huseynov Eltaj Safarli | Hungary Peter Leko Zoltán Almási Ferenc Berkes Csaba Balogh Zoltan Gyimesi |
| 2013 | Warsaw | Azerbaijan Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Teimour Radjabov Eltaj Safarli Rauf Mamedov Qadir Huseynov | France Étienne Bacrot Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Romain Édouard Vladislav Tkachiev Hichem Hamdouchi | Russia Alexander Grischuk Peter Svidler Dmitry Andreikin Alexander Morozevich Evgeny Tomashevsky |
| 2015 | Reykjavík | Russia Peter Svidler Alexander Grischuk Evgeny Tomashevsky Ian Nepomniachtchi Dmitry Jakovenko | Armenia Levon Aronian Gabriel Sargissian Sergei Movsesian Hrant Melkumyan Karen H. Grigoryan | Hungary Peter Leko Richárd Rapport Zoltán Almási Ferenc Berkes Csaba Balogh |
| 2017 | Crete | Azerbaijan Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Teimour Radjabov Arkadij Naiditsch Rauf Mamedov Gadir Guseinov | Russia Alexander Grischuk Ian Nepomniachtchi Nikita Vitiugov Maxim Matlakov Daniil Dubov | Ukraine Pavel Eljanov Yuriy Kryvoruchko Ruslan Ponomariov Yuriy Kuzubov Martyn Kravtsiv |
| 2019 | Batumi | Russia Dmitry Andreikin Nikita Vitiugov Kirill Alekseenko Maxim Matlakov Daniil Dubov | Ukraine Vassily Ivanchuk Yuriy Kuzubov Andrei Volokitin Alexander Moiseenko Vladimir Onischuk | England Michael Adams Luke McShane David Howell Gawain Jones Nicholas Pert |
| 2021 | Čatež ob Savi | Ukraine Anton Korobov Andrei Volokitin Yuriy Kuzubov Kirill Shevchenko Volodymyr Onyshchuk | France Alireza Firouzja Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Étienne Bacrot Maxime Lagarde Jules Moussard | Poland Jan-Krzysztof Duda Radosław Wojtaszek Kacper Piorun Wojciech Moranda Paweł Teclaf |
| 2023 | Budva | Serbia Alexandr Predke Alexey Sarana Aleksandar Inđić Robert Markuš Velimir Ivić | Germany Vincent Keymer Rasmus Svane Matthias Blübaum Alexander Donchenko Dmitrij Kollars | Armenia Haik M. Martirosyan Gabriel Sargissian Hrant Melkumyan Shant Sargsyan Samvel Ter-Sahakyan |

### Women section

| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1992 | Debrecen | Ukraine Alisa Galliamova Marta Litinskaya Irina Chelushkina | Georgia Ketevan Arakhamia Nino Gurieli Ketino Kachiani | Azerbaijan Firuza Velikhanli Ilaha Kadimova |
| 1997 | Pula | Georgia Maia Chiburdanidze Nana Ioseliani Ketevan Arakhamia | Romania Corina Peptan Cristina Foișor Elena Cosma | England Susan Lalic Harriet Hunt Ruth Sheldon |
| 1999 | Batumi | Slovakia Zuzana Hagarova Regina Pokorná Alena Bekiarisova | FR Yugoslavia Alisa Marić Nataša Bojković Maria Manakova | Romania Corina Peptan Szidonia Vajda Elena Cosma |
| 2001 | León | France Maria Nepeina-Leconte Marie Sebag Roza Lallemand | Moldova Almira Skripchenko Svetlana Petrenko | England Harriet Hunt Jovanka Houska Susan Lalic |
| 2003 | Plovdiv | Armenia Elina Danielian Lilit Mkrtchian Nelly Aginian | Hungary Yelena Dembo Szidonia Vajda Anita Gara | Russia Alisa Galliamova Svetlana Matveeva Alexandra Kosteniuk |
| 2005 | Gothenburg | Poland Iweta Rajlich Monika Soćko Jolanta Zawadzka Joanna Dworakowska Marta Zielinska | Georgia Maia Chiburdanidze Nino Khurtsidze Maia Lomineishvili Nana Dzagnidze Ketevan Arakhamia | Russia Alexandra Kosteniuk Nadezhda Kosintseva Ekaterina Kovalevskaya Tatiana Kosintseva Alisa Galliamova |
| 2007 | Crete | Russia Alexandra Kosteniuk Tatiana Kosintseva Nadezhda Kosintseva Ekaterina Kovalevskaya Ekaterina Korbut | Poland Monika Soćko Iweta Rajlich Jolanta Zawadzka Joanna Dworakowska Marta Przezdziecka | Armenia Elina Danielian Lilit Mkrtchian Nelly Aginian Siranush Andriasian Liana Aghabekian |
| 2009 | Novi Sad | Russia Alexandra Kosteniuk Tatiana Kosintseva Nadezhda Kosintseva Marina Romanko Valentina Gunina | Georgia Nana Dzagnidze Lela Javakhishvili Sopiko Khukhashvili Nino Khurtsidze Bela Khotenashvili | Ukraine Kateryna Lahno Natalia Zhukova Anna Ushenina Inna Gaponenko Natalia Zdebskaya |
| 2011 | Porto Carras | Russia Nadezhda Kosintseva Tatiana Kosintseva Valentina Gunina Alexandra Kosteniuk Natalia Pogonina | Poland Monika Soćko Jolanta Zawadzka Joanna Majdan-Gajewska Karina Szczepkowska-Horowska Katarzyna Toma | Georgia Nana Dzagnidze Lela Javakhishvili Nazí Paikidze Nino Khurtsidze Salome Melia |
| 2013 | Warsaw | Ukraine Kateryna Lahno Anna Ushenina Mariya Muzychuk Natalia Zhukova Inna Gaponenko | Russia Valentina Gunina Alexandra Kosteniuk Natalia Pogonina Olga Girya Aleksandra Goryachkina | Poland Monika Soćko Jolanta Zawadzka Joanna Majdan-Gajewska Iweta Rajlich Karina Szczepkowska-Horowska |
| 2015 | Reykjavík | Russia Alexandra Kosteniuk Kateryna Lagno Valentina Gunina Aleksandra Goryachkina Anastasia Bodnaruk | Ukraine Mariya Muzychuk Anna Muzychuk Natalia Zhukova Anna Ushenina Inna Gaponenko | Georgia Nana Dzagnidze Bela Khotenashvili Lela Javakhishvili Nino Batsiashvili Meri Arabidze |
| 2017 | Crete | Russia Alexandra Kosteniuk Kateryna Lagno Valentina Gunina Olga Girya Aleksandra Goryachkina | Georgia Nana Dzagnidze Nino Batsiashvili Bela Khotenashvili Lela Javakhishvili Salome Melia | Ukraine Anna Muzychuk Natalia Zhukova Anna Ushenina Inna Gaponenko Iulija Osmak |
| 2019 | Batumi | Russia Aleksandra Goryachkina Kateryna Lagno Olga Girya Valentina Gunina Alina Kashlinskaya | Georgia Nana Dzagnidze Lela Javakhishvili Bela Khotenashvili Meri Arabidze Salome Melia | Azerbaijan Gunay Mammadzada Khanim Balajayeva Ulviyya Fataliyeva Gulnar Mammadova Turkan Mamedyarova |
| 2021 | Čatež ob Savi | Russia Aleksandra Goryachkina Kateryna Lagno Valentina Gunina Polina Shuvalova Alina Kashlinskaya | Georgia Nana Dzagnidze Lela Javakhishvili Meri Arabidze Salome Melia Sopio Gvetadze | Azerbaijan Gunay Mammadzada Gulnar Mammadova Khanim Balajayeva Ulviyya Fataliyeva Govhar Beydullayeva |
| 2023 | Budva | Bulgaria Antoaneta Stefanova Nurgyul Salimova Viktoria Radeva Gergana Peycheva Beloslava Krasteva | Azerbaijan Gunay Mammadzada Ulviyya Fataliyeva Govhar Beydullayeva Khanim Balajayeva Gulnar Mammadova | France Deimantė Daulyte-Cornette Sophie Milliet Mitra Hejazipour Pauline Guichard Anastasia Savina |

## Total team ranking
### Open section

The table contains the men's teams ranked by the medals won at the European Team Championship.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Russia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Armenia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Ukraine | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Germany | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | England | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Serbia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Yugoslavia | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Hungary | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 12 | France | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Israel | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Czechoslovakia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | East Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Georgia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Poland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (17 entries) | Totals (17 entries) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 72 |

### Women section

The table contains the women's teams ranked by the medals won at the European Team Championship.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Russia | 7 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Georgia | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | Poland | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Armenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | France | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Slovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Azerbaijan | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | Romania | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Moldova | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Serbia and Montenegro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | England | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (14 entries) | Totals (14 entries) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 45 |