Sports in our country are entirely connected with culture and mentality. Chess is the obvious activity which combines mental practice with sports, as it is a wisely constructed game which demands the abilities of correct prognosis, combinational thought as well as great amounts of patience, discipline, intuition and courage.

Many battles of survival have been won or have been lost over the chessboard. The big difference between chess and every other game is the fact that these battles have been decided not by means of physical strength or simply luck, but by means of strategy and capability.

I warmly congratulate the Greek Chess Federation for hosting the 2002 World Youth Chess Championships.

I am sure that with the appropriate preparation, the Greek representatives will perform highly in these games.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Greece, birthplace of Sport. You will participate in the World Youth Chess Championships, to be organized for the first time in our country.

Dear Friends,

Chess is a means of shaping creative, free, democratic, reliable and independent personalities.

Through the sport of Chess the athletes can achieve decisiveness, a fighting spirit and self-reliance always within the framework of noble emulation.

All of you will be given the opportunity to meet each other in this great world celebration, in the homeland of the Olympic Spirit, Sport being the purest part of our Culture.

We wish you a pleasant stay and every success with the competitions in the beautiful island of Crete.

On behalf of FIDE, I welcome all the participants to the 2002 World Youth Chess Championships taking place in Crete.

The World Youth are especially important in the FIDE Calendar as they assist us as Chess Administrators in determining the future direction of our sport through the activities of our Champions of the future.

I am particularly happy that Greece, the home of Olympism, is playing a tremendous role in the staging of major FIDE events, as part of the deliberate contribution of the Greek Chess Federation and its sponsors to herald the 2004 Olympic Games.

And, as an active member of the Olympic Movement, FIDE is proud to be part of this process.

Gens Una Sumus

The Greek Chess Federation gladly welcomes all the young chess players, boys and girls, which will participate in the 2003 World Youth Chess Championships, organized in Crete this November.

It is a unique honor for Greece that so many young players from all over the world will compete in the country which will organize the 2004 Olympic Games to achieve world-class chess recognition. Chess is retaining its motto throughout the years: “GENS UNA SUMUS” or “WE ARE ONE FAMILY”.

The traditional Greek hospitality is not the only fact which we want our guests to remember from our country. We also want them to learn about modern Greece, a nation dedicated to the ideals of peace & friendship among all people of all countries.
Looking forward to meeting you in Greece.

It is with particular pleasure that we welcome to Greece the best, young chess players who will participate in the World Youth Chess Championships. We wish you a pleasant stay and great success with the competitions.

During the last years, Greece has become an international center for Chess meetings.
The General Secretariat of Sport has always been supportive to such sport events.
We wish the World Youth Chess Championships to meet with the greatest of success.