Invitation

The Greek Chess Composition Committee, in co-operation with the Greek Chess Federation, have the honour to invite all delegates of PCCC/ICCU, national teams and individual solvers, chess composers and all those interested in problem chess, to attend the 53rd World Congress of Chess Composition (WCCC) and 34th World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC). The congress will be held from Saturday, October 16th (arrival) to Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 (departure) at the “Nana Beach Hotel”, in Hersonissos – Heraklio of Crete, with the WCSC on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 19th and 20th.

Nana Beach is a 4-star hotel and bungalows complex located on the northern coast of Crete, 25 km from the Heraklio International Airport, close to the lively towns of Hersonissos (1.5 km), Stalis (1 km) and Mallia (5 km).

Details about accommodation, in-room and hotel standard amenities, conference and banqueting capacities, as well as health and recreation facilities can be found on the hotel web site http://www.nanabeach.gr/

Accommodation

Prices in EUR per person per day (half-board, drinks not included):

  • Single Room: 72 EUR
  • Double bed / Twin Room: 59 EUR
  • Triple Room: 55 EUR
  • Children from 5 to 12 with two adults in the room have 50% discount
  • Children up to 4 years old are free

These prices remain the same 3 days before and after the congress for the participants only. Prices include tourist tax and VAT, breakfast, dinner, excursion (lunch not included), closing banquet, free access to the hotel health and recreation facilities, as well as all regular congress activities and solving/composing tournaments. All payments should be made to the organisers, upon arrival in cash (EUR), or deposited in advance to a bank account (contact the organising team for details).

The participation fee for those not staying in the hotel or not making their reservation through the organizers is 120 EUR and includes registration, the congress material and participation in the solving and composing tournaments. Excursion and closing banquet are additional and at the discretion of participants.

Getting there

Crete is the largest and southernmost of the Greek islands. It offers a unique combination of snow-capped mountains and the clearest of waters with the Aegean Sea to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south.

Heraklio is the fifth largest city of Greece and the capital of Crete, located about halfway along the northern coast of the island. Today it is a bustling urban centre, but in the past the region was the host of one of the most important civilizations in the world, the Minoan civilization. Due to its geographical position, Heraklio is the administrative capital and the transport hub of the island, with an international airport and a seaport. It lies just outside Knossos and near Phaestos and has one of the most important archaeological museums.

The major airport of Crete is "Nikos Kazantzakis" at Heraklio, which has frequent domestic flights with Athens and Thessaloniki. Travel time is around 35-45 minutes. There are also direct flights from Europe and the UK, though most are charter flights.

You can also reach Heraklio port with a ferry from Piraeus, the harbour in Athens, in ca. 7-8 hours. Ferries travel usually night time and depart every day.

Transport from/to the airport (or the harbour) and the venue should be arranged by the participants themselves.

Contact

Please send your application before August 31st 2010 to:

Harry Fougiaxis, Delvinou 4, GR-11363 Athens, Greece
E-mail: harryfou@ath.forthnet.gr or loyaldragon@gmail.com
Tel: +30-210-9491442 (09:30 – 17:30, job), +30-210-8653077 (19:30 – 21:00, home)
Fax: +30-210-9491610 (Asprofos Engineering, c/o H. Fougiaxis)

This invitation and all important information will be also published on the ICCU official website.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Crete!

On behalf of the Organising Committee,
Harry Fougiaxis, Athens, February 8th 2010