P R E S S   R E L E A S E

Playing chess for more mutual understanding in Europe

On January the 14th, 2002, a new edition of the Twinning Chess Competition will start. The TCC is an unrivalled international chess tournament. About 150 cities of 15 EU-countries will compete against each other via the internet. Through chess the Twinning Chess Foundation, organiser of the competition, is aiming to improve the communication between Europeans and in this way to stimulate and improve mutual understanding and the exchange of knowledge.
Chess is probably the best means to reach the goal of the Twinning Chess Foundation. By playing chess on such a large scale, European municipalities and their residents come into contact with each other and have the possibility to start communicating. In the last competition, 30% of the participating cities ended up visiting another city.

Positive effects for chess and for municipalities
The competition will have many positive effects, for local authorities as well as for citizens and chessclubs. Local authorities can use it as an instrument to improve contact with their residents, to promote the city in other European countries and to enhance the use of the municipal website and internet in general. At the same time, it is an opportunity to exchange ideas with local authorities in other countries and it can give a positive impulse to the co-operation of the different departments. For citizens it is a nice opportunity to come into contact with people from other parts in Europe. And last but not least: for chessclubs it is an opportunity to gain exposure within the municipality in order to attract new members or to have better contacts with the local authorities and with chess clubs abroad. Also, the Twinning Chess Competition is an effective way of focussing attention on chess among non-players and beginners.

How does the Twinning Chess Competition work?
The municipalities are divided into groups with opponents of comparable size and each municipality plays several matches against others in its group. The website is the central point around which the tournament revolves. A coordinator relays each move via the website. The site will also have a forum where people can discuss issues with each other or exchange ideas. In addition, each participating municipality gets the opportunity of presenting itself via its own page on the site.

For recent developments, trial games or information about the competition and its participants, please visit www.twinningchess.com If you have any questions, please contact us via telephone (+31 23 547 72 50) or via e-mail info@twinningchess.com. With this press release two examples of cities that will play along in the TCC are included.

The Twinning Chess Competition is subsidised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations The Netherlands and the Province of North Holland. The Twinning Chess Foundation also receives assistance from the European Chess Union, the European Parliament Information Office The Hague, the Association of Netherlands Municipalities and the Dutch Section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. The Twinning Chess Foundation is a non-profit organisation.

HOW CITIES ORGANISE THEIR TWINNING CHESS COMPETITION

Eindhoven (The Netherlands)
The enthusiasm of the city of Eindhoven to take part in the Twinning Chess Competition, originates in bygone days. "When the first TCC was organised, there was no doubt about our participation," says Frank Wessels, who is PR-manager of the city of Eindhoven. The city attracted a lot of publicity by playing along in the TCC. In the end, Eindhoven had several exchange visits with Essen (Germany). A bus full of civil servants, chess players and other citizens took part in this exchange. The city of Eindhoven didn't hesitate too long for subscribing to the upcoming edition of the Twinning Chess Competition.
There are two factors which make the TCC even more interesting for the city than it already was. An important one is the international factor.
Frank Wessels: "The approach of the TCC has become more international. We want to make ourselves known in the rest of Europe, which is very hard indeed. Not many people know that on a high-tec level we are the fourth most important city in Europe."
The use of internet is another important factor. Eindhoven wants to introduce citizens who yet don't make use of it. Also, the internet is seen as an opportunity for the municipality to have more contact with citizens who already use internet. The fact that the TCF uses internet as a basis, makes it an instrument for Eindhoven to stimulate both.
The chessclub in Eindhoven is closely involved in the competition. They designed a website especially for the TCC, on which visitors can discuss the move. Within Eindhoven, citizens can enter a competition too: the person who predicts most moves in the right way, will be the winner and get a digital camera.

Amersfoort (The Netherlands)
Amersfoort is extensively experimenting with modern technologies. The municipality wants to find out how modern technologies can be useful for municipal services and communication with their citizens. The Twinning Chess Competition will be part of the experiment. It is a way to be interactive with each other in a casual way. At present, about 55% of the population has a connection to the internet. Are those people willing to use the municipal website for matters for which they normally come to the City hall?
The city of Amersfoort has been playing a trial game on our website against Leeds (in which Amersfoort won). "During the trial, we didn't involve our citizens," says Casper van Hoorn, co-ordinator for the city of Amersfoort. "We played with a few civil servants. It was a good opportunity for us to find out how we want to organise the Twinning Chess Competition when the real competition starts." For than, the Amersfoort-team wants to invite the citizens to think along. Contact with citizens is a rather important factor for participation anyway. They will probably make use of cable TV information services and they'll invite a local newspaper to get involved in the competition. Citizens will be invited to discuss the game in the City hall, so that people without an internet connection can also play along. A beamer will project the course of events on a wall. And last but not least: the TCC is considered as an instrument for city-promotion in the rest of Europe. Amersfoort is proud of the fact that Nyfer, an office for economic research, considers the city as the most attractive city in the Netherlands.