We would like to inform you about a change at the starting time of the last round. For the participants' convenience, especially for those who have to travel early on Monday's evening, we have decided to start the last (7th) Round at 10.00 instead of 10.30.

The organizing committee of the 3rd International Chess Tournament "Vardaris 2017" wishes to provide every possible service for its participants. For this reason, we have achieved to offer 20% discount, exclusively for all the participants and their companions, at the legendary grill "Vardaris", located in 2nd Monastiriou Str., very close to the playing venue. We would really like to thank Mr. Isaak Papadopoulos for his kind and generous offer.

The Chess Club "SACH" of Thessaloniki is proud to announce the brotherhood with the chess club "St. Pauli" of Hamburg that will actually take place during the 3rd International Chess Tournament "Vardaris 2017". The "St. Pauli" football team's story does not begin in 1910, as the name suggests but dates back at least three years earlier. So, it's a great honor to establish bonds with this historical team that has become the symbol of diversity in sports. The "diversity" of St. Pauli can be found everywhere. The alternative symbol of the skull and crossbones, the official shop that looks more like a ...record store, the official team's magazine including issues concerning arts, politics and literature (almost anything except football) are only some indicative samples of this diversity. Last but not least, we'd like to mention that during the entrance of the team's players, you can hear the rock song of AC/DC "Hells Bells" from the loudspeakers of the stadium.

We are eager to meet the chess friends of St. Pauli.

Allez Allez Allez Sankt Pauli

Our special offer for hotel reservation at 3rd International Chess Tournament "Vardaris", is expired within a few days.
Book your rooms, up until 15th of January and gain 10% extra discount to our special prices.

The 3rd International Open Chess Tournament "Vardaris" that is going to be held from 23rd to 27th of February 2017, is honored to have the national Greek Radio Television S.A. as communication sponsor.
Through E.R.T. broadcasting network, TV and radio, we have for the first time, the unique opportunity for mass promotion.
So, we decided to organize a tournament exclusively for amateur chess players, without rating and free of participation fee, which is going to be held one day before the beginning of 3rd "Vardaris".
A relevant announcement for this "amateur" tournament, that will take place on 22nd of February 2017, will be published in the next days. It will be a five round rapid tournament in which we are happy to invite those who play chess with their friends, those who play chess on the computer, athletes' parents and anyone else that wishes to live a wonderful and festive chess night.
We would like to thank the management of E.R.T. for the support and for giving us this great opportunity.

The sketch on our homepage is made by a very good friend of us, Hristos Alaveras.
As we have used his sketches, we wanted to dedicate to him few words, so we asked him to give us a short resume in order to "present" him.
Hristos smiling, as always, told us to write whatever we want. So, this is what we'll do ... with a personal opinion and deposit!

"I met Hristos Alaveras about three years ago, when he passed by our cooperativa. I met him with his hands begrimed by charcoal. In my mind, associatively, his hands reminded me those of my father's, who was an engineer in trains and I remember his hands always like that.
These hands are "clean", he used to tell me and I laughed.
Whatever you ask, Hristos will do everything he can to help. He's doing free painting lessons to children in the neighborhood at our cooperativa, he's coming to support and participate in all the events we're holding, he's coming for coffee and chat whenever he has free time.
I'm avoiding to describe him as a painter or an artist or a performer, or I don't even know what else. Hristos is just a great human.
He participated in the 1st and 2nd International Chess Tournament of "Vardaris".
He is also a strong amateur chess player. This is probably the reason, he achieved and succeeded in performing with high fidelity, the attentiveness and agony of chess players during the games.
In my mind, art is one and indivisible. Somewhere there, chess and painting reach an "artistic agreement" and become tools at the creators' hands".