The 12th European Individual Chess Championship was held in Aix‐les‐Bains, France, from March 21st (day of arrival) to April 3rd (day of departure).

393 players from 41 countries, also including five under ECU flag, took participation. Among them was an impressive number of Grandmasters, 167, and 63 International Masters.

GM Vladimir Potkin (Russia), who started with five consecutive victories, maintained the lead with a series of draws and by adding another win in the later stages shared the first place with three other players to claim the title of the European Champion on superior tiebreak.

Potkin, seeded only 43rd before the start of the competition, finished with 8,5 points, together with GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (silver), Judit Polgar (bronze) and Alexander Moiseenko. Potkin boasted a fantastic 2822 elo performance, which was also the first tiebreak criteria.

The Championship was a qualifier for the next World Chess Cup. Top 23 finishers book tickets for Khanty-Mansiysk. The prize fund amounted to 113.700 EUR for regular and 6.300 EUR for special prizes.