The Ukrainian national team won four awards at continental championships in one year. As a result, the first vice-president of the Chess Federation of Ukraine, Volodymyr Kovalchuk, joined the ECU2030 team, which will shape the future of the European Chess Union.
After the ECU elections, Kovalchuk will receive a seat on the union’s Council. The position will be officially announced at the ECU 2026 General Assembly.
The ECU2030 team’s decision is directly related to what Ukraine has done on the field. Over the past year, the national team took the “gold” at the European Team Championship 2025, while the women’s team took the “silver” at the same tournament. And at the 2026 European Championships, Ukrainians won medals in both the men’s and women’s categories.
ECU2030 noted that these results at the competitions confirm the depth of Ukrainian chess and its influence on the game’s development on a continental scale. The union added another argument to Kovalchuk’s candidacy. On June 28, he received a state award — the title of “Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports of Ukraine” for many years of work in the federation.
