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The Amateur Chess Organization team

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The founders & organizers

We are personally on site at all events & are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Chess Grandmaster
Falko Bindrich

Awards & Wins:

  • Became grandmaster at the age of 16 (youngest German grandmaster at the time)
  • Highest rating: 2610
  • The youngest German ever to receive the FM title at the age of 12
  • German Champion U12, U14, U16
  • Honorary citizen of his hometown Zittau
  • European champion U18 with the German youth national team
  • Took part in the 2008 and 2010 Chess Olympiads as a member of the German national team
  • Trained with former World Champion Anatoly Karpov
  • Participated in more than 20 youth European and World championships.
  • Won the biggest German Open in Deizisau ahead of more than 700 players in 2008
  • Was named "Player of the Year" of the German Chess Youth in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 - player with the most awards
  • Won the German Masters ahead of the best German players in 2017

Besides the chess career:

  • Bindrich completed a master's degree in psychology and works as a psychologist
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GM Falko Bindrich (Germany)

"Every ACO event means for me a reunion with old friends and at the same time the chance to make new chess friendships."
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IM Tobias Hirneise (Germany)

"Every chess master was once a beginner." — Irving Chernev

International Chess
Master Tobias Hirneise

Awards & Wins:

  • International Chess Master since 2009
  • Highest rating: 2481
  • 1 grandmaster norm
  • Participated in chess tournaments in more than 30 countries
  • Learned chess from his grandfather by the age of 11
  • Played for many years in the German Schachbundesliga for SV Wattenscheid
  • Won several state championship titles in the youth field
  • 2008 men's state champion of Baden (Germany)
  • Coaches: IM Valeri Bronznik (Ukraine) GM & ACO Trainer Zigurds Lanka (Latvia), GM Boris Avrukh (Israel) and GM Ognjen Cvitan (Croatia)
  • Former clubs in Austria: Sg Vöcklabruck and SK Götzis
  • Former clubs in Switzerland: ASK Réti Zürich and Herrliberg

As a youth coach:

  • Several of his students achieved medal places at German Youth Championships and qualified for World Youth Championships

‍Besides the chess career:

  • Publishing merchant and graphic designer
  • Former editor-in-chief of the chess magazine "Rochade Europa"
  • Publisher of the children's chess magazine "Rochade Kids" with which over 35,000 children have already learned and trained chess
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2012

since

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25000+

chess

games

played

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2800+

participations

Get to know (y)our chess trainers on site

Chess grandmasters, trainers and experts – exclusive knowledge from the international master class. Our chess trainers are always there for you personally on site at our tournaments and help you improve your game.

GM Daniel King

 

🇬🇧

Daniel King became a Grandmaster in 1989. Highlights of his career are winning the 1992 Goodricke Open tournament in Calcutta, India, defeating Viswanathan Anand along the way; and representing his country on numerous occasions including the famous victory by England over the Soviet Union in Reykjavik 1990. After his professional playing career, Daniel went into the media appearing on TV and online as a chess commentator and presenter. He has worked all over the world for channels such as the BBC, Channel 4 (UK), ESPN (USA), and Eurosport; and for websites such as chess.com, playchess.com, the ICC, and Chess24.

GM Daniel King

GM Daniel King

 

🇬🇧

Daniel King became a Grandmaster in 1989. Highlights of his career are winning the 1992 Goodricke Open tournament in Calcutta, India, defeating Viswanathan Anand along the way; and representing his country on numerous occasions including the famous victory by England over the Soviet Union in Reykjavik 1990. After his professional playing career, Daniel went into the media appearing on TV and online as a chess commentator and presenter. He has worked all over the world for channels such as the BBC, Channel 4 (UK), ESPN (USA), and Eurosport; and for websites such as chess.com, playchess.com, the ICC, and Chess24.

GM Zigurds Lanka

GM Zigurds Lanka

 

🇱🇻

Zigurds Lanka is considered one of the best-known chess coaches in the world. Lanka is a multiple Latvian master and the author of several chess books. He is known above all for his extraordinarily broad opening knowledge, which he understands better than anyone else how to make accessible to amateur players. For Latvia, Lanka took part in three Chess Olympiads and several European and World Team Championships. His best-known students include the grandmasters Alexei Shirov, Viktor Bologan and Falko Bindrich.

GM Spyridon Skembris

GM Spyridon Skembris

 

🇬🇷

Skembris finished third in the World Junior Championship in 1977. In the following years he won the Greek championship four times and in 1990 he was awarded the grandmaster title. Skembris is one of the most respected team coaches. He is the national coach of Greece and also coached the national team of Cyprus. Skembris represented Greece in a total of eight Chess Olympiads. In 1992 he won the gold medal on the second board at the European Team Championship in Debrecen.

Guests of honour from past ACO World Championships

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GM Judit Polgar
Guest of Honour 2018

Judit Polgar is by far the best female chess player of all time, with a highest elo rating of 2735. She became an international champion at the age of 12 and was awarded the grandmaster title at 15. She beat several world champions, including Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov and Garri Kasparov. Polgár is the only woman ever to be ranked in the top ten (8th in 2005) of the world rankings. She was consistently the best female chess player in the world from 1989 until her career ended in 2015.

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GM Vlastimil Hort
Guest of Honor 2021

Born in the Czech Republic, he was one of the world‘s top chessplayers in the 1970s and a candidate for the world championship title. Since 1979 he has been living in Germany and has become known together with his colleague GM Helmut Pfleger on a German TV chess show which aired for more than 20 years! As a player he has represented Germany in many competitions, became German Champion several times and was elected honorary member of the German Chess Federation in 2019.

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GM Alexei Shirov
Guest of Honor 2018

Born in Latvia, now representing Spain. He is considered one of the most creative players in the world. As a youth world champion and winner of numerous international tournaments, Shirov was part of the absolute world elite for years. In 1994 he was ranked second in the world and in 1998 he defeated the future world champion Vladimir Kramnik in a famous match. Due to his unique tactical skills and excellent endgame technique, he is often compared to the Latvian World Champion Mikhail Tal.

Other coaches, team and partners

Coaches of previous ACO chess seminars:

  • GM Viktor Bologan

  • GM Lubomir Ftacnik

  • GM Mihail Marin

E-Mail-Support:

  • Oana Florea

  • Birgit Weber

ACO arbiters:

  • Alexander Hande

  • Jürgen Kehr

Partner for chess material:

  • ChessWare

FAQs

What is the ACO?

The Amateur Chess Organization is the organization for amateur chess players up to 2400 rating points.

For whom was the ACO founded?

99% of all chess players have got less than 2400 rating points and do not earn a living from chess. The ACO has been founded for this biggest group of chess players, the amateurs.

Where is the ACO located?

The Amateur Chess Organization has its headquarters near Stuttgart, Germany.

Is the ACO represented in all countries?

The ACO is a global organisation with participants from more than 60 countries. Our aim is to find representatives and partners around the world and to further promote amateur chess worldwide.

Is the ACO affiliated with FIDE?

No. The ACO is a completely independent organization. The ACO considers itself as a complementary organization.

Who can enter the ACO tournaments?

Any chess player with a rating below 2400 is eligible to participate in the World Amateur Chess Championship. All players 50 years and older are eligible to participate in the World Senior Chess Championship. All players 65 years and older are eligible to participate in the World Super Senior Chess Championship.

How does the ACO promote amateur chess?

ACO brings chess together with joy and fun. This is done with outstanding ACO World Championships in beautiful hotels around the world. Our goal is to offer all amateur players a chess tournament of a special kind. Of course the tournament has priority, but we also want you and your companions to enjoy the tournament in the truest sense of the word. Therefore, we only select interesting locations and beautiful hotels with high 4 and 5 star standards for our championships. Our team consists, among others, of Grandmasters and International Masters with huge tournament experience, so we know what matters at a chess tournament.