EUROPEAN CITIES LEAGUE (ECL) 2025 ROUND 1 vs ODESSA

Division 2 of European Cities League appears stacked with strong teams. Certainly, a step up from the opposition faced this year in Division 3.

First up, Odessa. 355 members with a record of winning trophies, including ECL in 2018. Has their day come and gone?

Odessa was relegated from Division 1 having played 9, won 1, lost 8 in the 2024 season. But that record is more a reflection of the strength of opposition rather than Odessa’s weakness. They regularly field rosters of 10+ 1600 and over, rated players. We can expect a strong challenge. From experience there is no such thing as a weak Ukrainian team.

We need to start with a strong roster and performance. And by the way, Div 2 is a minimum of 12 players. Link to register: https://www.chess.com/club/matches/tayside-fife-and-stirlingshire/1698825