Invitation
Latvian Chess Problem Society has the honor to invite all delegates of the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), national teams and individual solvers, chess composers and all those interested in problem chess, to attend the 66th World Congress of Chess Composition (WCCC) and 47th World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC). Latvia has a good experience in organizing international events in chess composition: 51th WCCC in Jurmala in 2008, 13th ECSC in Riga in 2017 and 15th ECSC in Riga in 2022.
Week of: 27.07.2024 – 03.08.2024
Place: Jurmala, Beach resort of Latvia
Venue: Hotel Jūrmala SPA, 4-star
www.hoteljurmala.com
The WCCC venue – Hotel Jūrmala SPA – a 4 star hotel, one of the largest spa hotels in the Baltics. The hotel has a perfect location right in the heart of the resort town Jūrmala – on pedestrian Street Jomas and just a few hundred meters from the golden beach.
Single room per day: € 116 (and € 99 for the first 15 rooms!)
Double room per day: € 123
Superior room per day: € 146
The room prices include breakfast and the Wellness Oasis.
These are special discounted prices provided for us by the hotel. Standard prices are much higher as you may see on the hotel’s website or booking.com.
The accommodation is to be paid directly to the hotel.
Please consider the high season: guaranteed rooms up to 27.05.2024 and special price up to 27.06.2024 only!
We don’t offer a concrete alternative hotel, because the other hotels around are too small. The recommendation would be to look in advance for the hotels or flats/apartments, which are many in the same area.
Registration fee: € 110 (for everybody)
Registration fee for accompanying persons: € 50 (incl. opening & closing banquet, no welcome gift/badge). To be paid to the organizer, Latvian Chess Problem Society, in cash / card / bank transfer.
The registration fee compensates expenses of:
- Welcome cocktail in the Seaside Bar on Saturday’s evening (watching the sunset from 11th floor)
- Solving tournaments with coffee breaks: Open, WCSC 1st & 2nd days
- Additional tournaments and/or lectures: a hall provided for 5 evenings in total
- 3 WFCC sessions with coffee breaks
- Unofficial prize-giving in the solving hall
- Official prize-giving with a buffet banquet in Jūrmala restaurant
with summer terrace on Friday, from 19:00 up to 1:00 in the night - Cups, medals, certificates for the winners
- Badges & gifts to all participants
The excursion will not be included in the program, first because it would rise the cost of the event. The second reason is that being in the middle of the touristic resort everybody can find his own way to spend time nicely.
Contact: wccc2024@wfcc.ch | +371 29425737 (phone/WhatsApp – Julia Vysotska)
Jurmala
For about 100 years Jurmala is a favorite Latvian beach resort, about 30 km of white-sand beach without any interruptions! It was established in 1920, as Riga’s Jurmala (“Seaside of Riga”), but later in 1959 got its final autonomy from Riga.
Actually, the city of Jurmala doesn’t look as a city, but a group of a small resorts, of 1-2 km long, along the sea cost. Each of those resorts has its own name, has a train station, and also is marked with the sign on the beach. So, walking along the beach you can always see how far you are, how many train stations passed. Starting from Riga it is: Lielupe, Bulduri, Dzintari, Majori, Dubulti, Jaundubulti, Pumpuri, Melluži, Asari, Vaivari, Kauguri. Majori is considered the center of Jurmala, the place of biggest hotels, restaurants, shops and a walking area. And this is the place of our main venue, Jurmala SPA hotel.
There are few important remarks about Jurmala: (1) Traditionally, this is a resort of old villas, nice wooden houses of 1-3 floors. Many boutique hotels and apartments, houses for rent for summer time, but just three big hotels with conference halls and possibilities to meet about 150-200 guests. (2) We are on the north, and the summer season is too short, lasts not more than 3 months of summer, sometimes even shorter.
It affects the prices in Jurmala’s hotels at summer time making them quite high.
Later on we will publish some more information about Jurmala, places to go, things to do.
Getting to Jurmala
Jurmala is just 10km away from Riga International airport! 20 min by car/taxi, or 40 min by bus.
Local airline, airBaltic, offers about 70 direct flights to Riga at summer season.
Some more detailed information coming.
We are looking forward to seeing you in Jurmala! Let’s have fun together!
Entering Latvia: Visas
Latvia is a member of the European Union, therefore travelling to Latvia and crossing borders is as simple as travel to any other European Union country. Latvia is part of the Schengen Area, which is why those travelling to Latvia from the Schengen Area do not have to go through border controls. There are border controls on Latvia’s borders with Russia and Belarus.
Visa-free travel
Citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Brazil and other countries do not need a visa to visit Latvia. Visa-free travelers may stay in Latvia for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days.
No border controls for travelling in Schengen Area
Citizens of the European Union member states, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland do not require a visa to travel to Latvia.
Latvia is part of the Schengen Area. There are no border controls on the internal borders between Schengen countries, therefore citizens of the European Union and third-country nationals are free to travel within the Schengen Area. If you arrive in Latvia by car or bus from Lithuania or Estonia, or if you travel by ferry or plane from the Schengen countries, you will not have to go through border controls.
We highly recommend you to have your passport or other ID on you while travelling in the Schengen Area. If necessary, the document will be the proof of your identity. A driving licence or bankcard is not considered a valid travel or ID document.
Latvian visas
Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China and other countries require a visa to travel to Latvia. In Moldova, only holders of biometric passports are free to travel to Latvia visa-free, other citizens need to have a valid visa.
Tourists travel to Latvia on a Schengen visa, which is valid for staying in Latvia as well as in the other Schengen Area member states. Passport control on the border is only done once the person crosses into the Schengen Area. If the person has been issued a visa for a short-stay visit to a Schengen country, the maximum duration of the intended stay is 90 days within a 180-day period. If the person needs to stay in Latvia for longer than 90 days, he or she has to apply for a long-stay visa or a residence permit.
If you wish to visit several Schengen countries, you do not have to apply for a visa in each of the given Schengen country’s diplomatic representation. Application for a visa has to be submitted only to the representation of that country that is your main destination. If there is no main destination, you have to turn to a representation of the country whose external border will be the first to cross in order to enter the Schengen Area.
Applying for a visa
To apply for a visa, the following has to be submitted: passport, visa application form, a photograph, travel medical insurance policy valid for the whole Schengen Area, and other documents. For further information about the documents required when applying for a visa, contact a representation of Latvia, where you are intending to receive your visa.
Application for a Schengen visa can be filled out online. A fee is charged for issuing a visa. An application for a visa must be submitted not sooner than three months before the start of the intended visit.