Ioannis Nikolaidis has become international master at the age of 23 and one year later a grandmaster (1995). He has achieved numerous notable success in international tournaments while he has participated for many years in the Greek National Team in Olympiads and all kind of team events, while he has also worked as its head coach. Among the Greek community he is highly respected by his colleague’s grandmasters and worthy received the well-known pet name “The scientist”. This is his third time participating in GM norm Fischer Memorial Tournament; on September 2017 in Anogia where he came 3rd with 5,5/9 and on this January in Heraklion tying first with 6/9.

A phenomenal chess prodigy, the Youngest International Master in history of Chess (at age 10 years 8 months). He is 12 years old with rating of 2520. He has won World under 8 Championship in 2013 and World under 10 Championship in 2015. How else to introduce a future super-GM?

He has achieved the supreme title in chess on 2011, in the age of 23 years old. This will be his first time in GM norm tournaments in Heraklion and he will be escorted by his newly married wife WIM Petrova Kristyna who will participate in the other GM group, the GM Norm Capablanca Memorial.

Arkell learned to play chess aged 13. His brother Nicholas was also a strong player. FIDE awarded Arkell the title of International Master in 1985, and he became a Grandmaster ten years later. He was the 1998 British Rapidplay Chess Champion, having recorded his peak Elo rating of 2545 just two years earlier. In the early part of the 2000s, before taking a break from serious chess, he showed that he could perform consistently at a high level; he tied for second place at the 2001 British Chess Championship, tied for second at the strong Hastings Premier of 2002/3, took first place at the Wroxham Masters (2002) and tied for second at Montpellier (2002). At Gausdal (2002), he beat GMs Stelios Halkias, Vasilios Kotronias and rising star Magnus Carlsen, to finish joint fourth, only a half point off the shared first to third places. His achievements were recognised when he was voted third (2002) and second (2003) in the British Chess Federation’s Player of the Yearawards. In subsequent years he focused his chess play on the weekend congress circuit, rather than competing in overseas tournaments. Also in 2008, he tied for first place at the British Championship with GM Stuart Conquest, but lost the overall title after a two-game speed chess play-off. His final standing did however qualify him for the title of ‘English Champion’. Arkell won the 2014 European Senior Chess Championship in Porto. It was the first year the championship had been split into two separate age categories; 50 years plus and 65 years plus. He won the former and was later voted the English Chess Federation’s Player of the Year for 2014. Arkell shared first at the 2014 World Senior (50+) Championship, in Katerini, with 8.5/11 losing on tiebreak to Zurab Sturua.

George Goumas since he was very young was among the strongest players of the country with a lasting participation to the national championships and many successes in international tournaments. These last years has become a professional coach with big successes. 2 years ago he has become Team Greek Champion with his team, Fysiolatris. A year ago he achieved an IM norm in the 1st Fischer Memorial GM norm held in Heraklion and now as he is completing his military service he seems ready for another one.

Konstantinos Markidis is a very solid and experienced player having achieved various international master norms and he is regular visitor of Cretan tournaments. This is his first time participating in a GM norm tournament in Crete with the aim of approaching the boarder line of 2400 which will grant him the IM title.

An astonishing process is underway this period for 17 years old FM Anand Nadar who managed to increase his rating by more than 100 points in the last rating list of April 2018. He became World School Champion on 2015 and Fide awarded him with the fide master title.

Konstantinos Anagnostopoulos has achieved a great deal of progress this last period since in less than a year he gathered more or less 150 rating points! Nevertheless, Caissa has being unjust to him since three times he was very near in the achievement of an IM norm and all of them it was not succeed by some extreme unfortunate minor events. He is the only player that has so far participated in all the GM norm events realized in Crete this last year.

He became British Champion under 16 on 2015 and gained the title of Fide Master. This year has started in a beautiful way for him since he scored 5,5/9 in the strong Hastings Masters tournament achieving his first IM norm and gaining 52 rating points. This is his third participation to the event and he is looking forward for his second IM norm.

George Mitsis is distinguished by his passion and uncompromising game style which has brought him inside the 80 best players of the world of his age. He is returning in Heraklion for a GM norm tournament for the 3rd time and he has proved in numerous occasions that he is an exceptional dangerous opponent.

He played for the Lithuanian team in every Chess Olympiad since 1992, except in 2000 and 2012. Rozentalis won the Lithuanian Chess Championship in 1981, 1983 (jointly with Aloyzas Kveinys) and 2002. In 1995 he tied for first in the Canadian Open Chess Championship. He also tied for first, with 6/9, in the 2008 staging of this event, in Montreal. In 2009/10 he tied for 1st-5th with Radosław Wojtaszek, Pavel Ponkratov, Luke McShane and Igor Lysyj at the 39th Rilton Cup in Stockholm. In May 2010, he won the 3rd Magistral Ciudad de Asunción Copa Roggio tournament. In 2012 Rozentalis won the Cultural Village tournament in Wijk aan Zee and qualified for the Grandmaster Group C of the 2013 Tata Steel Chess Tournament; however, he did not take part in the latter event. On September 2017 has participated to the 2nd GM norm Capablanca Memorial in Anogia. In 2018, the second edition of his book The Correct Exchange in the Endgame was published.

He has been awarded with the International Master title at the age of 20, on 2014. He is in the top 20 list of the French players and top 500 of the world having lots of success in international tournaments. This is his first participation to a closed norm tournament in Crete!

Just few days before the start of the tournament he managed to achieve his last third GM norm and will soon be awarded with the grandmaster title! 7 years ago, when he was 20, he was awarded the international master title.

Spiros Kapnisis was awarded with the grandmaster title on 2011 when he reached his peak rating performance of 2529 of July of the same year. After having a career full of success he has switched the last few year in the training field with great success and he is now the federal coach for the national men’s Greek team. On 2016 he has become Team Greek Champion with his team, Fysiolatris. He has managed to win as clear first both 1st (Heraklion) and 2nd (Anogia) Fischer Memorial GM norm tournaments with 7/9 and 6,5/9 accordingly. Quite an achievement since both tournaments where really strong. This time he will participate in the Capablanca Memorial GM norm tournament.

Nikos Georgakopoulos is heading for his third IM norm in this tournament. His previous participation in Crete round robin tournaments was in the 2nd Fischer Memorial GM norm in Anogia where he managed to achieve his second IM norm.

Panagiotis Koutoukidis was U18 Greek Champion on 2013 and he is in a steady growth period in his chess process. He is part of the new generation of strong chess players and he will participate for the first time in a round robin tournament in Crete.

He is one of the new hopes of the Russian chess, being already World No27 U14 and country’s No5. His last tournament was European Individual Championship 2018 in Batumi where he scored 50% with 5,5/11 wining 21 rating points. Last April he managed to win in just one month 172 rating points! This is his first participation to a round robin tournament in Crete.

She has become woman international master 8 years ago, while on October 2015 has achieved her peak rating performance with 2330. Newly married with grandmaster Petr Martin who will participate in the other GM norm group. This is her first participation to a round robin tournament in Crete.

Quite a regular visitor and actually a resident of Crete, he participates quite often in summer Cretan tournaments having achieved many remarkable results. This is his first participation in a round robin tournament in Crete.