57th World Congress of Chess Composition
38th World Chess Solving Championship
August 23-30, 2014 in Berne
INVITATION
The Schweizerische Vereinigung der Kunstschachfreunde and the Organizing Committee "OK WCCC 2014", has the honor to invite all delegates of the WFCC, national teams, individual chess solvers and composers and all those interested in problem chess, to attend the 57th World Congress of Chess Composition (WCCC) and 38th World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC).
The congress will be held in the Hotel Novotel Bern Expo, in Berne - Switzerland, part of the Novotel Hotel complex, from Saturday August 23rd (arrival) to Saturday August 30th (departure) with the Open Solving on Monday, August 25 and the WCSC on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 26 and 27.
The Hotel Novotel Bern Expo is a 4*-Hotel, located opposite the BERNEXPO exhibition center, the ice hockey stadium, the national horse riding center and 200 m from the Stade de Suisse (football stadium) and the Zentrum Paul Klee. There is a tram station right in front of the hotel, from where it only takes 7 minutes to the old city. The hotel features a restaurant, bar, Internet corner and free Wi-Fi in the whole hotel, private pay parking and a fitness center.
In the same Building there are two more Hotels, the Hotel ibis Bern Expo and the Hotel ibis budget Bern Expo.
Accommodation
Prices are payable in CHF:
| double room per person / day |
single room per day |
|
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Ibis Bern Budget | CHF 70 / ~€ 56 | CHF 140 / ~€112 |
| Hotel Ibis Bern Expo | CHF 100 / ~€ 80 | CHF 165 / ~€132 |
| Novotel Expo Hotel | CHF 120 / ~€ 96 | CHF 200 / ~€160 |
These rates include accommodation with breakfast (including tourist tax and VAT), free Wi-Fi, free use of all trams and buses within Berne
and all chess activities as well as the excursion. Please check back with us for kid's rates.
As for now, the closing banquet will be extra, but we are still working hard on this.
The participation fee for those not staying in the hotels is CHF 120 / ~€100 and includes registration, the excursion and participation in the solving tournaments.
The Hotel Ibis Bern Expo has mainly double rooms, only two twin rooms are available, with an optional additional bed.
The Hotel Ibis Bern Budget offers both, double rooms (additional bed possible, but the room will be very small) and twin rooms.
Participants who want to share a twin room and do not have a roommate are asked to let us know. We will add the request on the participant list.
Payment
According to our current knowledge participants will be able to pay the accommodation either by major credit cards or cash at the hotel.
Transport
Berne is situated in the heart of Western Europe, very well reachable by plane (from the international airports Zurich and Geneva, where there are direct train services to Berne; and Berne itself has a tiny international airport), trains from all over Europe and by car.
Activities
Berne and its vicinity have a lot to offer. Franziska will publish a few ideas for activities and excursion on the web site in the next months. Please check the web site in the future to obtain more information.
Sheridan Handloser has offered to lead a few walks in and around Berne if participants and particularly accompanying persons are interested.
Visa Information
Switzerland belongs to the Schengen Agreement and all nationals allowed to travel to the Schengen area do not need a Visa to travel to Switzerland.
Especially citizens of the following countries will need to check their Visa requirements: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia.
This list is not complete, please check the website for details and forms:
https://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/bfm/en/home/themen/einreise/merkblatt_einreise.html
In case you need travel insurance for your visa application, this is where to obtain it: http://www.axa-schengen.com/en/schengen-insurance
Please note that we can issue a "letter of invitation", but are not able to confirm any cost coverage.
Contact
Please send your reservation before June 30th 2014 to:
Email: wccc2014@kunstschach.ch
WCCC2014, Thomas Maeder, Frohbergweg 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
With your reservation we will need the following information:
- Your name and the names of all participants travelling with you
- Arrival and departure dates
- Name of the Hotel you prefer
- Type of room (if applicable)
- Type of payment (cash or credit card)
You will get confirmation of your reservation and we will forward your reservation to the hotels.
Please note that we cannot guarantee the hotel reservation after June 30, 2014.
We are looking forward to seeing you in Berne!
On behalf of the Organizing Committee
Thomas Maeder and Franziska Iseli
Download invitation as PDF