Opening the Congress, the ICCF President Eric Ruch (FRA) warmly welcomed all the participants and expressed appreciation for the Finnish Correspondence Chess Federation hosting the 2011 ICCF Congress and all the hard work of the organizers in preparing the accommodations and facilities. 

Summary of the President’s Opening Speech:

It is my great pleasure that an ICCF Congress is being held here in Finland after twenty years, again in the nice city of Järvenpää, and in the very same hotel as twenty years ago. I would like to thank all the members of the committee of the Finnish correspondence chess federation for their dedicated work in for the Congress and especially Esko Nuutilainen who has been instrumental in the long preparation work throughout this year.

For those of you who had the chance to take part to the 1991 Congress will probably remember that this was the occasion to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Finnish Correspondence Chess Federation. Today we are all 20 years older and gathered here to celebrate the Gold anniversary (50 years) of the Finnish CC Federation.  Half a century is a major landmark for any federation and I am really proud to be with our Finnish friend this week to celebrate this anniversary! ...

Finnish players have always been very successful in ICCF tournaments, but it will be for a great honour to award the gold medal for the victory in the 1st ICCF Web chess open to Auno Siikaluoma and the title for the 20^th World Championship to Pertti Lehikoinen, who are both present with us in this audience. I do not forget that we have also the great pleasure to congratulate another World Champion, Marjan Semrl, and the Delegate from Slovenia who has won the 24^th Correspondence Chess World Championship. 

And is this year is very special we will have the unique chance to crown a third World Champion, Ulrich Stephan from Germany who has won the 23^rd Correspondence World Championship ....

We will have the pleasure to crown three new world champions but at the same time, ICCF has to suffer the loss of the 13^th Correspondence Chess World Champion, Michael Umansky who sadly passed away on December 18^th at the early age of 58. Many of you will surely share with me that Umansky was definitely amongst the strongest players that the correspondence chess has seen and the games he had played to win the Jubilee World Champion Tournament in 2001 can be considered as the most beautiful jewels of CC games.

Could I ask you to stand for a moment, in silence, in respect to these CC friends and other players and officials who passed away during the last year. One-minute of silence

While we are celebrating the Gold Jubilee of the Finnish Correspondence Chess Federation, we will also celebrate the Diamond year of ICCF. ICCF is 60 years old or 60 years young.

The last decade from the Gold to the Diamond year have seen many changes in our Federation. Ten years ago, the majority of games were played by email, and only Nol has had the vision of what has now become so common to most of us and to most of ICCF players: the webserver. 

It is hardly possible to imagine today how we could play without the server, but this is only less than 10 years back. So close but also so far away….

More and more National Federation are using the server for their own tournament, the number of players and tournaments are gradually increasing, tournaments like the Direct Entry Anniversary Open, the jubilee World Cups, the veteran World cup have proven to be very successful. New capabilities such as Chess960 have been introduced this year on the server, more work has to be done to ease the registration and payment of players, tournament automation, playing on your Smartphone’s: ICCF has to remain on the lead to offer to the players to best service using the latest technology developments....

For ICCF to remain at the leadership of Correspondence Chess we need the continuous support of all the Member Federations and the involvement of many dedicated volunteers. As you all know, this year is also a year of election during which the Executive Board members will be elected for the period 2012 – 2015. Without the support of dedicated volunteers nothing is possible, but we have to really to understand why there is only one EB member remaining today amongst the six elected four years ago in Benalmadena. This year again, many tasks have been not tackled in Marketing, development of the server, website, which put additional burden on the shoulders of the other officials. Many times, during last Congress, I have reminded you the absolute necessity to find new volunteers and this year will be the same. More volunteers are needed!

Finally I would like to welcome new friends attending Congress for the first time and all delegates, delegation members, accompanying persons and families for coming to Finland and wish them a productive and very enjoyable week here in Järvenpää but we shall not forget all our absent friends that had not been able to come to be with us ……..and now I hereby declare the

40^th ICCF Congress, Järvenpää 2011, duly open