- from John Higgs, Head of Delegation

The waiting was over, the long journeys complete. At 4pm today our 48 players (supported by 12 coaches) played their first move in WSCC 2013. Together with 550 children from 42 counties they played their first game in the Olympic Hall. From U7s to U17s they all proudly wore their England shirts and walked in to the playing area with heads held high – they did look very smart.

With so many different languages players worried about how to offer a draw, what to tell the Greek arbiters if there was a problem and so on. However all passed peacefully and there were no problems with opponents or results (note that any appeals cost euro 100!). Lara had a great start to her tournament and picked up a point when her opponent failed the default time. Worried parents waiting outside began to relax and over the course of the next 3/4 hours a slow trickle of England players emerged with stories of how their games went. A special mention to John Fraser, playing in his first international event, who played a 5 hour 40 minute game in the U17 open and came out so relaxed! How does he do it!

After the games players made their way back to the hotel, 10 minutes walk, for analysis with their coaches. It was long day but very satisfying. Points on the first day 13.5/48. Do follow our progress via twitter during the day via our twitter account: @ECFWSCC2013