The First Names

The clock shows 249 players at the start of Day 1b, with late registration open up until the end of Level 6. Among the first players are last year's winner Avishai Shitrit, Sam Grafton, chess grandmaster Loek van Wely, and Miroslav Forman.

Shitrit conquered the inaugural Eureka Bucharest Main Event last year, which attracted 579 runners. It ended with an all-Israeli heads-up between Shitrit and his countryman Moshe Eliyahu. Shitrit won the heads-up, lifted the trophy, and took home €107,350 for his efforts.