There are 186 players from 35 nations across the continent registered for the tournament, including 72 Grandmasters (GM) and 128 titled players in total.

GM Gawain Jones of England is the highest rated player at the competition, with a rating of 2684.

He has been ranked around the 2700 mark for several years and remains one of the country's best players, regularly featuring for the national team.

At the end of 2020, Jones won the online European Blitz Championship and is expected to perform in the capital.

Armenian number two, Gabriel Sargissian, has been in Iceland for a week already preparing for the event.

The Grandmaster has a 2682 rating.

Third seed GM David Navara of the Czech Republic has reached the highest rating out of anyone in the field having bested 2750.

Now ranked at a very respectable 2675, Navara will be looking to improve upon his previous best second place at the European Individual Championship which he achieved in 2015 in Jerusalem.

The total prize fund is €100,000 (£85,650/$117,623), with €20,000 reserved for the winner.

Besides the regular prizes, there will be special rewards for the best junior, women and senior players as well as awards for the five highest placed Association of Chess Professionals premium members.

The championship will be played according to the European Chess Union (ECU) Tournament Rules Swiss system of 11 rounds.

It is also a qualifying event for the International Chess Federation World Cup 2023 with 23 places available.

The official venue of the championship is Hotel Natura, which has a rich history of hosting chess events.

American Bobby Fischer stayed at the hotel during his famous 1972 World Championship match against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, which Fischer won to end Spassky's three-year reign as world champion.