Privacy Policy

Last updated: 29 July 2026

Protecting the personal data of our website visitors, tournament participants and partners is important to us.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data is collected through vardaris.com, why it is collected, how it is used, with whom it may be shared and what rights individuals have regarding their personal data.

Personal data is processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Greek Law 4624/2019 and the applicable Greek and European legislation on personal data protection and electronic communications.

1. Data Controller

The controller responsible for the processing of personal data through this website is:

SACH Thessaloniki Chess Club
Organiser of the Vardaris International Chess Tournament
Thessaloniki, Greece
Email: info@vardaris.com

For any matter concerning the protection of your personal data, you may contact us at the email address above.

2. Personal Data We Collect

Depending on how you use the website or participate in the tournament, we may collect the following categories of personal data.

Contact information

When you contact us or complete an online form, we may collect:

your full name,
your email address,
your telephone number,
the content of your message or request.

Tournament registration information

When registering for the tournament, we may collect:

the player’s full name,
date or year of birth,
gender or competition category, where required,
country or chess federation,
chess club,
FIDE identification number or another registration number,
international or national rating,
chess title or playing category,
contact details,
parent or legal guardian details when the participant is a minor,
information relating to entry-fee payment,
special requests relating to participation or accommodation.

Tournament information

During and after the tournament, the following information may be recorded and published:

pairings,
results,
standings,
games,
statistical information,
final rankings,
prizes and distinctions.

Photography and Audiovisual Coverage

Official photography and video recording will take place throughout the tournament, including in the playing hall, spectator areas, award ceremonies and other tournament spaces.

The resulting material may be used solely for reporting on, promoting and preserving the historical record of the Vardaris International Chess Tournament and its organiser. It may be published on their official websites, social media accounts, press releases, printed publications and other tournament-related communication channels.

Participants, accompanying persons and visitors who do not wish to appear in identifiable close-up photographs or video footage may notify the Organising Committee before or during the tournament. Reasonable measures will be taken to respect such requests.

Technical information

When you visit the website, certain technical information may be collected automatically, including:

IP address,
device and browser type,
operating system,
date and time of access,
pages visited,
server and security logs,
information collected through cookies or similar technologies.

3. Sources of Personal Data

Personal data may be provided:

directly by you,
by a parent or legal guardian,
by a representative of a chess club or team,
through national or international chess databases,
by FIDE, the Hellenic Chess Federation or another relevant chess federation,
through publicly available lists of players, ratings and tournament results.

4. Purposes and Legal Bases of Processing

We process personal data for the following purposes.

Tournament organisation and administration

Personal data is used to register participants, confirm entries, create tournament groups, produce pairings and results, award prizes and manage the tournament generally.

This processing is necessary for the performance of the participation agreement and for taking steps before participation in the tournament.

Communication with participants and website visitors

We use personal data to respond to enquiries and to provide information about the schedule, changes, payments, accommodation or other organisational matters.

This processing is based on the performance of the participation agreement or on our legitimate interest in responding to requests and enquiries.

Publication of pairings, results and games

The publication of a participant’s name, club, federation, rating, pairings, results and games is a necessary part of the operation and transparency of an official chess tournament.

This processing is based on the organisation of the tournament and on our legitimate interest in presenting the competition accurately, transparently and as part of its historical record.

Participants’ contact details are not published.

Promotion and historical documentation

Photographs, videos and tournament material may be used on the website, on social media, in press releases and in informational or promotional material relating to the tournament.

This processing is based on our legitimate interest in informing the public and promoting the tournament or, where required, on the consent of the individual concerned.

Financial and legal compliance

Certain personal data may be processed for issuing receipts or invoices, maintaining financial records, managing payments and complying with tax, accounting or other legal obligations.

Website operation and security

Technical data may be processed to operate the website securely, prevent misuse, investigate technical problems and protect our systems.

This processing is based on our legitimate interest in maintaining a secure and functional website.

Newsletters and updates

Where you subscribe to a mailing list, we may use your email address to send information about the tournament or future editions.

Such communications are based on your consent. You may withdraw your consent or unsubscribe at any time.

Cookies and analytics services

Strictly necessary cookies are used for the basic and secure operation of the website.

Optional cookies, including analytics, advertising or third-party content cookies, are activated only after the relevant consent has been provided, where consent is required.

Further information is available in our separate Cookie Policy.

5. Mandatory Information

Certain information requested during tournament registration is necessary for completing the registration and enabling participation.

Where mandatory information is not provided, we may be unable to complete the registration or allow participation in the tournament.

Optional fields will be identified accordingly.

6. Recipients of Personal Data

Personal data may be accessed, only where necessary, by:

authorised members of the organising committee,
tournament arbiters and competition administrators,
website hosting and technical-support providers,
email and online-form service providers,
payment-service providers, where applicable,
tournament pairing, results and live-game platforms,
FIDE, the Hellenic Chess Federation or other relevant chess federations,
photography, video-production or communications partners,
hotels or accommodation partners, only where necessary and requested by the participant,
public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

External service providers processing personal data on our behalf are required to use it only in accordance with our instructions and to apply appropriate security measures.

7. Publication of Tournament Information

Due to the public nature of the tournament, certain competition-related information may appear:

on the tournament website,
on pairing and results platforms,
on chess federation websites,
in rating databases,
in live-game broadcasts,
in publications and historical archives relating to the tournament.

Publicly available tournament information may include the participant’s name, country, club, rating, title, FIDE identification number, pairings, results, final ranking and games.

8. Transfers Outside the European Economic Area

Some technical providers, platforms or social-media services may be based outside the European Economic Area or may store personal data outside it.

Where this occurs, appropriate safeguards are applied, such as European Commission adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

9. Data Retention

Personal data is retained only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

In particular:

registration information is retained for the completion of the tournament and for as long as necessary to address organisational, financial or legal matters,
financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law,
communications are retained for as long as necessary to respond to and complete the relevant request,
mailing-list information is retained until consent is withdrawn or the individual unsubscribes,
technical logs are retained for a limited period for security purposes,
results, rankings, games, photographs and historical material may be retained for a longer period as part of the public and historical record of the tournament.

10. Personal Data of Minors

Where a participant is a minor, registration and the provision of personal data must be completed or approved by a parent or legal guardian.

The parent or legal guardian is responsible for ensuring that the information provided is accurate and that they are authorised to provide it.

We take particular care not to publish contact details or unnecessary personal information relating to minors.

11. Your Rights

Under personal data protection legislation, you may have the following rights, depending on the circumstances:

the right to receive information about the processing of your personal data,
the right of access,
the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data,
the right to request deletion,
the right to restrict processing,
the right to data portability,
the right to object to processing,
the right to withdraw consent at any time.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@vardaris.com.

We may request additional information to verify your identity before responding to your request. Requests will be handled without undue delay and within the time limits provided by law.

12. Right to Lodge a Complaint

Where you believe that the processing of your personal data infringes data protection legislation, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the:

Hellenic Data Protection Authority

Information about the complaint procedure is available on the Authority’s official website.

13. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects website users or tournament participants.

14. Personal Data Security

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against:

unauthorised access,
loss,
alteration,
disclosure,
destruction,
unlawful or unfair processing.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect personal data, no method of electronic transmission or storage can guarantee absolute security.

15. Third-Party Links and Content

The website may contain links, videos, maps, social-media features, tournament-results platforms or other third-party content.

These third parties may collect personal data in accordance with their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent websites or services.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated when our website services, tournament organisation or applicable legislation changes.

The current version will always be published on this page together with the date of the latest update.

17. Contact

For questions, requests or clarifications concerning this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data, please contact:

SACH Thessaloniki Chess Club
Email: info@vardaris.com
Location: Thessaloniki, Greece