There is a long tradition that world champions meet at ICCF congresses.
In according to my statistics the most frequent guests among world champions (including ICCF Congress 2013 in Kraków, Poland) are:
| Times | World Champions | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 11th Fritz Baumbach (GER) | without any break since gaining world champion title !!! |
| 9 | 6th Horst Rittner (GER) | |
| 9 | 12th Grigory Sanakoev (RUS) | |
| 7 | 16th Tunc Hamarat (AUT) |
The biggest number of world champions hosted by ICCF Congresses:
| ICCF Congress | WC# |
|---|---|
| 1999 Thun, Switzerland | 6 |
| 2006 Dresden, Germany | 6 |
| 2013 Kraków, Poland | 6 |
At this page below evidences of these very specific meetings have been placed, based on my archive and photos from book „Who is the Champion of the Champions?” by Fritz Baumbach.
I would be happy to suplement this page with evidences for other congress meetings 🙂
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2013 Kraków (POL)
World Champions to be present at the ICCF Congress 2013, Kraków (POLAND)
| # | WC # | Period | Surname | First Name | MF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06 | 1968-1971 | Rittner | Horst | GER |
| 2 | 11 | 1983-1989 | Baumbach | Fritz | GER |
| 3 | 20 | 2004-2011 | Lehikoinen | Pertti | FIN |
| 4 | 24 | 2009-2012 | Šemrl | Marjan | SLO |
| 5 | 25 | 2009-2013 | Finocchiaro | Fabio | ITA |
| 6 | 26 | 2010-? | Langeveld | Ron | NED |
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[nggallery id=22]
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2011 Helsinki (FIN)
 |
| From left to right: Marjan Šemrl, Pertti Lehikoinen, Tunc Hamarat, Fritz Baumbach and Horst Rittner |
| Five World Champions meeting at the ICCF Congress in Helsinki (Finland) |
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2006 Dresden (GER)
 |
| From left to right: Gert Jan Timmerman, Ivar Bern, Fritz Baumbach, Tunc Hamarat, Horst Rittner and Grigory Sanakoev |
| Six World Champions meeting at the ICCF Congress in Dresden (Germany) |
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1999 Thun (SUI)
 |
| From left to right: Horst Rittner, Tõnu Õim, Vytas Palciauskas, Fritz Baumbach, Mikhail Umansky and Grigory Sanakoev together with ICCF Honorary President Alan Borwell from Scotland |
| Six World Champions before the market fountain during the ICCF Congress in Thun (Switzerland) |
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1998 Riga (LAT)
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| From left to right: Fritz Baumbach and Tõnu Õim |
| Double world champion Tõnu Õim and Fritz Baumbach in front of the monument of the great Paul Keres who defeated nine world champions. But Estonia had to wait for a world champion title until 1982 (picture taken during the ICCF Congress in Riga in 1998). |
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1988 Arhus (DEN) (Presidium Meeting)
 |
| From left to right: Horst Rittner, Vladimir Zagorovsky, Fritz Baumbach and Jørn Sloth |
| It is very rare that a new champion is physically present at the ceremony during the ICCF Congress following his victory. Normally he receives his Gold Medal by post. Fritz Baumbach experienced this overwhelming moment. |
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