It took three years for the ECC Championship to be back after premier edition in 1975. This time only eight teams arrived, since France were missing. The competition was perhaps a bit weaker. There were no GMs, and top two rated players were Tóth and Tatai of Italy. The Italians were top seeds ahead of the British team and the Netherlands. West German team composed of untitled players of mediocre strength.

The outcome of the games was more than surprising. It was Germany who took an early lead wiping out Great Britain at the start. The Germans retained the lead until the very end earning decisive advantage on day five as they beat Denmark 3-1 and saw their most dangerous opposition Great Britain losing to the Netherlands. Great Britain won second place holding charging Italy on the last day. The Italians took disappointing bronze having a few slip-ups meanwhile, like conceding 1½ point vs Ireland or losing 3-1 to Germany.

Van der Vliet, Dutch fourth board scored 5/6 to prove best player of the event judging by percentage result. The Germans did not lose a single game throughout the event!