ChessVista.com is the website of chess photographer Frits Agterdenbos. The site provides the international chess community with high quality chess photos and chess news of chess players from international chess events. There will be visual reports and an album with chess photo collections showing all the visual aspects of the chess world.Yaroslav Zherebukh wins 8th BDO Chess Tournament02.09.2012 GM Yaroslav Zherebukh (Ukraine, age 19) has won the 8th BDO Chess Tournament, which took place 25 August - 2 September 2012 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. By winning the Premier Tournament (a ten player Round Robin tournament) Zherebukh received an invitation to Wijk aan Zee (Tata Steel Chess) 2013 Group C. Final standings: 1.Yaroslav Zherebukh (7.0/9), 2.Twan Burg (6.0), 3.Friso Nijboer and Robin Swinkels (5.0), 5.David Klein (4.5), 6.Vaibhav Suri (4.0), 7.Martijn Dambacher, Krystian Kuzmicz and Alexander Donchenko (3.5), 10.Jaap de Jager (3.0). Twan Burg made a GM norm. Manuel Bosboom won the second group: the Challenger Tournament. Final standings 1.Manuel Bosboom (6.0/9), 2.Rob Schoorl (6.0), 3.Arthur Pijpers and Ivo Wantola (5.0), 5.Merijn van Delft, Yochanan Afek and Jonas Lampert (4.5), 8.Thomas Willemze (4.0), 9.Michal Bartel (3.0), 10.Zoran S. Ilic (2.5). Photo impression of round 9 by Frits Agterdenbos.Korchnoi wins CEG versus Legendaries10.08.2012 Viktor Korchnoi has won the CEG versus Legendaries (CEG contre Legendes) chess tournament, which took place 4-10 August in Geneva (Switzerland). Five former World Championship candidates (the Legendaries: Ulf Andersson, Vlastimil Hort, Viktor Korchnoi, Zoltan Ribli and Kevin Spraggett) played against five players of Switzerland (Alexandre Domont, Bastien Dubessay, Richard Gerber, Lars Rindlisbacher and Alexandre Vuilleumier) in a double round Scheveningen system tournament. Viktor Korchnoi, Kevin Spraggett and Zoltan Ribli all scored 7.0/10, but Korchnoi was declared winner on a better Sonneborn-Berger individual score. Spraggett finished second and Ribli third. The tournament was organized by the Chess Club of Geneva (Club d'Echecs de Genève) in the Swissôtel Métropole, a five star hotel located in the chic shopping area with a view over the Lac Léman. ChessVista provides you with a photo impression of the penultimate round (R9), the shopping area and sun bathing in Geneva. Photos (9 August) by Frits Agterdenbos.Hungaski and Greenfeld win SPAchess Open in Amsterdam22.07.2012 IM Robert Hungaski (USA) and GM Alon Greenfeld (ISR) have won the 2nd Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, 14-22 July in Amsterdam. The Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, also called SPAchess Open, included rating Groups A (elo >2050), B (elo 1800-2100), C (elo 1550-1850) and D (elo <1600). The 9-rounds Swiss event attracted 290 participants, including 6 GMs in Group A: Alon Greenfeld, Stewart Haslinger, Roeland Pruijssers, Gergely Antal, Tejas Bakre and Vladimir Sergeev. Four players shared third place: David Klein, Vladimir Sergeev, Sjoerd Plukkel (IM norm) and Gergely Antal. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Ivanchuk wins ACP Golden Classic in Amsterdam22.07.2012 Vassily Ivanchuk has won the ACP Golden Classic which took place 14-22 July place in Amsterdam (Netherlands). The tournament was organized by the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) in collaboration with Science Park Amsterdam Chess. The name ACP Golden Classic referred to the classic time control of the tournament: 2,5 hours/40 moves + adjournment. Seven strong players from seven different countries were invited: Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR, 2769), Gata Kamsky (USA, 2741), Baadur Jobava (GEO, 2730), Krishnan Sasikiran (IND, 2707), Le Quang Liem (VIE, 2693), Emil Sutovsky (ISR, 2687) and Anna Muzychuk (SLO, 2606). It was a Category XIX tournament with an overall prize-fund of 35000 USD. The event was unrated. Ivanchuk scored 5.0/6. Kamsky finished second with 4.5 points. Anna Muzychuk’s 50% score was excellent: a 2722 performance. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Ivan Sokolov’s just-in-time management21.07.2012 The final round of the Dutch Championship (a 8-player round-robin) started Saturday 21 July at 11.00 hours. Six players were present but nobody was at the board Ivan Sokolov - Sipke Ernst. Sipke Ernst was the first to arrive at 11.12 hours. Ivan Sokolov arrived much later but just in time: he made his first move at 11.54 hours. Six minutes later it would have been fatal. Then he would have been defaulted for not being present within one hour after the start time (11.00 hours) of the round. In an interview afterwards Ivan Sokolov told he had train problems and couldn't find a taxi. A friend, chess journalist Tom Bottema, picked him up with his car and delivered him just in time at the playing venue. Ivan Sokolov managed to win the game despite his loss of time, scored 5.0/7 points and finished second in the championship. A photo story by Frits Agterdenbos shows the excitement in the first 54 minutes of the final round.Dutch champions 2012: Anish Giri and Tea Lanchava21.07.2012 Anish Giri and Tea Lanchava have taken the Dutch Championship titles. The Dutch Championships took place 15-21 July in Sports Center Universum at Science Park Amsterdam, 5 km from the Amsterdam city centre. The 18 year old 2009 & 2011 Dutch champion Anish Giri dominated the field from the start to convincingly win his third championship title. Anish Giri finished on 6.0/7 points in the 8-player round-robin. He defeated Ivan Sokolov (second) and Erwin l’Ami (third) who finished both on 5.0 points. Robin van Kampen finished on fourth spot (3.5 points), followed by Jan Smeets (2.5), Dimitri Reinderman (2.0), Sipke Ernst (2.0) and Robin Swinkels (2.0). Tea Lanchava won the Dutch Championship Women title for the first time in her life. She won the 4-player double round-robin with 4.5/6, half a point ahead of number two: 13-fold Dutch Champion Women Zhaoqin Peng. Anne Haast finished third (2.5 points), followed by Martine Middelveld (1.0). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Hodge-podge chess in Science Park Amsterdam19.07.2012 The Science Park Amsterdam hodge-podge chess event, taking place 14-22 July, is a remarkable mixture of modern and classic chess. The top tournament, the ACP Golden Classic, is a 7 player round-robin with classic time control (2.5 hours for the first 40 moves) and adjourned games. The rate of play in the other tournaments (Dutch Championship, Dutch Championship Women and SPAchess Open) is 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game; with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the start. The Dutch Championship is a 8 player round-robin. The Dutch Championship Women is a 4 player double round-robin. The SPAchess Open, or Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, is a Swiss-system tournament. Vassily Ivanchuk is leading the ACP Golden Classic with 3.0/4. Gata Kamsky and Anna Muzychuk are second with 2.0 + 1 adjourned game. Anish Giri is dominating the Dutch Championship. He is first with 4.5/5. Ivan Sokolov, Erwin l’Ami and Robin van Kampen are second. Tea Lanchava is on first spot in the Dutch Championship Women with 3.5/4. In the main group (Group A) of SPAchess Open three players are leading with 5.0/6: Tejas Bakre, Manuel Bosboom and Floris van Assendelft. Photo impression (19 July) by Frits Agterdenbos.Chess Tournaments in Science Park Amsterdam18.07.2012 A major chess event is taking place in Sports Center Universum at Science Park Amsterdam, near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The ACP Golden Classic (14-22 July) participants are Vassily Ivanchuk, Gata Kamsky, Baadur Jobava, Krishnan Sasikiran, Le Quang Liem, Emil Sutovsky and Anna Muzychuk The Dutch Championship (15-21 July) participants are Anish Giri, Ivan Sokolov, Jan Smeets, Erwin l’Ami, Dimitri Reinderman, Robin van Kampen, Sipke Ernst and Robin Swinkels. The Dutch Championship Women (15-21 July) participants are Zhaoqin Peng, Tea Lanchava, Anne Haast and Martine Middelveld. The Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, also called SPAchess Open (14-22 July) includes Groups A, B, C and D. Among the participants in Group A are GMs Alon Greenfeld, Stewart Haslinger, Roeland Pruijssers, Gergely Antal, Tejas Bakre and Vladimir Sergeev. Photo impression (18 July) by Frits Agterdenbos.Erwin l’Ami wins Nova College Weekend Tournament 201208.07.2012 Dutch GM Erwin l’Ami has won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2012, which took place 6-8 July 2012 in Haarlem, Netherlands. GM Erwin l’Ami, GM Stewart Haslinger and GM Robin van Kampen scored 5.0/6 in Group A (elo>1950, 66 participants). The better Median Buchholz score brought Erwin l’Ami the cup plus the first prize (1200 euro). Stewart Haslinger finished second and Robin van Kampen finished third. They were followed by IM Chiel van Oosterom, GM Harmen Jonkman and GM Georgui Castaneda, who all scored 4.5 points. GM Ulf Andersson finished 7th with 4.0 points. The 2012 (11th) edition of the tournament attracted 185 participants (2011: 181, 2010: 120, 2009: 151, 2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 8 GMs and 5 IMs. Group B (elo<2000, 72 participants) was won by Ton Fasel, and Group C (elo<1650, 47 participants) was won by Frederique Lacourt. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Final round (6) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Levon Aronian winner29.01.2012 The final round (round 13) of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Sunday 29 January. Levon Aronian won the tournament, Pentala Harikrishna won Group B and Maxim Turov won Group C. Group A Final Standings: 1.Levon Aronian (9 points) 2.Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov (8) 5.Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura (7½) 7.Gata Kamsky (7) 8.Sergey Karjakin (6½) 9.Loek Van Wely (5½) 10.Vugar Gashimov, Boris Gelfand and Veselin Topalov (5) 13.Anish Giri and David Navara (4½). Group B Final Standings: 1.Pentala Harikrishna (9 points) 2.Lazaro Bruzon and Alexander Motylev (8½) 4.Erwin L'Ami and Sergey Tiviakov (8) 6.Illya Nyzhnyk and Dimitri Reinderman (7½) 8.Vladimir Potkin (6½) 9.Jan Timman (6) 10.Sipke Ernst (5) 11.Kateryna Lahno and Daniele Vocaturo (4½) 13.Viktorija Cmilyte (4) 14.Harika Dronavalli (3½). Group C Final Standings: 1.Maxim Turov (10½ points) 2.Hans Tikkanen (10) 3.Baskaran Adhiban and Daan Brandenburg (8½) 5.Sahaj Grover, Elisabeth Paehtz and Matthew Sadler (7) 8.Tania Sachdev (6) 9.Elina Danielian (5½) 10.Etienne Goudriaan (5) 11.Lars Ootes (4½) 12.Pieter Hopman and Lisa Schut (4) 14.Anne Haast (3½). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 1228.01.2012 Round 12 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Saturday 28 January. Group A: Levon Aronian is sole leader (with 8.5/12) after defeating Boris Gelfand with black. Magnus Carlsen (draw against Gata Kamsky) and Teimour Radjabov (draw against Vassily Ivanchuk) share second place with 7.5 points. Fabiano Caruana and Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura share fourth place with 7.0 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna is on first spot (with 8.5 points) after a draw against Alexander Motylev. Erwin L’Ami and Alexander Motylev share second place with 8.0 points. Lazaro Bruzon is fourth (7.5 points). Group C: Hans Tikkanen and Maxim Turov share first place (9.5 points) with a two points margin to Baskaran Adhiban and Daan Brandenburg (7.5 points). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 1127.01.2012 Round 11 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Friday 27 January. Group A: Only one draw, four black wins and two white wins. It was a remarkable day in Wijk aan Zee. R10 leader Levon Aronian lost to tail-ender David Navara, but remained in first position (with 7.5/11). Magnus Carlsen and Teimour Radjabov, who defeated respectively Veselin Topalov and Vugar Gashimov, share second place with 7.0 points. Fabiano Caruana and Vassily Ivanchuk share fourth place with 6.5 points. Group B: There was also only one draw in this group. Pentala Harikrishna lost to Dutchman Sipke Ernst, but stays in the lead with 8.0/11 points. Erwin L’Ami versus Alexander Motylev ended in a draw and both players share second place with 7.5 points. Lazaro Bruzon is fourth (6.5 points). Group C: Hans Tikkanen and Maxim Turov share first place (8.5 points) and Baskaran Adhiban is third (7.5 points). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 1025.01.2012 Round 10 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Wednesday 25 January. Group A: Four out of seven games ended in a win, the highest number so far, and all for Black. Anish Giri lost his third game in a row. In round 10 Levon Aronian was superior to him. The Armenian is sole leader with 7.5/10, a full point ahead of Vassily Ivanchuk who climbed up to second place after a win versus the unlucky tail-ender David Navara. Magnus Carlsen shares third place (6.0 points) with Teimour Radjabov, the tenth player who couldn’t defeat bottom seed Loek Van Wely. Fabiano Caruana, who defeated Veselin Topalov, and Hikaru Nakamura share fifth place with 5.5 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna won against Daniele Vocaturo and remains sole leader (8.0 points). Erwin L’Ami (who defeated Viktorija Cmilyte) and Alexander Motylev (who defeated Sipke Ernst) share second place with 7.0 points. Lazaro Bruzon (draw against Sergey Tiviakov) is fourth. Group C: Maxim Turov is sole leader (8.0 points) again after a draw against Elisabeth Paehtz and Hans Tikkanen’s loss to Dutchman Pieter Hopman. Hans Tikkanen is second (7.5) and Baskaran Adhiban is third (7.0). Thursday 26 January is the third rest day. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 924.01.2012 Round 9 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Tuesday 24 January. Group A: The upset of the day was Magnus Carlsen’s loss to Sergey Karjakin. Levon Aronian took maximum profit by defeating Fabiano Caruana taking sole lead (6.5/9) with a full point margin. Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk (who won against Holland’s hope Anish Giri), and Teimour Radjabov (draw with black against Gata Kamsky) share second place with 5.5 points. Hikaru Nakamura is fifth with 5.0 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna won against Illya Nyzhnyk and remains sole leader (7.0 points). Three players share second place with 6.0 points: Lazaro Bruzon (who defeated Vladimir Potkin), Erwin L’Ami (who defeated Harika Dronavalli) and Alexander Motylev. Illya Nyzhnyk and Sergey Tiviakov (who won against Dimitri Reinderman) share fifth place. Group C: Maxim Turov and Hans Tikkanen both won and share the first place (7.5 points), and Baskaran Adhiban is third (6.5). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 822.01.2012 Round 8 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Sunday 22 January. Group A: There was only one decisive game: Vugar Gashimov defeated Anish Giri. Magnus Carlsen (draw versus Teimour Radjabov) and Levon Aronian (draw versus Veselin Topalov) continue to share the lead, with 5.5/8 points. Teimour Radjabov is third with 5.0 points. Three players share fourth place with 4.5 points: Fabiano Caruana, Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura. Group B: The Indian Pentala Harikrishna is still leading (6.0 points) after drawing against Sergey Tiviakov. He is followed by Alexander Motylev (5.5 points) who defeated Daniele Vocaturo. Lazaro Bruzon and Erwin L’Ami both won their games and share third place with 5.0 points. Illya Nyzhnyk is fifth on 4.5 points. Group C: Maxim Turov and Hans Tikkanen share the first place (6.5 points), and Baskaran Adhiban is third (5.5). Monday 23 January is the second rest day. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 721.01.2012 Round 7 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Saturday 21 January. Group A: Magnus Carlsen rejoined Levon Aronian in the lead by defeating Boris Gelfand, while the Armenian made a draw against Vassily Ivanchuk. Both players are on 5.0/7. Teimour Radjabov (draw against Hikaru Nakamura) is third with 4.5 points. Four players share fourth place with four points: Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna remains sole leader with 5.5 points after a draw versus Vladimir Potkin. Alexander Motylev (draw versus Harika Dronavalli) is second with 4.5 points. Four players share third place with 4.0 points: Lazaro Bruzon and Erwin L’Ami, Illya Nyzhnyk and Dimitri Reinderman. Group C: Maxim Turov is first (6.0 points), Hans Tikkanen is second (5.5) and Baskaran Adhiban is third (5.0). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 620.01.2012 Round 6 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Friday 20 January. Group A: Four wins reshuffled the landscape in the main group. Levon Aronian is sole leader (with 4.5 points) after a win versus Vugar Gashimov. Magnus Carlsen couldn't keep up with the winning speed of the Armenian and made a draw against David Navara. The Norwegian world number one shares second place (4.0 points) with Teimour Radjabov who defeated Sergey Karjakin. Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri (win versus Gata Kamsky), Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura (win versus Boris Gelfand) share third place. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna defeated Jan Timman and stays in first spot with 5.0 points. Alexander Motylev is second with 4.0 points. Lazaro Bruzon and Erwin L’Ami share third place with 3.5 points. Group C: Maxim Turov secured his leading position (5.5 points) by drawing against Hans Tikkanen. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 519.01.2012 Round 5 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Thursday 19 January. Group A: Magnus Carlsen (draw against Anish Giri) and Levon Aronian (draw against Loek Van Wely) share the first place (3.5/5). Fabiano Caruana (draw against Gata Kamsky), Vassily Ivanchuk (who won against Vugar Gashimov) and Teimour Radjabov (draw against Veselin Topalov) share third place (3.0 points). Boris Gelfand defeated Sergey Karjakin. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna leads Group B with 4.0 points after drawing against Erwin L’Ami. Alexander Motylev (who won against Kateryna Lahno) is second with 3.0 points. Erwin L’Ami and Jan Timman (who won against Sipke Ernst) share third place with 2.5 points. Group C: Maxim Turov leads with maximum score 5.0/5 points. Lars Ootes was his round 5 victim. Hans Tikkanen is second and Baskaran Adhiban is third. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 417.01.2012 Round 4 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Tuesday 17 January. Group A: The world's two highest ranked share the first place (3.0/4) after Magnus Carlsen draw against Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronians win against Gata Kamsky. Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov share third place with 2.5 points. Sergey Karjakin defeated David Navara. Five players are on 2.0 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna leads Group B with 3.5 points. He lost his first half by making a draw against Viktorija Cmilyte. Erwin L’Ami (who lost against Sipke Ernst) and Alexander Motylev (who won against Sergey Tiviakov) share second place with 2.5 points. Six players are on 2.0 points. Group C: Maxim Turov leads with maximum score 4.0 points after defeating Anne Haast. Baskaran Adhiban and Hans Tikkanen share second place with 3.0 points. Wednesday 18 January is the first rest day. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 316.01.2012 Round 3 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Monday 16 January. Group A: World number one Magnus Carlsen defeated world number two Levon Aronian to take sole lead with 2.5 points. Teimour Radjabov (who defeated David Navara), Fabiano Caruana (draw against Hikaru Nakamura) and Levon Aronian share second place with 2.0 points. Five players are on 1.5 points and five players are on 1.0 point. Sergey Karjakin defeated Anish Giri. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna leads Group B with 3.0 points after defeating Harika Dronavalli. Second is Erwin L’Ami who is on 2.5 points after a win against Daniele Vocaturo. Third is Sergey Tiviakov (2.0 points) after beating Vladimir Potkin with black. Six players including first lady Kateryna Lahno are on 1.5 points. Senior GM Jan Timman defeated junior GM Illya Nyzhnyk. Group C: Maxim Turov leads with maximum score 3.0 points. He defeated Lisa Schut. Dutch Etienne Goudriaan is second with 2.5 points. Four players are on 2.0 points. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 215.01.2012 Round 2 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Sunday 15 January. Group A Round 2 Results: Veselin Topalov vs Loek Van Wely ½-½, Vugar Gashimov vs Gata Kamsky ½-½, Vassily Ivanchuk vs Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Hikaru Nakamura 1-0, Fabiano Caruana vs Sergey Karjakin 1-0, Anish Giri vs Teimour Radjabov ½-½, and David Navara vs Boris Gelfand ½-½. Group B Round 2 Results: Alexander Motylev vs Vladimir Potkin ½-½, Sergey Tiviakov vs Jan Timman 1-0, Illya Nyzhnyk vs Erwin L'Ami ½-½, Daniele Vocaturo vs Viktorija Cmilyte 1-0, Sipke Ernst vs Dronavalli Harika ½-½, Pentala Harikrishna vs Kateryna Lahno 1-0, and Dimitri Reinderman vs Lazaro Bruzon ½-½. Group C Round 2 Results: Pieter Hopman vs Maxim Turov 0-1, Lisa Schut vs Elina Danielian ½-½, Anne Haast vs Etienne Goudriaan ½-½, Lars Ootes vs Baskaran Adhiban ½-½, Hans Tikkanen vs Daan Brandenburg ½-½, Sahaj Grover vs Elisabeth Paehtz 1-0, and Matthew Sadler vs Sachdev Tania ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 114.01.2012 Round 1 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Saturday 14 January. Group A Round 1 Results: David Navara vs Veselin Topalov ½-½, Boris Gelfand vs Anish Giri 0-1, Teimour Radjabov vs Fabiano Caruana ½-½, Sergey Karjakin vs Levon Aronian 0-1, Hikaru Nakamura vs Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Magnus Carlsen vs Vugar Gashimov 1-0 and Gata Kamsky vs Loek Van Wely ½-½. Group B Round 1 Results: Dimitri Reinderman vs Alexander Motylev ½-½ , Lazaro Bruzon vs Pentala Harikrishna 0-1, Kateryna Lahno vs Sipke Ernst 1-0, Dronavalli Harika vs Daniele Vocaturo ½-½, Viktorija Cmilyte vs Illya Nyzhnyk 0-1, Erwin L'Ami vs Sergey Tiviakov 1-0, and Jan Timman vs Vladimir Potkin ½-½. Group C Round 1 Results: Matthew Sadler vs Pieter Hopman 1-0, Sachdev Tania vs Sahaj Grover ½-½, Elisabeth Paehtz vs Hans Tikkanen 0-1, Daan Brandenburg vs Lars Ootes ½-½, Baskaran Adhiban vs Anne Haast 1-0, Etienne Goudriaan vs Lisa Schut 1-0, and Elina Danielian vs Maxim Turov 0-1. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2012 Wijk aan Zee Opening Ceremony13.01.2012 The opening ceremony of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Friday 13 January in the Chess Pavilion in Wijk aan Zee. Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel Europe, officially opened the tournament in the Chess Pavilion (commentary hall) in Wijk aan Zee. Tournament director Jeroen Van Den Berg performed the drawing of lots. Group A Round 1 Pairings: David Navara vs Veselin Topalov, Boris Gelfand vs Anish Giri, Teimour Radjabov vs Fabiano Caruana, Sergey Karjakin vs Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura vs Vassily Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen vs Vugar Gashimov and Gata Kamsky vs Loek Van Wely. Group B Round 1 Pairings: Dimitri Reinderman vs Alexander Motylev, Lazaro Bruzon vs Pentala Harikrishna, Kateryna Lahno vs Sipke Ernst, Dronavalli Harika vs Daniele Vocaturo, Viktorija Cmilyte vs Illya Nyzhnyk, Erwin L'Ami vs Sergey Tiviakov, and Jan Timman vs Vladimir Potkin. Group C Round 1 Pairings: Matthew Sadler vs Pieter Hopman, Sachdev Tania vs Sahaj Grover, Elisabeth Paehtz vs Hans Tikkanen, Daan Brandenburg vs Lars Ootes, Baskaran Adhiban vs Anne Haast, Etienne Goudriaan vs Lisa Schut, and Elina Danielian vs Maxim Turov. The first round is on Saturday 14 January, 13.30 hours. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Club Team Competition 2011-2012, Round 507.01.2012 The Dutch Club Team Competition consists of a National Competition (KNSB Competitie) at the top of the pyramid, and a Regional Competition, which is divided into 13 regions. The highest level in the National Competition competition is the Meesterklasse (Premier League). The next level is the Eerste Klasse (First Division), followed by the Tweede Klasse (Second Division) and the Derde Klasse (Third Division). Between National Competion and Regional Competition, and also between Premier League and First, Second, Third Division, there is a system of promotion and relegation. The National Competition Round 5 took place on Saturday 7 January 2012. Premier League Round 5 standings: 1.Utrecht 9-31½ (9 match points, 31½ board points), 2.De Stukkenjagers 9-29, 3.Voerendaal 8-30, 4.Accres Apeldoorn 5-23, 5.SO Rotterdam 4-28, 6.Groningen 4-25½, 7.LSG 4-24, 8.HSG 4-20½, 9.HMC Calder 3-24, 10.BSG 0-14½. The Eerste Klasse (First Division) consists of Klasse 1A and Klasse 1B, at equal level. After Round 5 En Passant is leading Klasse 1A and Kennemer Combinatie 1 is leading Klasse 1B. In this report we provide photos (by Frits Agterdenbos) of the matches Kennemer Combinatie 1 - RSR Ivoren Toren, and Kennemer Combinatie 2 - Unitas.Maxim Turov wins 7th BDO Chess Tournament28.08.2011 Russian GM Maxim Turov has won the 7th BDO Chess Tournament, which took place 20-28 August 2011 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Maxim Turov and Robin van Kampen scored 6.5/9 points in the Premier Tournament, a ten player Round Robin tournament (3 GMs, 6 IMs, 1 FM). Turov won the play-off match. Dutch IM Ruud Janssen finished third on 6.0 points making his final GM norm. By winning the tournament Turov received an extra bonus: a ticket to Tata Steel Chess (‘Wijk aan Zee’) 2012 Group C. The Challenger Tournament, a ten player Round Robin tournament (4 IMs, 4 FMs) was won by Dutch FM David Klein who made his first IM norm. The Open A Tournament (45 participants, elo>1850) was won by Rini Kuijf and Rob Schoorl, and the Open B Tournament (45 participants, elo<1900) was won by Albert Dekker and Ton van Rooijen. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament17.07.2011 Dusan Popovic has won the new chess tournament in Amsterdam, Netherlands: the Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, which took place 9-17 July 2011. The well-organized tournament will get a second edition in 2012. Main sponsor of the tournament was Science Park Amsterdam. GM Dusan Popovic, IM Roeland Pruijssers (GM norm!), GM Aleksandr Lenderman, GM Nikola Sedlak and GM Adhiban Baskaran all finished on 7.0/9 points in Group A (elo>2050, 77 participants), after which Popovic was declared tournament winner on the best tie-break score. FM Matthew Tan (IM norm!) finished on spot 6 with 6.5 points, followed by GM Stewart Haslinger, GM Joshua Friedel, FM Floris Van Assendelft, GM Valeriy Neverov and GM Friso Nijboer with 6.0 points. Group B (elo 1800-2100, 84 participants) was won by Jan Cheung (7.5 points), half a point ahead of three players including tournament chairman Jeroen Van Den Berg (of Tata Steel Chess, Wijk aan Zee). Group C (elo 1550-1850, 84 participants) was won by Sereyo Bekkink and Huub Van Den Bergh. Group D (elo<1600, 46 participants) was won by Veron Roesink. Aart Strik was both tournament director and chief arbiter. Round 7 (15 July) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Sadler and Van Den Doel win Nova College 201103.07.2011 GMs Matthew Sadler and Erik Van Den Doel have won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2011, which took place 1-3 July 2011 in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2011 (10th) edition of the tournament attracted 181 participants (2010: 120, 2009: 151, 2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 6 GMs and 3 IMs. Matthew Sadler and Erik Van Den Doel scored 5.0/6 in Group A (elo>1950, 58 participants). They were followed by IM Christov Kleijn, 16-year-old WIM Lisa Schut (performance 2562!) and GM Das Neeloptal on 4.5 points. Six players including GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov finished on 4.0 points. GMs Stewart Haslinger and John Van Der Wiel, among others, scored 3.5 points. Group B (elo<2000, 84 participants) was won by Mees van Osch, Noud Lentjes and Jonathan de Kleuver, and Group C (elo<1650, 39 participants) was won by Floris Schleicher. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Photo impression (of rounds 3 and 6) by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Junior Championships 201108.05.2011 Lars Ootes has won the Dutch Junior Champion title for the second time in a row. The Dutch Junior Championships 2011 (14-16-20 years, general and girls groups) took place 30 April – 8 May in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Lars Ootes finished on 6.5/9 points in Group A Juniors (boys and girls, up to and including the age of 20). Milan Mostertman, Yorick Ten Hagen, Hugo Ten Hertog and Arthur Pijpers scored 6.0 points. Evie Warmelink became the 2011 Dutch Girls Champion by winning Group A Girls (girls, up to and including the age of 20). Marion Severijnen finished second and Lisa Hortensius finished third. Roger Meng won Group B Juniors (boys and girls, up to and including the age of 16). Marco Kirana finished second. Sophia Thoma won Group B Girls (girls, up to and including the age of 16). Diana Dalemans finished second. Thomas Beerdsen won Group C Juniors (boys and girls, up to and including the age of 14). Mahsa Bitalzadeh finished second. Willemijn de Voogt won Group C Girls (up to and including the age of 14). Catheleijne Sanders finished second. Final round (R9) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Gerald Hertneck wins 3rd Batavia-Grolsch27.02.2011 German GM Gerald Hertneck has won the 3rd Batavia-Grolsch Chess Tournament. The ten player Round Robin tournament (3 GMs + 7 IMs) took place 18-27 February 2011 in Cafe Batavia 1920 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Hertneck, last-minute subsitute for Dibyendu Barua, scored 6.5/9 points. Dutch IM Robin van Kampen finished second on 6.0, missing a GM norm by half a point. Main sponsor of the tournament is Dutch beer brewery Grolsch. The tournament is the brainchild of Bas Beekhuizen (chess photographer) and sponsor Peter Tames (Cafe Batavia 1920). Final standings: 1.Gerald Hertneck 6.5, 2.Robin van Kampen 6.0, 3.Benjamin Bok and Bart Michiels 5.5, 5.Niaz Murshed and Merijn van Delft 4.5, 7.Christov Kleijn 4.0, 8. Praveen M Thipsay and Manuel Bosboom 3.0, and 10.Robert Ris 2.5. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos. Tata Steel Chess 2011, Hikaru Nakamura winner30.01.2011 The final round (round 13) of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place in Wijk aan Zee on Sunday 30 January. Group A was won by Hikaru Nakamura with 9.0/13 points, after drawing against Wang Hao. World champion Viswanathan Anand finished second with 8.5 points after a draw versus Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In fact all games in Group A ended in a draw. Levon Aronian and Magnus Carlsen finished third with 8.0 points. Sixteen-year-old super talent Anish Giri of Holland scored a respectable 6.5 points (50%). In Group B Luke McShane and David Navara scored both 8.5 points. Luke McShane was declared winner of Group B on Sonneborn-Berger. Both players will receive an invitation to participate in Group A next year. Zahar Efimenko finished third with 8.0 points. Daniele Vocaturo won Group C with 8.5 points after a draw against Ilya Nyzhnyk, who finished second with 8.0 points. Kateryna Lahno finished third with 8.0 points. The 74th Tata Steel Chess 2012 will take place 13-29 January 2012. Photo impression of the final day by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 1229.01.2011 Round 12 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Saturday 29 January. Hikaru Nakamura leads group A with 8.5 points, Luke McShane and David Navara lead group B with 8.0 points, and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 8.5 points. Group A Round 12 Results: Viswanathan Anand vs Anish Giri ½-½, Ruslan Ponomariov vs Alexei Shirov ½-½, Erwin l'Ami vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Jan Smeets vs Alexander Grischuk 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Wang Hao 1-0, Hikaru Nakamura vs Vladimir Kramnik ½-½, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 1-0. Group B Round 12 Results: Laurent Fressinet vs Li Chao 1-0, Vladislav Tkachiev vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0, Friso Nijboer vs David Navara 0-1, Luke McShane vs Wesley So 1-0, Radek Wojtaszek vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly 0-1, Le Quang Liem vs Zahar Efimenko ½-½, Gabriel Sargissian vs Jon Ludvig Hammer ½-½. Group C Round 12 Results: Benjamin Bok vs Roeland Pruijssers 1-0, Mark van der Werf vs Tania Sachdev 0-1, Sebastian Siebrecht vs Mark Bluvshtein 0-1, Ivan Ivanisevic vs Jan Willem de Jong 1-0, Kateryna Lahno vs Murtas Kazhgaleyev ½-½, Dariusz Swiercz vs Daniele Vocaturo 1-0, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Robin van Kampen 1-0. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 1128.01.2011 Round 11 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Friday 28 January. Hikaru Nakamura leads group A with 8.0 points, Zahar Efimenko, Luke McShane, David Navara and Wesley So lead group B with 7.0 points, and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 8.5 points. Group A Round 11 Results: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Hikaru Nakamura 0-1, Vladimir Kramnik vs Magnus Carlsen 0-1, Wang Hao vs Jan Smeets ½-½, Alexander Grischuk vs Erwin l'Ami ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½, Alexei Shirov vs Anish Giri ½-½. Group B Round 11 Results: Gabriel Sargissian vs Laurent Fressinet ½-½, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Le Quang Liem 0-1, Zahar Efimenko vs Radek Wojtaszek ½-½, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Luke McShane 0-1, Wesley So vs Friso Nijboer ½-½, David Navara vs Vladislav Tkachiev 1-0, Wouter Spoelman vs Li Chao 1-0. Group C Round 11 Results: Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Benjamin Bok 1-0, Robin van Kampen vs Dariusz Swiercz 0-1, Daniele Vocaturo vs Kateryna Lahno 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Ivan Ivanisevic ½-½, Jan Willem de Jong vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Mark Bluvshtein vs Mark van der Werf ½-½, Tania Sachdev vs Roeland Pruijssers ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 925.01.2011 Round 9 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Tuesday 25 January. Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Hikaru Nakamura lead group A with 6.0 points, followed by Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with 5.5 points. Luke McShane, Gabriel Sargissian and Wesley So lead group B with 6.0 points. Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 7.5 points, followed by Kateryna Lahno and Ilya Nyzhnyk with 6.0 points. Group A Round 9 Results: Hikaru Nakamura vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Jan Smeets 0-1, Vladimir Kramnik vs Erwin l'Ami 1-0, Wang Hao vs Ruslan Ponomariov 1-0, Alexander Grischuk vs Anish Giri ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Alexei Shirov 1-0. Group B Round 9 Results: Le Quang Liem vs Laurent Fressinet 1-0, Gabriel Sargissian vs Radek Wojtaszek 1-0, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Luke McShane ½-½, Zahar Efimenko vs Friso Nijboer ½-½, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Vladislav Tkachiev 0-1, Wesley So vs Li Chao 0-1, David Navara vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0. Group C Round 9 Results: Dariusz Swiercz vs Benjamin Bok 0-1, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Kateryna Lahno ½-½, Robin van Kampen vs Ivan Ivanisevic ½-½, Daniele Vocaturo vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Mark van der Werf 1-0, Jan Willem de Jong vs Roeland Pruijssers ½-½, Mark Bluvshtein vs Tania Sachdev 1-0. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 823.01.2011 Round 8 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Sunday 23 January. Viswanathan Anand and Hikaru Nakamura lead group A with 5.5 points, Wesley So leads group B with 6.0 points and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 6.5 points. Group A Round 8 Results: Viswanathan Anand vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Alexei Shirov vs Alexander Grischuk 1-0, Anish Giri vs Wang Hao 1-0, Ruslan Ponomariov vs Vladimir Kramnik ½-½, Erwin l'Ami vs Ian Nepomniachtchi ½-½, Jan Smeets vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura 1-0. Group B Round 8 Results: Laurent Fressinet vs David Navara ½-½, Wouter Spoelman vs Wesley So 0-1, Li Chao vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly ½-½, Vladislav Tkachiev vs Zahar Efimenko 1-0, Friso Nijboer vs Jon Ludvig Hammer ½-½, Luke McShane vs Gabriel Sargissian ½-½, Radek Wojtaszek vs Le Quang Liem 1-0. Group C Round 8 Results: Benjamin Bok vs Mark Bluvshtein 1-0, Tania Sachdev vs Jan Willem de Jong 1-0, Roeland Pruijssers vs Murtas Kazhgaleyev ½-½, Mark van der Werf vs Daniele Vocaturo 0-1, Sebastian Siebrecht vs Robin van Kampen 1-0, Ivan Ivanisevic vs Ilya Nyzhnyk 1-0, Kateryna Lahno vs Dariusz Swiercz ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 722.01.2011 Round 7 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Saturday 22 January. Hikaru Nakamura, after defeating Jan Smeets, leads group A with 5.5 points. Zahar Efimenko, Luke McShane (who lost to Le Quang Liem ) and Wesley So lead group B with 5.0 points. Ilya Nyzhnyk and Daniele Vocaturo both won and lead group C with 5.5 points. Group A Round 7 Results: Magnus Carlsen vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Hikaru Nakamura vs Jan Smeets 1-0, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Erwin l'Ami ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½, Vladimir Kramnik vs Anish Giri 1-0, Wang Hao vs Alexei Shirov ½-½, Alexander Grischuk vs Levon Aronian 0-1. Group B Round 7 Results: Radek Wojtaszek vs Laurent Fressinet 1-0, Le Quang Liem vs Luke McShane 1-0, Gabriel Sargissian vs Friso Nijboer 1-0, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Vladislav Tkachiev 0-1, Zahar Efimenko vs Li Chao ½-½, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0, Wesley So vs David Navara 1-0. Group C Round 7 Results: Kateryna Lahno vs Benjamin Bok 1-0, Dariusz Swiercz vs Ivan Ivanisevic ½-½, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Robin van Kampen vs Mark van der Werf 1-0, Daniele Vocaturo vs Roeland Pruijssers 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Tania Sachdev 1-0, Jan Willem de Jong vs Mark Bluvshtein 0-1. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 621.01.2011 Round 6 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Friday 21 January. It was a black day for the Dutch trio in Group A: Anish Giri, Jan Smeets and Erwin l’Ami, who all played white, lost 0-3. Viswanathan Anand and Hikaru Nakamura lead group A with 4.5 points, Luke McShane leads group B with 5.0 points, Ilya Nyzhnyk and Daniele Vocaturo lead group C with 4.5 points. Group A Round 6 Results: Viswanathan Anand vs Alexander Grischuk ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Wang Hao ½-½, Alexei Shirov vs Vladimir Kramnik 0-1, Anish Giri vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 0-1, Ruslan Ponomariov vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ½-½, Erwin l'Ami vs Hikaru Nakamura 0-1, Jan Smeets vs Magnus Carlsen 0-1. Group B Round 6 Results: Laurent Fressinet vs Wesley So 0-1, David Navara vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly 1-0, Wouter Spoelman vs Zahar Efimenko 0-1, Li Chao vs Jon Ludvig Hammer 1-0, Vladislav Tkachiev vs Gabriel Sargissian ½-½, Friso Nijboer vs Le Quang Liem 0-1, Luke McShane vs Radek Wojtaszek 1-0. Group C Round 6 Results: Benjamin Bok vs Jan Willem de Jong 0-1, Mark Bluvshtein vs Murtas Kazhgaleyev 0-1, Tania Sachdev vs Daniele Vocaturo 1-0, Roeland Pruijssers vs Robin van Kampen ½-½, Mark van der Werf vs Ilya Nyzhnyk ½-½, Sebastian Siebrecht vs Dariusz Swiercz 0-1, Ivan Ivanisevic vs Kateryna Lahno ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 520.01.2011 Round 5 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Thursday 20 January. The day after the first rest day brought a lot of fighting chess: only 8 (of 21) games were drawn. Viswanathan Anand leads group A with 4.0 points, Luke McShane leads group B with 4.0 points, and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 4.5 points. Group A Round 5 Results: Jan Smeets vs Viswanathan Anand 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Erwin l'Ami 1-0, Hikaru Nakamura vs Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Anish Giri ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Alexei Shirov ½-½, Vladimir Kramnik vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Wang Hao vs Alexander Grischuk 1-0. Group B Round 5 Results: Luke McShane vs Laurent Fressinet ½-½, Radek Wojtaszek vs Friso Nijboer 1-0, Le Quang Liem vs Vladislav Tkachiev ½-½, Gabriel Sargissian vs Li Chao ½-½, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0, Zahar Efimenko vs David Navara 1-0, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Wesley So 0-1. Group C Round 5 Results: Ivan Ivanisevic vs Benjamin Bok 1-0, Kateryna Lahno vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Dariusz Swiercz vs Mark van der Werf 0-1, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Roeland Pruijssers 1-0, Robin van Kampen vs Tania Sachdev ½-½, Daniele Vocaturo vs Mark Bluvshtein 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Jan Willem de Jong 1-0. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 317.01.2011 Round 3 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Monday 17 January. The big news was Anish Giri’s victory in 22 moves over top ranked Magnus Carlsen. Group A Round 3 Results: Erwin l’Ami vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Jan Smeets vs Ruslan Ponomariov 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Anish Giri 0-1, Hikaru Nakamura vs Alexei Shirov 1-0, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Alexander Grischuk ½-½, and Vladimir Kramnik vs Wang Hao ½-½. Group B Round 3 Results: Friso Nijboer vs Laurent Fressinet ½-½, Luke McShane vs Vladislav Tkachiev 1-0, Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs Li Chao 1-0, Le Quang Liem vs Wouter Spoelman 0-1, Gabriel Sargissian vs David Navara ½-½, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Wesley So ½-½, and Zahar Efimenko vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos. Tata Steel Chess 2011 Wijk aan Zee Opening Ceremony 14.01.2011 The opening ceremony of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on 14 January. Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tata Steel Europe, officially opened the tournament in the Chess Pavilion (commentary hall) in Wijk aan Zee. Group A Round 1 Pairings: Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Wang Hao, Hikaru Nakamura vs Alexander Grischuk, Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian, Jan Smeets vs Alexei Shirov, Erwin l’Ami vs Anish Giri and Ruslan Ponomariov vs Viswanathan Anand. Group B Round 1 Pairings: Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Zahar Efimenko, Gabriel Sargissian vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Le Quang Liem vs Wesley So, Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs David Navara, Luke McShane vs Wouter Spoelman, Friso Nijboer vs Li Chao b and Vladislav Tkachiev vs Laurent Fressinet. The first round is on Saturday 15 January, 13.30 hours. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Wijk aan Zee - Tata Steel Chess - Preview09.01.2011 The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2011 will be held 15-30 January 2011 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 14 January in the Tata Steel Chess Pavilion (commentary hall), close to the playing venue De Moriaan. Group A (category 20) will show Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, Kramnik, Grischuk, Nakamura, Ponomariov, Nepomniachtchi, Wang Hao, Shirov, Vachier-Lagrave, Giri, Smeets and l'Ami. Group B (category 17) will show Wojtaszek, Navara, Fressinet, Efimenko, So, Sargissian, Le Quang Liem, McShane, Ganguly, Li Chao, Hammer, Tkachiev, Nijboer and Spoelman. Group C (category 11) will show Kazhgaleyev, Ivanisevic, Bluvshtein, Vocaturo, Swiercz, Nyzhnyk, Lahno, Pruijssers, Bok, Van Kampen, Siebrecht, Van Der Werf, De Jong and Sachdev.Happy 2011 !!!01.01.2011 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti Bolsin15th Cultural Village, Wijk aan Zee25.11.2010 The 15th Cultural Village Chess Tournament took place 15-24 November 2010 in The Netherlands, Wijk aan Zee, the city of Corus Chess, from 2011 Tata Steel Chess. Tournament set up: a 10 player Round-Robin. Basic intention: to offer (young) players the opportunity to achieve an IM or a GM norm. Time control: 90 minutes for the entire game plus 30 seconds a move. GM Dariusz Swiercz of Poland (7.0/9 points) won the tournament and an invitation to participate in Tata Steel Chess Group C 2011, next January. IM Sahaj Grover (India) and GM Oleksandr Sulypa (Ukraine) shared second place. IM Roeland Pruijssers, being the best Dutchman, won an invitation for Tata Steel Chess Group C 2011. Jeroen Van Den Berg (tournament director of both Cultural Village Chess Tournament and Tata Steel Chess Tournament) surprised Sahaj Grover by awarding him with an invitation to participate in Tata Steel Chess Group C 2012. Photo impression round 6 (21 November) by Frits Agterdenbos.Alexandra van der Mije (70) Blitz Chess09.09.2010 Former world top female player WGM Alexandra van der Mije celebrated her 70th birthday by organizing a blitz chess tournament on 9 September 2010 in her place of residence Haarlem in the Netherlands. Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau was born as Alexandra Nicolau on 22 July 1940 in Romania. She was women champion of Romania six times (1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1973), and of the Netherlands five times (1974, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1979) after her marriage in 1974 with the Dutch Hendrik Cornelis van der Mije. Alexandra, in the Dutch chess society better known as Käty, decided to treat herself by organizing (with the help of chess club SV Het Spaarne of which she was named member of honour in September) the Käty van der Mije Blitz Chess Tournament to which only some friends and the members of the chess clubs of the Kennemer Combinatie (including SV Het Spaarne) were invited. The tournament was won by FM Richard Duijn. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Matthew Sadler wins Nova College 201004.07.2010 GM Matthew Sadler has won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2010 which took place 2-4 July 2010 in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2010 edition of the tournament attracted 120 participants (2009: 151, 2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 7 GMs and 3 IMs. GM Matthew Sadler scored 5.0/6 in Group A (elo>1950, 32 participants). He was followed by GM Martyn Kravtsiv, IM Chiel Van Oosterom and GM Maxim Turov on 4.5 points. GM Erik Van Den Doel, GM Robin Swinkels and Hebert Perez Garcia finished on 4.0 points. GM Zhaoqin Peng and GM Stewart Haslinger, among others, scored 3.5 points. Group B (elo<2000, 62 participants) was won by Pim Heijne, and Group C (elo<1650, 26 participants) was won by Michael Bekker (6.0/6). The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Final round photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Lars Ootes is Dutch Junior Champ 201009.05.2010 Lars Ootes is the 2010 Dutch Junior Champion. He and Anne Haast finished on 6.5/9 points in Group A Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1990). Lars Ootes won the blitz playoff. Benjamin Bok and Yorick Ten Hagen scored 6.0 points. Marieke Dirksen became the 2010 Dutch Girls Champion by winning Group A Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1990). In the final round she defeated Lisa Hortensius, who finished second. Hugo Ten Hertog won Group B Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1994). Arthur Pijpers finished second. Diana Dalemans won Group B Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1994). Evie Warmelink finished second. Stefan Beukema won Group C Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1994). Roger Meng finished second. Mahsa Bitalzadeh won Group C Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1994). Catheleijne Sanders finished second. Final round (R9) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Junior Championships 201007.05.2010 The Dutch Junior Championships 2010 (14-20 years) are taking place 29 April – 8 May in Haarlem, the Netherlands. There are 6 groups. Group A Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1990). Group A Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1990). Group B Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1994). Group B Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1994). Group C Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1996). Group C Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1996). In the penultimate round (R8) Anne Haast, the only girl in Group A Juniors, defeated top ranked David Klein. Lars Ootes and Yorick Ten Hagen became the new leaders by defeating FM Benjamin Bok and Nicky Law respectively. Marieke Dirksen and Lisa Hortensius lead Group A Girls. Photo impression of R8 by Frits Agterdenbos.2nd Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament28.02.2010 Dutch FM Christov Kleijn has won the 2nd Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament, also called the Max Euwe Challenge. The ten player Round Robin tournament took place 19 - 28 February in Cafe Batavia 1920, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Khosla Shiven, a 14-year-old from India, finished second on 6.0 points. He made an IM norm. Khosla Shiven is the 2009 Asian Youth Chess Champion U14. Dutch IM Xander Wemmers finished third (5.5 points). The tournament is the brainchild of Bas Beekhuizen (chess photographer) and sponsor Peter Tames (Cafe Batavia 1920). In 2010 the Max Euwe Centre joined as a co-sponsor. The first edition (2009) was won by Dutch junior Robin Van Kampen and GM Ilan Manor.Corus Chess 2010 Round 1027.01.2010 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 27 January 01.30 PM. In group A World champion Viswanathan Anand delivered his first win this tournament by beating Alexei Shirov. Top seed Magnus Carlsen with black pieces defeated 2009 winner Sergey Karjakin. Sergey Tiviakov won the first Dutch encounter versus Jan Smeets. Vladimir Kramnik is the new leader on 7.0 points. He is followed by Alexei Shirov and Magnus Carlsen (6.5 points) and five players on 5.5 points (Sergey Karjakin, Hikaru Nakamura, Leinier Dominguez, Vassily Ivanchuk and Viswanathan Anand). In group B Anish Giri leads on 7.0 points, followed by three players on 6.5 points: Hua Ni, Erwin l’Ami and Wesley So. Arkadij Naiditsch is fifth on 6.0 points. In group C all games were decisive. Li Chao leads (7.5 points), followed by Ray Robson, Robin Swinkels, Robin Van Kampen and Daniele Vocaturo (6.0 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2010 Round 824.01.2010 Round 8 was played on Sunday 24 January 01.30 PM. In group A the top matches were Alexei Shirov (5.5) – Magnus Carlsen (5.0), which ended in a daw, and Vladimir Kramnik (4.5) – Hikaru Nakamura (5.0), which was won by the former world champion. Alexei Shirov is leader on 6.0 points, followed by Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik on 5.5 points. Hikaru Nakamura is fourth on 5.0 points. In group B Anish Giri won (vs David Howell). Dimitri Reinderman won his first game (vs Varuzhan Akobian). The other games were drawn. Anish Giri leads on 6.5 points, followed by a trio on 5.0 points: Hua Ni and Wesley So (who made a draw against each other), and Erwin l’Ami (draw vs Pentala Harikrishna). In group C Ray Robson leads (6.0 points), followed by Li Chao and Abhijeet Gupta (5.5 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2010 Round 622.01.2010 Round 6 was played on Friday 22 January 01.30 PM. In group A Alexei Shirov spoiled his first half by drawing against Nigel Short. Vladimir Kramnik, Leinier Dominguez and Peter Leko won their games versus Loek Van Wely, Sergey Tiviakov and Fabiano Caruana. Alexei Shirov is leader on 5.5 points, followed by Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk and Vladimir Kramnik on 4.0 points. In group B 15-year-old Anish Giri won again (vs Tomi Nyback). He is leader on 5.0 points, followed by Hua Ni (who defeated Anna Muzychuk) and Erwin l’Ami (who defeated Parimarjan Negi) on 4.0 points. David Howell, Arkadij Naiditsch, Wesley So and Pentala Harikrishna are on 3.5 points. In group C there was only one draw (Robin Swinkels vs Zhaoqin Peng). Ray Robson is still sole leader (5.5 points), followed by Li Chao (5.0 points) and Abhijeet Gupta (4.0 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2010 Round 521.01.2010 Round 5 was played on Thursday 21 January 01.30 PM. In group A Alexei Shirov (vs Loek Van Wely) won his fifth game in a row. Vladimir Kramnik defeated Jan Smeets. The other games were drawn. Alexei Shirov is leader on 5.0 points, followed by Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen and Vassily Ivanchuk on 3.5 points. In group B Dutch champion Anish Giri took sole lead (4.0 points) by defeating Emil Sutovsky. He is followed by David Howell (3.5 points) who defeated Hua Ni. Hua Ni, Arkadij Naiditsch, Parimarjan Negi, Pentala Harikrishna and Erwin l'Ami are on 3.0 points. In group C Ray Robson is sole leader (4.5 points) after defeating Zhaoqin Peng. Li Chao drew against Robin Van Kampen and is now on 4.0 points, followed by Daniele Vocaturo (3.5 points) who defeated Nils Grandelius. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2010 Round 116.01.2010 Grandmaster Group A Round 1 Results: Sergey Karjakin - Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Leinier Dominguez - Vladimir Kramnik ½-½, Peter Leko - Alexei Shirov 0-1, Fabiano Caruana - Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Sergey Tiviakov - Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Jan Smeets - Hikaru Nakamura ½-½, Loek Van Wely - Nigel Short 1-0. Grandmaster Group B Round 1 Results: Hua Ni - Erwin l'Ami ½-½, Tomi Nyback - Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 0-1, Anish Giri - Pentala Harikrishna 1-0, David Howell - Parimarjan Negi ½-½, Anna Muzychuk - Varuzhan Akobian ½-½, Arkadij Naiditsch - Wesley So ½-½, Mariya Muzychuk - Nils Grandelius 0-1. Grandmaster Group C Round 1 Results: Ray Robson - Soumya Swaminathan 1-0, Robin Swinkels - Abhijeet Gupta ½-½, Stefan Kuipers - Kjetil Lie ½-½, Zhaoqin Peng - Robin van Kampen ½-½, Benjamin Bok - Li Chao 0-1, Daniele Vocaturo - Sjoerd Plukkel 1-0. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2010 Opening Ceremony15.01.2010 The Opening Ceremony (including the drawing of lots) of the 72th Corus Chess Tournament took place on Friday 15 January in the Chess Pavilion in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament will be held 16 - 31 January. Round 1 pairings GM A: Sergey Karjakin – Viswanathan Anand, Leinier Dominguez – Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko – Alexei Shirov, Fabiano Caruana – Vassily Ivanchuk, Sergey Tiviakov – Magnus Carlsen, Jan Smeets – Hikaru Nakamura, Loek Van Wely – Nigel Short. Round 1 pairings GM B: Ni Hua – Erwin l‘Ami, Emil Sutovsky – Dimitri Reinderman, Tomi Nyback – Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Anish Giri - Pentala Harikrishna, David Howell - Parimarjan Negi, Anna Muzychuk - Varuzhan Akobian, Arkadij Naiditsch - Wesley So. Photo report of the Opening Ceremony by Frits Agterdenbos.Wijk aan Zee 2010 – the Day Before14.01.2010 The 72th Corus Chess Tournament (‘Wijk aan Zee’) will be held Saturday 16 – Sunday 31 January. The Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday 15 January in the Chess Pavilion (commentary hall), close to the playing venue. Participants GM A (category 19): Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Leko, Shirov, Karjakin, Dominguez, Nakamura, Short, Caruana, Tiviakov, Smeets, Van Wely. Participants GM B (category 16): Naiditsch, Nisipeanu, Harikrishna, Hua Ni, Sutovsky, So, Nyback, Akobian, Negi, l’Ami, Howell, Giri, Reinderman, A.Muzychuk. Participants GM C (category 9): Li Chao, Gupta, Robson, Lie, Grandelius, Swinkels, Vocaturo, Van Kampen, M.Muzychuk, Peng, Kuipers, Swaminathan, Bok, Plukkel. Photo impression of Wijk aan Zee in summer 2009.Happy 2010 !!!01.01.2010 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti BolsinDaniel Fridman wins Intomart GfK Open 200906.07.2009 The Intomart GfK Open took place 27 June – 5 July 2009 in Hilversum, Netherlands. Daniel Fridman won the tournament on best Buchholz score, after he, Michal Krasenkow, Stewart Haslinger and Predrag Nikolic tied on 6.5/9. The four GMs each won a quarter of (3000 + 1800 + 1000 + 700) = 1625 euros. Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Wouter Spoelman, Dimitri Reinderman and Milos Pavlovic followed on half a point. Anish Giri, who didn’t play his R7 game (versus Fridman) due to illness, finished on 5.5 points. The tournament attracted 140 participants: 48 participants (including 10 GMs, who took places 1-10 in the final rank) in the main group (Group A, elo > 2100), plus 52 participants in Group B (elo 1700 - 2150), plus 40 participants in Group C (elo < 1750). The Intomart GfK Open, which is in fact the fourth edition of the HSG Open, is a 9 rounds Swiss tournament, 9 days, no rest days. The tournament was organized by chess club HSG. Photo impression of round 9 by Frits Agterdenbos.ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 200928.06.2009 GMs Igor Khenkin, Erik Van Den Doel and Alexander Berelovich have won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2009 which took place 26 - 28 June 2009 in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2009 edition of the tournament attracted 151 participants (2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 5 GMs and 4 IMs. Khenkin, Van Den Doel and Berelovich all scored 5.0/6 in Group A (44 participants), but Khenkin won the cup thanks to a better TPR (performance rating). Group B (64 participants) was won by Jeroen Schuil and Robert Boes, and Group C (43) was won by Lukas Boots. After Khenkin and Van Den Doel produced a 8-mover final round draw to secure a piece of the prize money, an old discussion came back up. Should quick final round draws somehow be prevented to give the audience value for coming to the playing hall? Should top ranked players be forced to play for a win? It is ChessVista’s take that just going for a result is part of any competition. People who make a living by playing chess, have the right to have a focus on generating income. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Photo impression round 4, 27 June 2009 by Frits Agterdenbos.Friso Nijboer wins Utrecht Open Championship 200907.06.2009 Dutch GM Friso Nijboer has won the Utrecht Open Championship 2009 (in Dutch: Open Kampioenschap Utrecht 2009, abbreviated to OKU 2009). The weekend tournament, which attracted 167 participants, took place on 5 – 7 June 2009 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Group 1 (elo>1800, 73 participants including 8 GMs and 4 IMs) was won by GM Friso Nijboer with 5.0/6 points. Alexandre Danin, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Anish Giri also scored 5.0 points, but Friso Nijboer won the cup having a better Buchholz score. Group 2 (elo 1500-1900, 68 participants) was won by Niels Hendrikx. Group 3 (elo<1600, 26 participants) was won by Rudy Veenhof. The Utrecht Open Championship is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss, rate of play all moves in 115 minutes + 5 seconds added time per move. The event was was organized by Chess Club Paul Keres and sponsored by Adviesbureau Schrijvers and Wout van Veen Advocaten and others. A non-chess photo report of Utrecht City Centre by Frits Agterdenbos.Hypercube Blitz 2009: Andrey Orlov wins22.03.2009 The Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2009 was won by Andrey Orlov. The tournament (rate of play: 5 minutes per person per game) took place on Saturday 21 March in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The event was organised by Chess Club Utrecht and sponsored by Hypercube Business Innovation. The tournament attracted 127 participants including 7 GMs and 12 IMs. The first part of the tournament was the qualification phase in which the participants were divided in 8 qualifying groups (all play all) to qualify for the 8 final groups in the second part of the tournament, the final phase. Final group A was won by Andrey Orlov with 15.0/19 points (1000 euro), followed by Bogdan Lalic and Vladimir Epishin with 14.5 points. Group B was won by Alexandre Danin and group C by Tim Lammens. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Daniël Noteboom Tournament 200922.02.2009 The Ukrainian GM Yuri Solodovnichenko has won the 69th Daniël Noteboom Tournament, which took place 20-22 February 2009 in Leiden (Netherlands). Yuri Solodovnichenko and Friso Nijboer scored both 5.5/6 points, but Solodovnichenko won the cup having a better Buchholz score. In the final round Yuri Solodovnichenko defeated Erik Van Den Doel and Friso Nijboer defeated Martin Roobol. Predrag Nikolic, Roi Miedema, Roger Meng and Bob Beeke tied for third place with 5.0 points. The tournament attracted 317 participants: 146 participants (including 4 GMs and 1 IM) in the main group (Group A, Elo > 1800), plus 88 participants in the second group (Group B, 1600 < Elo < 1900), and 83 participants in the third group (Group C, Elo < 1700). Group B was won by Jaap Van Der Heijden and group C was won by Donna Kok. The Daniël Noteboom Tournament is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game. The tournament was organized by chess club LSG. The 70th Daniël Noteboom Tournament will be held 12-14 February 2010.Van Kampen and Manor win Batavia Amsterdam20.02.2009 Robin Van Kampen and Ilan Manor have won the Batavia Amsterdam Schaaktoernooi (Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament). The final round (round 9) was played on Friday 20 February in Cafe Batavia 1920, in Amsterdam. Dutch junior Robin Van Kampen (14 year old) made his first IM norm, by defeating Yochanan Afek. Henk Vedder failed to make his final IM norm. He was on a promising track with 5.0/7 points, needing just one more point, but lost both his games in the final two rounds. Taco Vrenegoor was the third Dutchman who needed a win to make an IM norm, but he drew with Merijn Van Delft. Arlette Van Weersel won a fine final round game against Tibor Karolyi. Final standings: 1. Robin Van Kampen and Ilan Manor (6.0), 3. Merijn Van Delft and Taco Vrenegoor (5.5), 5. Henk Vedder (5.0), 6. Tibor Karolyi (4.5), 7. Stefan Kuipers (4.0), 8. Yochanan Afek (3.5), 9. Arlette Van Weersel (3.0) and 10. Michael Karp (2.0). Report, with photos of 15 February, by Frits Agterdenbos.Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament16.02.2009 A dream has come through. A new chess tournament, the Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament, is taking place 11-20 February in Cafe Batavia 1920, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Chess photographer Bas Beekhuizen and cafe owner Peter Tames, both chess enthousiasts, are the initiators and organizers (among others) of the tournament. Jeroen Van Den Berg, Corus Chess tournament director, was asked to join the team. The tournament is a 10-player Round Robin including 1 GM (Ilan Manor) and 3 IMs (Merijn Van Delft, Tibor Karolyi and Yochanan Afek). Round 5 results: Yochanan Afek - Stefan Kuipers ½-½, Taco Vrenegoor - Arlette Van Weersel 1-0, Michael Karp - Henk Vedder ½-½, Merijn Van Delft -Ilan Manor ½-½, Robin Van Kampen - Tibor Karolyi ½-½. Manor and Vedder lead with 3.5 points. Report, with photos of round 5 (15 February) by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2009 Final standings02.02.2009 The final round (round 13) was played on Sunday 1 February. Group A was won by Sergei Karjakin, group B was won by Fabiano Caruana and group C was won by Wesley So. Final standings Group A: 1. Karjakin (8.0), 2. Aronian, Radjabov and Movsesian (7.5), 5. Carlsen and Dominguez (7.0), 7. Kamsky (6.5), 8. Van Wely, Smeets and Wang Yue (6.0), 11. Stellwagen, Ivanchuk, Adams and Morozevich (5.0). Final standings Group B: 1. Caruana (8.5), 2. Short, Motylev and Kasimdzhanov (8.0), 5. Volokitin and Vallejo Pons (7.5), 7. Efimenko (7.0), 8. Navara (6.5), 9. Hou Yifan and Reinderman (6.0), 11. L’Ami (5.5), 12. Mecking (4.5), 13. Sasikiran and Werle (4.0). Final standings Group C: 1. So (9.5), 2. Hillarp Persson and Giri (8.5), 4. Howell and Gupta (7.5), 6. Holzke (6.5), 7. Harika (6.0), 8. Nijboer, Iturrizaga, Bitalzadeh, Bosboom and Pruijssers (5.5), 13. Leon Hoyos (5.0), 14. Romanishin (4.5). Report by Frits Agterdenbos. No Pea Soup.Corus Chess 2009 Round 12 Six players lead31.01.2009 Today Grandmaster Groups A, B and C played round 12. Grandmaster Group A results: Sergei Movsesian - Teimour Radjabov ½-½, Daniel Stellwagen – Wang Yue ½-½, Magnus Carlsen - Jan Smeets 1-0, Levon Aronian - Alexander Morozevich ½-½, Vassily Ivanchuk - Leinier Dominguez ½-½, Sergei Karjakin - Michael Adams 1-0, Loek Van Wely - Gata Kamsky ½-½. Carlsen, Aronian, Karjakin, Dominguez, Radjabov and Movsesian lead with 7.0 points, followed by Kamsky with 6.0 points. Grandmaster Group B: Short and Kasimdzanov lead with 8.0 points, followed by Volokitin and Caruana with 7.5 points. Grandmaster Group C: So, who defeated Hillarp persson, leads with 9.0 points, followed by Giri with 8.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2009 Round 11 Four players lead30.01.2009 Today Grandmaster Groups A, B and C played round 11. Grandmaster Group A results: Loek Van Wely – Sergei Movsesian 0-1, Gata Kamsky - Sergei Karjakin 1-0, Michael Adams - Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Leinier Dominguez - Levon Aronian 1-0, Alexander Morozevich - Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Jan Smeets – Daniel Stellwagen ½-½, Wang Yue - Teimour Radjabov 0-1. Aronian, Dominguez, Radjabov and Movsesian lead with 6.5. points, followed by Carlsen and Karajakin with 6.0 points. Grandmaster Group B: Short leads with 7.5 points, followed by Caruana and Kasimdzhanov with 7.0 points. Grandmaster Group C: So leads with 8.0 points, followed by Hillarp Persson with 7.5 points. Anish Giri (14 year old) made his third (and final) GM norm. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2009 Round 9 Aronian, Karjakin and Dominguez lead27.01.2009 Today Grandmaster Groups A, B and C played round 9. Grandmaster Group A results: Sergei Karjakin - Sergei Movsesian 1-0, Loek van Wely - Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Gata Kamsky - Levon Aronian 0-1, Michael Adams - Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Leinier Dominguez - Daniel Stellwagen 1-0, Alexander Morozevich - Teimour Radjabov ½-½, Jan Smeets – Wang Yue ½-½. Aronian, Karjakin and Dominguez lead with 5.5. points, followed by Radjabov and Movsesian with 5.0 points. Grandmaster Group B: Shorts leads with 6.0 points, followed by Volokitin, Motylev, Navara, Caruana and Vallejo Pons with 5.5 points. Grandmaster Group C: Hillarp Persson leads with 6.5 points, followed by So with 6.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2009 Round 724.01.2009 Round 7 was played on Saturday 24 January. In Group A there were two decisive games. Movsesian defeated Ivanchuk and Morozevich Smeets. Karjakin and Movsesian lead with 4.5 points, followed by Aronian, Dominguez and Radjabov with 4.0 points. In Group B there were six decisive games, and one draw. Short (vs Kasimdzanov), Volokitin (vs Reinderman), Mecking (vs Sasikiran), Motylev (vs Hou), L’Ami (vs Navara) and Caruana (vs Werle) were the happy ones. Short leads with 5.0 points, followed by Volokitin, Motylev and Caruana with 4.5 points. In Group C there were three decisive games. Gupta defeated Howell, Hillarp Persson defeated Iturrizaga and Leon Hoyos defeated Bosboom (who turned 46 today). Hillarp Persson and So lead with 5.0 points. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2009 Round 1 Smeets defeats Ivanchuk17.01.2009 17 January 2009 was the day that top seed Vassily Ivanchuk was paired against Group A debutant Dutch champion 2008 Jan Smeets. The day that Ivanchuk waited 10 minutes to do his first move, meanwhile walking around on stage. The day that Ivanchuk didn't make friends. The day that Ivanchuk failed to win a won position and finally lost on time. The day that Smeets had a dream start and was called to give a press conference. Grandmaster Group A Round 1 Results: Daniel Stellwagen - Sergei Movsesian ½-½, Magnus Carlsen - Teimour Radjabov ½-½, Levon Aronian - Wang Yue ½-½, Vassily Ivanchuk - Jan Smeets 0-1, Sergei Karjakin - Alexander Morozevich 1-0, Loek van Wely - Leinier Dominguez ½-½, Gata Kamsky - Michael Adams ½-½. Grandmaster Group B Round 1 Results: Hou Yifan - Rustam Kasimdzhanov 0-1, Krishnan Sasikiran - Erwin L'Ami ½-½, Dimitri Reinderman - Francisco Vallejo Pons 0-1, Nigel Short – Jan Werle ½-½, Andrei Volokitin - Fabiano Caruana ½-½, Henrique Mecking – Zahar Efimenko 0-1, Alexander Motylev – David Navara 0-1. Grandmaster Group C Round 1 Results: Tiger Hillarp Persson - Roeland Pruijssers ½-½, Dowell Howell - Manuel Bosboom 0-1, Friso Nijboer - Wesley So 0-1, Oleg Romanishin - Ali Bitalzadeh 1-0, Anish Giri - Frank Holzke ½-½, Abhijeet Gupta - Dronavalli Harika 0-1, Eduardo Iturrizaga - Manuel Leon Hoyos 1-0. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2009 Opening Ceremony16.01.2009 The Opening Ceremony of the 71th Corus Chess Tournament took place on Friday 16 January in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament will be held 17 January – 1 February. Participants GM A (category 19): Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Morozevich, Radjabov, Movsesian, Aronian, Wang Yue, Kamsky, Dominguez, Adams, Karjakin, Van Wely, Stellwagen, Smeets. Participants GM B (category 16): Sasikiran, Vallejo, Efimenko, Kasimdzhanov, Motylev, Volokitin, Short, Caruana, Navara, Werle, L'Ami, Hou Yifan, Mecking, Reinderman. Participants GM C (category 11): So, Howell, Hillarp Persson, Gupta, Nijboer, Leon Hoyos, Romanishin, Iturrizaga, Holzke, Harika, Giri, Pruijssers, Bosboom, Bitalzadeh. Photo report of the Opening Ceremony.Happy 2009 !!!01.01.2009 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti BolsinWeekend Tournaments in the Netherlands in 200831.12.2008 Weekend tournaments are very popular in the Netherlands. The weekend tournament format generally holds: 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss, rate of play all moves in 115 minutes + extra seconds added time per move. In 2008, 14 tournaments like this were being organized, with first prizes ranging from 300 – 1.350 euro. The total first prize sum was 12.050 euro. Above that two ‘extended’ (Friday till Monday) weekend tournaments, each first prized 2.000 euro, were held in May. The most successful 2008 weekend tournament players were the Dutch GMs Erik Van Den Doel (4 tournaments victories) and Friso Nijboer (3). Like in 2008, ChessVista will pay special attention to weekend tournaments in the Netherlands in 2009.Bloemendaal Chess Festival 200807.12.2008 The Dutch IM Robert Ris has won the Bloemendaal Chess Festival 2008 which was held Saturday 6 December in the Bloemendaal Town Hall in Overveen (Netherlands). The tournament (Swiss open rapid, 7 rounds, 20 minutes per person per game), organized by Chess Club Bloemendaal, attracted 84 participants including 3 GMs and 5 IMs. Final Standings (top): 1.Robert Ris (6 points, 34.5 Buchholz score) 2.Piet Peelen (6 points, 32.5 Bs) 3.Rob Bertholee (6 points, 29 Bs) 4.Vyacheslav Ikonnikov ( 5.5 points, 36 Bs) 5.Richard Duijn (5.5 points, 30,5 Bs) 6.Lennart Dek (5.5 punt, 30 Bs) 7.Michiel Bosman (5.5 points, 29 Bs) 8.Dimitri Reinderman (5.5 points, 28.5 Bs). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Leiden Chess Tournament 200820.07.2008 The second Leiden Chess Tournament (a 9 rounds Swiss Open, first prize in the main group 2000 euro) took place 11-20 July 2008 in Leiden (Netherlands). The main group (Group A), for players with Elo > 1850, attracted 84 participants including 7 GMs and 4 IMs. The tournament was won by Roeland Pruijssers. IM Roeland Pruijssers and GM Erik Van Den Doel, both from the Netherlands, finished with 7.0 points, but the Dutch IM had a better Buchholz score. Five players finished with 6.5 points: GM Milos Pavlovic, GM Csaba Horvath, FM Fred Slingerland, GM Mikhail Golubev and GM Lev Gutman. Guido Bakker won the second group (Group B), for players with Elo < 1900; the group attracted 57 participants. The tournament was organized by Stichting Denksportpromotie Nederland. The sponsors of the event were amongst others: the H.L. Druckerfonds and the Stichting Kasteel Oud Poelgeest. Playing venue was the Leiden Denksportcentrum (Mind Games Center Leiden). Photo impression of round 8, 19 July.First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament July 200819.07.2008 The First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament July 2008, organised by László Nagy, took place 5-17 July. The event (one GM group, one IM group and three FM groups) attracted 53 players from 17 countries. GM Zlatko Ilincic won the GM Tournament (a 14 player Round Robin). WGM Hou Yifan (14 year old) finished second. She was sent by the Chinese Chess Federation to make a GM norm but failed by half a point. Peter Prohaszka and Denes Boros, both from Hungary, shared the third place. Richard Rapport won the IM Tournament (14 player Round Robin). The next First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament starts on 2 August. (Info provided by László Nagy)ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 200829.06.2008 The ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2008 in Haarlem (Netherlands) took place 27 - 29 June 2008. The 2008 edition of the tournament attracted 126 participants (less than last year, 2007: 160) including GMs Erik Van Den Doel, Normunds Miezis, Alexandre Dgebuadze, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Zhaoqin Peng. The EUR 1350 first price was won by Dutch GM Erik Van Den Doel with 5.5 points. GM Normunds Miezis, GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov, IM Chiel Van Oosterom and IM Piet Peelen shared second place with 5.0 points. Good news from the sponsor: ROC Nova College will continue sponsorship till 2013. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Photo impression round 2, 28 June 2008 by Frits Agterdenbos.Friso Nijboer wins Utrecht Open Championship 200808.06.2008 The Utrecht Open Championship 2008 (in Dutch: Open Kampioenschap Utrecht 2008, or OKU 2008) took place on 6 – 8 June 2008 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The tournament attracted 143 particpants. Group 1 (elo>1800, 77 participants including 5 GMs and 2 IMs) was won by GM Friso Nijboer with 5.5/6 points. GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Lars Ootes finished second with 5.0 points, followed by GM Leonid Kritz, IM Roeland Pruijssers and FM Stefan Kuipers with 4.5 points. Group 2 (elo 1500-1900, 44 participants) was won by Rufail Mekuria. Group 3 (elo<1600, 22 participants) was won by Ernest de Vroome. The Utrecht Open Championship is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss, rate of play all moves in 115 minutes + 5 seconds added time per move. The event was was organized by Chess Club Paul Keres and sponsored by Adviesbureau Schrijvers and Wout van Veen Advocaten and others. Round 6 photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R917.05.2008 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League final round (R9), a combined round with all 100 players together, took place on 17 May in the Town Hall of Hilversum. HSG (Hilversum) already had secured the 2007-2008 title in R8. In R9 HSG (Magnus Carlsen, Jan Smeets, Daniel Stellwagen, Predrag Nikolic, Yasser Seirawan and others) defeated the 2006-2007 champion Hotels.nl (Groningen) 7.5-2.5 finishing with 18 match points. Schrijvers Rotterdam took second place (14 match points) by defeating LSG 2. Hotels.nl finished third with 12 match points. HMC Calder (Erik Van Den Doel, Rustam Kasimdzanov and others) finished fourth (10 match points). In the 2008-2009 competition Voerendaal and BSG will take the places of LSG 2 and HWP Sas van Gent (relegated). Photo impression 17 May by Frits Agterdenbos.25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi 200813.05.2008 The 25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi (9-12 May 2008) in Bussum, Netherlands, was won by Dutch GM Erik Van Den Doel, scoring 6.0/7 points. Roeland Pruijssers and Robert Ris shared the second place with 5.5 points, followed by 4 players with 5.0 points: Joost Wempe, Aleksandar Berelovich, Anish Giri and Ivo Wantola. The tournament attracted 54 participants (including 4 GMs and 5 IMs) in the main group (Group 1) plus 58 participants in the second group (Elo < 1950). The second group (Group 2) was won by Jelle Wiering. The 25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi was an extended weekend tournament, 7 rounds Swiss in 4 days. The time control was 2 hours with 5 seconds increment after each move starting from the first move. Prize money Group 1: 2000 (first prize), 1000, 500, 300, 175, 150, 75, 75, 75, 75 euro. The tournament was organized by chess club BSG. Frits Agterdenbos photographed the final round (R7) on 12 May.European Champion Sergei Tiviakov’s Homecoming05.05.2008 European Champion Sergei Tiviakov was given a warm greeting by the Dutch Chess Federation when he arrived at Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol) on Sunday 4 May. Dutch Chess Federation Board Members Monique Stam and Michiel Bosman, and Koos Stolk of the Dutch Chess Federation Office were present at the airport to congratulate the champion. Your photographer Frits Agterdenbos was lucky to join in the coffee and apple pie party and made a photo impression. The European Individual Chess Championships took place 20th April - 4th May 2008 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Sergei Tiviakov won gold. The silver medal was for Sergei Movsesian and the bronze medal was won by Sergey Volkov. In the women’s section the winners were Kateryna Lahno (gold), Viktorija Cmilyte (silver) and Anna Ushenina (bronze).37th Allshare Amsterdam Go Tournament04.05.2008 Hong Seul-Ki (7d) from Korea/Germany has won the 37th Allshare Amsterdam Go Tournament which took place 1-4 May 2008 in the European Go Cultural Centre EGCC in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. The event, one of the strongest on the Dutch Go agenda and one of Europe’s main weekend Go tournaments, was a six rounds McMahon tournament with time limit: 1½ hours, Canadian byo-yomi, 10 stones in 5 minutes. The tournament is a major tournament of the Pandanet European Go Cup series 2008-2009. The winner Hong Seul-Ki, who remainded undefeated, took the 500 euro first prize. Zou Jin finished second, Ondrej Silt finished third. Two professional players were available for commentary during the tournament: Kang Seung-Hee (2p, Korea/Germany) and Guo Juan (5p, China/Netherlands). Frits Agterdenbos photographed round 5 on Saturday 3 May.Anish Giri (13) wins Intomart GfK Open 200817.04.2008 The Intomart GfK Open (5-13 April 2008) in Hilversum Media Park, Netherlands, was won by 13 year old Anish Giri, who made his first GM norm. Giri is a Russian player currently living in the Netherlands. FM Anish Giri and GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia finished on 7.0 points, but the junior had a better Buchholz score. Erik Van Den Doel, Daniel Fridman, Alexandre Dgebuadze, Boris Chatabashev, John Van Der Wiel and Simon Ansell shared the third place. Dutch junior Roi Miedema made an IM norm. The tournament attracted 79 participants (including 7 GMs and 7 IMs) in the main group (Group A) plus 48 participants in the second group (Elo < 1900). The second group (Group B) was won by André Van Dinteren. The Intomart GfK Open, which is in fact the third edition of the HSG Open, is a 9 rounds Swiss tournament, 9 days, no rest days. The tournament, organized by HSG, was a Dutch Championships side event. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Draughts Championship for the Visually Impaired17.04.2008 The 41th Dutch Draughts Championship for the Visually Impaired 2008 (in Dutch: Nederlands Kampioenschap Dammen voor Visueel Gehandicapten 2008) took place 9-13 April in Hilversum Media Park, Netherlands. The tournament was organized as a side event alongside the Dutch Chess Championships. ‘Visually impaired’ doesn't necessarily mean ‘blind’, it could mean being blind or having impaired vision. The championship was a 6 player Round Robin, followed by play-offs (2 rounds). The final standings are: 1.Herman Lamberts (champion); 2.Erik Essing; 3.Frans van Hek; 4.Marcel Zandbergen; 5.Peter Kers; 6.Roland van Ekeren. Herman Lamberts, 74 year old, won the title for the fifth time (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008). Frits Agterdenbos photographed the play-offs, round 2, on 13 April.Dutch Champions 2008: Jan Smeets and Zhaoqin Peng15.04.2008 Jan Smeets is the new Dutch Chess Champion. After the penultimate round four players had chances to win the title: Daniël Stellwagen (7.0), Sipke Ernst (6.5), Erwin L’Ami (6.5) and Jan Smeets (6.5). In the final round Sunday 13 April Jan Smeets defeated Daniël Stellwagen, while Sipke Ernst and Erwin L’Ami lost to Ruud Janssen and Manuel Bosboom, respectively. Daniël Stellwagen and Dimitri Reinderman shared the second place. Sipke Ernst and Erwin L’Ami shared the fourth place. The 2006 & 2007 champion Sergei Tiviakov played an unlucky tournament and finished on a shared sixth place together with Friso Nijboer. In the women’s championship Zhaoqin Peng won her tenth title. She scored 8.0/9, making only two draws. Petra Schuurman finished second and Tea Lanchava finished third. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Draughts blind simul by Ton Sijbrands11.04.2008 An interesting side event of the Dutch Chess Championships was a non-chess event. The Dutch former world champion (1972-1973) of international draughts, Ton Sijbrands (1949) competed against 5 opponents in a draughts blind simul. The event took place on Friday 11 April in Hilversum Media Park, Studio 2. Sijbrands scored 100% doing the job in a bit more than 3 hours. Ton Sijbrands is world record holder draughts blind simul. In October 2007 he set the record at 25 opponents, scoring 92% in 28 hours and 23 minutes. The Dutch draughts player Erno Prosman will try to beat the record on 4 July 2008 (info ). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Championship 2008, R9 + Women R711.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 9 took place Friday 11 April. Daniël Stellwagen (draw against Daan Brandenburg), Erwin L’Ami (victory over Jan-Willem De Jong) and Jan Smeets (draw against Yge Visser) lead with 6.0 points. The trio is followed by three players with 5.5. points: Sergei Tiviakov, Sipke Ernst and Dimitri Reinderman. Friso Nijboer and Yge Visser follow with 5.0 points. With two rounds to go anything can happen. Eight players have chances to become champion. In the women championship round 7 was scheduled. Zhaoqin Peng (who defeated Anne Haast) leads with 6.5 points, followed by Petra Schuurman (who defeated Bianca Muhren) with 6.0 points. Tea Lanchava (who defeated Marlies Bensdorp) is on third place with 4.5 points. Three players have chances to win the title. The final rounds are on Saturday and Sunday. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Interview WGM Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau07.04.2008 Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau (1940) was women champion of Romania six times (1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1973) and of the Netherlands five times (1974, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1979). She was one of the best women players of the world. In 1969 Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau had the fifth position in the women’s ELO listing. She was born as Alexandra Nicolau in Romania, married in 1974 with the Dutch Hendrik Cornelis van der Mije and obtained Dutch nationality. In the Netherlands people are used to refer to her as Cathy van der Mije, which has become common use, but it is not accurate. The inner circle knows it should be Käty van der Mije, which has the same pronunciation. The Romanian Chess Federation has published an interview (by Dinu-Ioan Nicula, in Romanian language) with Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau and was willing to give ChessVista permission to publish a translation in English.Dutch Championship 2008, R5 + Women R306.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 5 took place Sunday 6 April. Friso Nijboer, who was leading so far, lost surprisingly to Ruud Janssen. Yge Visser defeated Manuel Bosboom taking sole lead with 3.5 points. He is followed by seven players with 3.0 points: Sergei Tiviakov (draw versus Daan Brandenburg), Daniël Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami, Jan Smeets (who defeated Jan-Willem De Jong), Sipke Ernst, Friso Nijboer and Dimitri Reinderman. In the women championship round 3 was scheduled. Bianca Muhren took sole lead (3.0/3 points) by defeating Anne Haast. Second with 2.5 points is Zhaoqin Peng, who drew against Laura Bensdorp. Petra Schuurman and Martine Middelveld follow with 2.0 points. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Championship 2008, R4 + Women R205.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 4 took place Saturday 5 April. Friso Nijboer, who drew Dimitri Reinderman, leads with 3.0 points. He is followed by six players with 2.5 points: Sergei Tiviakov, Daniël Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami, Sipke Ernst, Dimitri Reinderman and Yge Visser. A remarkable coincidence was the game Erwin L’Ami versus Jan Smeets. The players celebrated their birthday. They are both born on 5 April 1985. The game ended in a draw. The women championship started Friday. Saturday round 2 was scheduled. Zhaoqin Peng (who defeated Petra Schuurman) and Bianca Muhren (who defeated Martine Middelveld) are on 2.0/2. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Championship 2008, R203.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 2 took place 3 April. Friso Nijboer took the sole lead with 2.0 points by defeating Jan Smeets. Sergei Tiviakov (who defeated Manuel Bosboom) and Yge Visser (who drew against Erwin L’Ami) share the second place with 1.5 points. Five players follow with 1.0 point: Daniël Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami, Sipke Ernst, Dimitri Reinderman and Jan-Willem De Jong. Jan Smeets, Ruud Janssen, Manuel Bosboom and Daan Brandenburg are on 0.5 points. So far the 12 players did have Studio 2 for their own, but this will change soon. The women championship starts Friday. A strong open, the Intomart GfK Open, will start Saturday. Photo impression round 2 by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Championship 2008, R102.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 takes place 2 – 13 April in a television studio (Studio 2) in Hilversum Media Park. First prize is EUR 10.000. It is a 12 player Round Robin with 2007 champion Sergei Tiviakov (GM 2634), Daniël Stellwagen (GM 2621), Erwin L’Ami (GM 2600), Jan Smeets (GM 2578), Sipke Ernst (GM 2559), Friso Nijboer (GM 2558), Dimitri Reinderman (GM 2526), Ruud Janssen (IM 2504), Yge Visser (GM 2477), Jan-Willem De Jong (IM 2474), Manuel Bosboom (IM 2471) and Daan Brandenburg (IM 2435). In round 1 Visser defeated Janssen and Nijboer defeated Brandenburg, the other games ended in a draw. Friday 4 April the women (10 players) will start their championship. Zhaoqin Peng will be defending her title. Photo impression round 1 by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R831.03.2008 HSG (Hilversum) is the 2007-2008 champion. The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 8 took place on Saturday 29 March 2008. HSG (captain: Jan Stomphorst, players: Van Wely, Smeets, Nijboer, Stellwagen, L’Ami, Delemarre, De Vreugt, Vedder, Spoelman and Janssen) secured the title with one round to go by crushing Homburg Apeldoorn (8.5-1.5). The 2006-2007 champion Hotels.nl (Groningen) drew 5.0-5.0 against LSG 1. HSG leads with 16 match points, followed by Schrijvers Rotterdam and Hotels.nl, both with 12 match points. HMC Calder is fourth with 10 match points. ESGOO is fifth with 9 match points. LSG 2 and HWP Sas van Gent have been relegated. The final round (R9), a combined round with all 100 players together, will take place on 17 May in the Town Hall of Hilversum. In this report we provide results, standings and photos from Apeldoorn (Homburg Apeldoorn - HSG).Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2008: Daniel Fridman wins16.03.2008 The Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2008 (rate of play: 5 minutes per person per game) took place on Saturday 15 March in Utrecht (Netherlands). The event was organised by Chess Club Utrecht and sponsored by Hypercube Business Innovation. The tournament attracted 128 participants including 9 GMs (Daniel Fridman 2627, Vadim Malakhatko 2600, Felix Levin 2563, Stanislav Savchenko 2558, Michael Feygin 2554, Alexandre Dgebuadze 2512, Mihail Saltaev 2502, Harmen Jonkman 2438, Dennis De Vreugt 2390) and 7 IMs. The first part of the tournament was the qualification phase in which the participants were divided in 8 qualifying groups (all play all) to qualify for the final groups in the second part of the tournament, the final phase. Final group A: 8 numbers one + 8 numbers two + 4 numbers three, making 20 players in total. Prize money in Final Group A (20 player all play all): 1000 euro (first prize), 600, 250, 100, 50. GM Daniel Fridman won the 1000 euro first prize on 15.5/19 points, followed by GM Vadim Malakhatko on 15.0 points and IM Andrey Orlov on 13.0 points. The Dutch blitz specialist IM Manuel Bosboom finished fourth. Big photo report with portraits of all 20 final group A players by Frits Agterdenbos.Ilmars Starostits wins Ichthus College Tournament07.03.2008 The first Ichthus College Tournament (29 February – 2 March 2008) in Driehuis (Netherlands) was won by Latvian IM Ilmars Starostits (elo 2500) and 16 year old Dutch junior Yorick Ten Hagen with 5.5/6 points. Starostits won the cup having a better Buchholz score. The Ichthus College Tournament was a weekend tournament, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game. Prize money: 700 (first prize), 400, 250, 150 and 100 euro. The tournament, which attracted 69 participants, was organized by chess club Santpoort. Starostits takes fifth place after Miezis, Kengis, Meijers and Sveshnikov (FIDE Rating List January 2008, Country Top players list Latvia). Frits Agterdenbos photographed round 3 on 1 March.Dutch Championship 2008 Semi-Finals Round 326.02.2008 The 32-player knockout Semi-Finals of the Dutch Championship 2008 took place on 5+6 January, 23+24 February and 25+26 February in the Town Hall of media city Hilversum. The Semi-Finals saw four players qualifying for the 12-player round-robin Dutch Championship to be held 2-13 April 2008: Ruud Janssen, Yge Visser, Jan-Willem De Jong and Manuel Bosboom. Six players had already qualified for the Championship. They include the five best players of the Dutch Championship 2007, Sergei Tiviakov (champion), Daniel Stellwagen, Ivan Sokolov, Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami and the best Dutchman in Dutch Open 2007 Erik Van Den Doel. Frits Agterdenbos photographed the Semi-Finals round 3, day 1, on 25 February.Dutch Championship 2008 Semi-Finals Round 224.02.2008 The Semi-Finals of the Dutch Championship 2008 is a 32-player knockout. There are three rounds: round 1 (32 players) on 5+6 January, round 2 (16 players) on 23+24 February and round 3 (8 players) on 25+26 February. The tournament format holds (for each round) matches comprising two games per round, plus tiebreak games in case the scores are level after two games. Four players will go to the Finals (the Dutch Championship 2008) which will take place 2-13 April in Hilversum. The eight players going to round 3 are: Ruud Janssen, Merijn Van Delft, Yge Visser, Jan-Willem De Jong, Jeroen Bosch, Manuel Bosboom, Robin Swinkels and Herman Grooten. The Semi-Finals of the Dutch Women Championship 2008 is a 16-player knockout: round 1 (16 players) on 5+6 January and round 2 (8 players) on 23+24 February, after which four players proceed to the Finals. The four players are: Pauline Van Nies, Talitha Munnik, Anne Haast and Martine Middelveld. Frits Agterdenbos photographed the Semi-Finals round 2, day 1, on 23 February.Ikonnikov wins Aalsmeer Open Championship 200816.02.2008 The Aalsmeer Open Championship 2008 (Open Schaak Kampioenschap Aalsmeer 2008) took place on Saturday 16 February 2008 in Aalsmeer (Netherlands). The Rabobank sponsored the event. The tournament (Group A, main group) was won by GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov with 6.5/7 points. IM Robert Ris finished second with 6.0 points and Tex De Wit finished third with 5.0 points. The tournament, which was a 7 rounds Swiss Rapid (20 minutes per player), was organized by Chess Club Aalsmeer (Schaakcub Aalsmeer). Group B was won by Dennis Flohr and Group C was won by Erwin Komrij and Ruud Küchler. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Valentine poem for C14.02.2008 ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ is what we say today to our beloved ones. It is the day we want to reach the ones we love, sometimes the unreachable love. As chess is often without words, the chess player, even more than others, needs ways to tell his world is bigger than a board with pieces. The chess player wants to say you are the only chess piece that really counts, you are my flower on the board. We send a card, a flower. Maybe we will write a poem. This moment, it is you. I have been hunting you so much. Sometimes I see you, but I can not capture you. Your face, your look. This moment, it is you… Chess photographer Frits Agterdenbos has written a poem (Portrait of C, 14 February 2008). Inspired by his love for the people in the world of Chess. Inspired by his wish to get a true picture of the chess player.Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R610.02.2008 The Dutch Club Team Competition scheme holds 10 teams with each 10 players playing nine rounds in the Meesterklasse (Premier League). R1-R8 are on eight Saturdays on different locations spread all over the country. R9 will be on Saturday 17 May 2008. The intention is to make R9 a combined final round with all 100 players together. Round 6 took place on 9 February. The main results of R9 were the loss of 2006-2007 champion Hotels.nl (Groningen) versus HMC Calder and the victory of HSG (Hilversum) over HWP Sas van Gent. HSG (Hilversum) leads with 12 match points, followed by Hotels.nl with 9 match points. Schrijvers Rotterdam and HMC Calder are on 8 match points. Round 7 will take place on 8 March. In this report we provide results, standings and photos from Utrecht (Utrecht – LSG 1).Leiden Chess Tournament 2008 announced08.02.2008 The second Leiden Chess Tournament (a 9 rounds Swiss Open, first prize in the main group 2000 euro) will be held 11-20 July 2008 in Leiden (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 10 July. The main group (Group A) is for players with Elo > 1850, the second group (Group B) is for players with Elo < 1900. There will be two byes possible in the first six rounds. The tournament will be organized by Stichting Denksportpromotie Nederland. The sponsors of the event are amongst others: the H.L. Druckerfonds and the Stichting Kasteel Oud Poelgeest. Playing venue is the Leiden Denksportcentrum (Mind Games Center Leiden). The first edition took place 13-22 July 2007. The winner was GM Erik Van Den Doel. Second was GM Dimitri Reinderman, and third was GM John Van Der Wiel. For registration you can use the entry form (in Dutch, see tournament website) or contact Mr. Jan Bey (tournament director), e-mail: jan.bey@leidenchess.nl.Welcome in the Year of the Rat07.02.2008 Happy Chinese New Year!!! Welcome in the Year of the Rat (7 February 2008 – 25 January 2009). In a 12-year cycle, each year is represented by an animal, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep (or Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (or Boar). So everybody is an animal. Which animal you are depends on your Date of Birth. Famous Rats are: Zinedine Zidane, Ursula Andress, Louis Armstrong, Charles Aznavour, Lauren Bacall, James Baldwin, Marlon Brando, Charlotte Bronte, George H. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Cameron Diaz, T.S. Eliot, Clark Gable and Hugh Grant. Rat Chess Players in de FIDE Rating List Top 100 (January 2008) are Alexei Shirov (born 4-7-1972, elo 2755, world ranking 7), Vadim Milov (1-8-1972, 2690, 30), Loek Van Wely (7-10-1972, 2681, 35), Predrag Nikolic (11-9-1960, 2665, 50), Artyom Timofeev (6-1-1985, 2664, 51), Konstantin Landa (22-5-1972, 2641, 78), Victor Mikhalevski (8-7-1972, 2632, 92) and Yasser Seirawan (24-3-1960, 2628, 98). Report by rat Frits Agterdenbos (7-4-1960, unrated, unranked).Daniël Noteboom Tournament 200803.02.2008 The 68th Daniël Noteboom Tournament (1-3 February 2008) in Leiden (Netherlands) was won by Predrag Nikolic and John Van Der Wiel with 5.5/6 points. Nikolic won the cup having a better Buchholz score. In the final round Nikolic made a draw against Dgebuadze and Van Der Wiel defeated Roeland Pruijssers. Shilong Li, Martin Roobol, Alexandre Dgebuadze and Bogdan Lalic tied for third place with 5.0 points. The tournament attracted 131 participants (including 7 GMs and 3 IMs) in the main group (Group A) plus 127 participants in the second group (Elo < 1900). The second group (Group B) was won by Dennis Flohr and Erik-Jan Colijn. The Daniël Noteboom Tournament is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game. The tournament was organized by LSG.Corus Chess 2008 - Hey, that's me! on ChessVista01.02.2008 An incredible strong tournament, that is how most people Corus Chess 2008 will remember. Corus Chess 2008 was even more than that. Thanks to the many side events (amateur groups) the tournament is also a mass chess event attracting players of all levels. The Weekend-three-round events attracted more than 500 players and the Weekday-three-round events attracted more than 300 players. In the Nine-round events more than 600 players participated. Nine-round event 1A was won by IM Frank Holzke and Nine-round event 1B was won by IM Manuel Bosboom. Holzke and Bosboom promote to Corus Chess 2009 Group C. The Rapid tournament (around 100 participants in two groups) was won by IM Bernd Schneider. The Blitz Tournament Arbiters Corus Chess (17 participants) was won by IM Pavel Votruba, followed by Joost Jansen. Today’s report provides some photos of the amateur groups. Maybe you can recognize yourself. Maybe you can say: “Hey, that's me! on ChessVista”.Corus Chess 2008 Closing Ceremony31.01.2008 The Closing Ceremony of the 70th Corus Chess Tournament took place Sunday 27 January in the Chess Pavillion in Wijk aan Zee. An important part of the Corus Chess closing ceremony is the Prize-Giving, but the most important part is the Pea Soup Dinner. It is said that a newcomer in the tournament who openly dislikes the soup will not be invited again. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the Grandmaster Groups: Aronian and Carlsen (A), Movsesian (B) and Caruana (C). In the meanwhile, the 65th Pea Soup Dinner (Dutch: Snertmaaltijd) took place. The tournament is full of traditions. Which include rules and restrictions to players and journalists. And there are privileges for a few happy ones. Maybe you ask, how did the pea soup taste this year? Well I don’t know. It was the first time since 1980 (in which year I had my first Wijk aan Zee photo on the cover of Schakend Nederland) that my request to join the dinner was refused. Okay I said, just let me take photos, that will be enough. That was allowed. But at arriving at the Chess Pavillion, crowded with chess companions sitting at tables, I was told to wait outside till the soup had been served. Later on I got access. And I did my job. A lot of chess journalists were excluded and stayed away from the scene. Wondering why. I saw one of them drinking in a bar, lonely as chess can make you. Disappointed and grieved. Next year the fight to be in will be tougher than ever. But not everybody will come again. To pea or not to pea, that is the question. Report by Frits Agterdenbos.DGT and UEP in Interactive Chess TV30.01.2008 While Anand and Kramnik were playing their last serious game (Corus Chess 2008, round 13 on Sunday 27 January) before the World Chess Championship Match to be held in October 2008 in Bonn, DGT (Digital Game Technology) and UEP (Universal Event Promotion) have signed a declaration of intent to develop Interactive Chess TV. The signing and the celebration took place in Café De Moriaan, fifty meters from the Anand vs Kramnik fight, in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The expected amount to invest is ranging from 250 thousand to 300 thousand euro. It is a first next step in bringing chess to the people. ‘We expect to attract a new group of chess public’. DGT and UEP want to broadcast the World Chess Championship Match via Interactive Chess TV. ‘We need a 5000+ audience who on Pay per View basis will be witness of this chess event’. Report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 1327.01.2008 The final round (13) was played on Sunday 27 January. Group A was won by Aronian and Carlsen. Group B was won by Movsesian and group C was won by Caruana. Group A: 1. Aronian and Carlsen (8.0), 3. Radjabov and Anand (7.5), 5. Ivanchuk and Leko (7.0), 7. Kramnik and Adams (6.5), 9. Mamedyarov, Polgar and Topalov (6.0), 12. Eljanov, Gelfand and Van Wely (5.0). Group B: 1. Movsesian (9.5), 2. Bacrot and Short (8.5), 4. Harikrishna (7.5), 5. Nepomniachtchi (7.0), 6. Cheparinov (6.5), 7. Hou, Stellwagen, Smeets and L’Ami (6.0), 11. Koneru (5.5), 12. Sargissian and Krasenkow (5.0), 14. Spoelman (4.0). Group C: 1. Caruana (10.0), 2. Negi and Reinderman (8.0), 4. Carlsson (7.5), 5. Nijboer, Braun, Van Der Wiel and Krush (7.0), 9. Van Der Werf (6.5), 10. Li, Grivas (6.0), 12. Ushenina and Peng (4.5), 14. Ruijgrok (2.0). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 1226.01.2008 Round 12 was played on Saturday 26 January. In Group A the big news was Carlsen’s victory over Kramnik. Eljanov defeated Topalov, and Polgar defeated Adams. Aronian and Carlsen lead with 7.5 points, followed by Radjabov and Anand with 7.0 points. In Group B Movsesian (vs L’Ami), Smeets (vs (Nepomniachtchi) and Spoelman (vs Koneru) won their games, the other games ended in a draw. Movsesian leads with 9.0 points, followed by two players on 8.0 points: Bacrot and Short. In Group C Caruana defeated Nijboer, Krush defeated Van Der Wiel, Negi defeated Grivas and Carlsson defeated Ushenina. Caruana leads with 9 points, followed by Negi with 8.0 points and Reinderman with 7.5 points. The Honorary Group was won by Ljubojevic (4.0 points), followed by Kortchnoi and Timman (3.0 points) and Portisch (2.0 points). Tomorrow the final round 13 will be played. Group C starts at 11.30, Groups A and B start at 12.30. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 1125.01.2008 Round 11 was played on Friday 25 January. In Group A Levon Aronian took the lead with 7.0 points after winning against Loek Van Wely, while leader Magnus Carlsen lost to Viswanathan Anand. Teymour Radjabov, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand tie for second place with 6.5 points. Vladimir Kramnik, Michael Adams and Vassily Ivanchuk are on 6.0 points. In Group B there were only two draws. Sergey Movsesian (draw against Ian Nepomniachtchi) leads with 8.0 points. Etienne Bacrot and Nigel Short (who defeated Smeets) tie for second place with 7.5 points. In Group C Fabiano Caruana (after defeating Anna Ushenina) clearly leads with 8.0 points, followed by Friso Nijboer, Parimarjan Negi and Dimitri Reinderman on 7.0 points. In the Honorary Group Ljubomir Ljubojevic defeated Viktor Kortchnoi and Lajos Portisch defeated Jan Timman. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Rest Day 324.01.2008 Today Thursday 24 January is the final rest day for the players in A, B, C and the Honoray Group. Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 January the final three rounds will be played. In tomorrow’s round 11 Magnus Carlsen (group A), Sergey Movsesian (group B), Fabiano Caruana (group C) and Viktor Kortchnoi (Honorary Group) will be defending their leading positions. In this report ChessVista provides you with the Pairings Round 11, the Final Three Rounds Opponents of the Top 7 (group A) including some statistics. Also in this report: a gallery of the Honorary Group and some stock photos by Frits Agterdenbos plus some links to interesting websites.Corus Chess 2008 Round 1023.01.2008 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 23 January. In Group A Van Wely was winning against Carlsen but he threw it all away and lost. The match Ukraine vs Ukraine was won by Ivanchuk. The other games ended in a draw. Carlsen leads with 6.5 points, followed by Aronian who is on 6.0 points. Five players are on 5.5 points. In Group B the girls made a draw (Hou vs Koneru). Movsesian defeated Smeets to take clear lead on 7.5 points, followed by two players on 6.5 points: Bacrot and Short, who defeated Krasenkow. In Group C only two games ended in a draw. Caruana lost to Li, but still leads with 7.0 points. Krush defeated Braun and Ushenina defeated Grivas. In the Honorary Group Ljubojevic (vs Timman) and Kortchnoi (vs Portisch) won their games. Kortchnoi leads with 3.0 points. Tomorrow is a rest day. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 922.01.2008 Round 9 was played on Tuesday 22 January. In Group A the big clash Topalov vs Kramnik was won by the Bulgarian. They did not shake hands at the start of the game, apparently there was no wish to do so. Carlsen lost to Leko and Adams beat Van Wely. Aronian after a draw versus Eljanov shares the lead with Carlsen with 5.5 points followed by four players who are half a point behind. In Group B Movsesian (draw vs Short) leads with 6.5 points followed by Bacrot (draw vs Sargissian) who turned 25 today. Short is third. In Group C only two games ended in a draw. Caruana leads with 7.0 points, followed by Reinderman who is on 6.5 points. In the Honorary Group both games ended in a draw. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 8 – Short vs Cheparinov replayed21.01.2008 Round 8 game Nigel Short versus Ivan Cheparinov (Group B) was replayed Tuesday 21 January (in fact Rest Day 2) after a decision made by the Appeals Committee (Kramnik, Krasenkow and Polgar). The game was won by Short. The Appeals Committee (AC) had decided that the game had to be replayed. The AC also decided that Cheparinov had to make public excuses to Short for his refusal to shake hands. Moreover, the AC decided that both players had to shake hands at the start of the game. In a statement Cheparinov made apologies to Short, but also to the Tournament Committee and to Corus as sponsor of the tournament. Cheparinov arrived in the playing hall before the scheduled time 13.30 hours. But rumours made believe Short was not going to show up. Chief arbiter Thomas van Beekum started the clock at 13.30 hours. Short did arrive some minutes later, and after the handshake, he made his first move 1.e4 at 13.40 hours. The game took 72 moves. Big photo report showing the start of the game, full of tension - by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 820.01.2008 Round 8 was played on Sunday 20 January. It was the day of a remarkable incident in Group B. Cheparinov refused to shake hands with Short. The Bulgarian saw his game declared a loss by the chief arbiter, but later the Appeals Committee decided the game will be played Monday 21 January. In Group A the big clash Anand vs Topalov was won by the world champion. The other games were all draws. Carlsen leads with 5.5 points, followed by Kramnik and Aronian with 5.0 points. In Group B Movsesian defeated Spoelman and Krasenkow defeated Sargissian. No matter the result of Short vs Cheparinov, Movsesian will lead with 6.0 points, since Bacrot made a draw. In Group C all games were decisive. Caruana defeated Braun to take sole lead with 6.0 points, followed by Reinderman (5.5 points) who defeated Li. In the Honorary Group both games ended in a draw. Big photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 719.01.2008 Round 7 was played on Saturday 19 January. In Group A there were two decisive games. Aronian defeated Radjabov and Anand defeated Polgar. Carlsen leads with 5.0 points, followed by Kramnik and Aronian with 4.5 points. In Group B there were three decisive games. Movsesian (vs Stellwagen), Hou (vs Smeets) and Koneru (vs Krasenkow) were the happy ones. Movsesian and Bacrot lead with 5.0 points, followed by four players with 4.0 points. In Group C there were four decisive games. Grivas defeated Braun, Caruana defeated Carlsson, Negi defeated Krush and Ushenina defeated Van Der Werf. Caruana and Braun lead with 5.0 points. The Honorary Group started today with wins for Kortchnoi (vs Portisch) and Timman (vs Ljubojevic).Corus Chess 2008 Round 618.01.2008 Round 6 was played on Friday 18 January, the day after Bobby Fischer died at the chess age of 64. A one-minute silence tribute honouring the chess genius was held at the start of the round. One hour later, at the opening ceremony of the Honorary Group in the chess pavilion, the one-minute silence tribute was done again. It was a little bit like ‘The king is dead. Long live the king!’ seeing Carlsen taking sole lead in Group A. He defeated Judit Polgar. Kramnik (vs Aronian) and Topalov (versus Leko) also won their games. In Group B Bacrot leads with 4.5 points after making a draw versus Nepomniachtchi. He is followed by Stellwagen, Movsesian and Smeets with 4.0 points. In Group C Braun is leading with 5.0 points, followed by Nijboer, Reinderman and Caruana who lost to Krush. The Honorary Group starts Saturday. First round pairings are Ljubojevic – Timman and Kortchnoi – Portisch.Corus Chess 2008 Round 517.01.2008 Round 5 was played on Thursday 17 January. Veselin Topalov defeated Boris Gelfand and Shakhryar Mamedyarov defeated Loek Van Wely. Teymour Radjabov (by defeating Pavel Eljanov) joined the lead with Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian who both drew their games. In Group B Etienne Bacrot defeated Jan Smeets to take the sole lead with 4.0 points. Pentala Harikrishna is second on 3.5 points after a draw versus Sergey Movsesian, who is now on 3.0 points, together with the Dutch GMs Daniel Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami and Jan Smeets. Wouter Spoelman scored his first half versus Yifan Hou. In group C Arik Braun lost his first half by drawing versus Dennis Ruijgrok who scored his first half in the tournament. Arik Braun is leading with 4.5 points, followed by Fabiano Caruana (4.0 points) and Dimitri Reinderman (3.5 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Rest Day 116.01.2008 Today Wednesday 16 January is the first rest day. The players in groups A, B & C are taking a break. There are two more rest days to come: Monday 21 January and Thursday 24 January. So the schedule is: 4 games, rest, 4 games, rest, 2 games, rest, 3 games. Tomorrow round 5 will be played. Aronian and Carlsen (A), Harikrishna, Smeets and Bacrot (B) and Braun (C) will be defending their leading positions. The Honorary Group, a double round-robin, with Viktor Kortchnoi, Jan Timman, Ljubomir Ljubojevic and Lajos Portisch will start Saturday 19 January with R(ound)1. And continues 20-R2, 22-R3, 23-R4, 25-R5 and 26-R6. Today ChessVista provides you with a few stock photos and some links to interesting websites. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 415.01.2008 Round 4 was played on Tuesday 15 January. It was a happy day for Holland in Group A. Loek Van Wely defeated former world champion Veselin Topalov. Magnus Carlsen versus Levon Aronian was a draw. Both players maintain their lead on 3.0 points, followed by Vladimir Kramnik (who defeated Pavel Eljanov), Teymour Radjabov, Judit Polgar (who defeated Boris Gelfand) and Loek Van Wely on 2.5 points. Anand is on 1.5 points. In Group B Pentala Harikrishna (who defeated the unhappy Wouter Spoelman), Jan Smeets (draw versus Michal Krasenkow) and Bacrot (draw versus Sergey Movsesian) share the lead on 3.0 points. In group C Arik Braun keeps on winning. He leads on 4.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 314.01.2008 Round 3 was played on Monday 14 January. It was a drawish day in Group A, all games ended in a draw but not without fight. Levon Aronian and Magnus Carlsen maintain their lead on 2.5 points, followed by Radjabov on 2.0 points. In Group B there was only one draw (Daniel Stellwagen – Pentala Harikrishna), white won five times, black one. Jan Smeets (who defeated Ivan Cheparinov) and Etienne Bacrot (who defeated Wouter Spoelman) share the lead on 2.5 points, followed by four players on 2.0 points. In group C John Van Der Wiel lost to Parimarjan Negi. Fabiano Caruana and Arik Braun kept on winning. They share the lead on 3.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 213.01.2008 Round 2 was played on Sunday 13 January. It definitely was a good day for the white pieces (nine wins). In group A Levon Aronian defeated Boris Gelfand. Aronian said at the press conference his victory over Gelfand was the first time in his life. Magnus Carlsen defeated Pavel Eljanov. The other games ended in a draw. Aronian and Carlsen lead on 2.0 points. In Group B six players share the lead on 1.5 points. In group C only two games ended in a draw. Pontus Carlsson (fever 40.0) made a quick draw versus Zhaoqin Peng. Li, Caruana, Braun and Van Der Wiel lead on 2.0 points. The Dutch squadron (11 players) scored minus 4: 0.5/1 in A + 1.0/4 in B + 2.0/6 in C = 3.5/11. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Round 112.01.2008 Round 1 was played on Saturday 12 January 01.30 PM. In group A the Big Three didn’t do well. Viswanathan Anand lost to Teymour Radjabov and Veselin Topalov lost to Levon Aronian. Vladimir Kramnik – Loek Van Wely was a draw. Magnus Carlsen defeated Shakhryar Mamedyarov. In Group B Ivan Cheparinov defeated Wouter Spoelman and Etienne Bacrot defeated Yifan Hou. In group C no game ended in a draw. The three ladies lost their games: Anna Ushenina – John Van Der Wiel 0-1, Shilong Li - Irina Krush 1-0 and Zhaoqin Peng – Fabiano Caruana 0-1. The Dutch squadron (11 players, in 2007 there were 14) scored plus 1: 0.5/1 in A + 2.5/4 in B + 3.0/6 in C = 6.0/11. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.Corus Chess 2008 Opening Ceremony11.01.2008 The Opening Ceremony of the 70th Corus Chess Tournament (‘Wijk aan Zee’) took place on Friday 11 January in the Dudok House in Velsen-Noord. The tournament will be held 12-27 January. Group A will show the Big Three (world champion Anand, Kramnik, Topalov). The pairings in Group A, round 1 are: Kramnik – Van Wely, Radjabov – Anand, Mamedyarov – Carlsen, Eljanov – Leko, Adams – Gelfand, Aronian – Topalov, Ivanchuk – Polgar. Good news for the chess world: Corus announced that the Corus Chess Tournament is guaranteed till 2013 (75th edition). The Elo sum of Groups A,B and C is 110,099 (2007: 109,279). Photo report of the Opening Ceremony.Corus Chess 2008 Photo Preview – the Day Before10.01.2008 The Corus Chess Tournament 2008 will be held 12-27 January 2007 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 11 January in the Corus Headquarters Netherlands, the Dudok House in Velsen-Noord.
Group A (category 20) will show Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Mamedyarov, Leko, Ivanchuk, Aronian, Gelfand, Radjabov, Carlsen, Adams, Polgar, Eljanov and Van Wely.
Group B (category 15) will show Cheparinov, Bacrot, Movsesian, Sargissian, Harihrishna, Short, Krasenkow, Stellwagen, Koneru, Nepomniachtchi, L’Ami, Smeets, Hou and Spoelman.
Group C (category 10) will show Caruana, Nijboer, Braun, Reinderman, Negi, Grivas, Li, Carlsson, Van Der Wiel, Ushenina, Krush, Peng, Van Der Werf and Ruijgrok.
Today ChessVista provides a photo preview (photos taken by Frits Agterdenbos on 10 January) from Wijk aan Zee getting ready for Round 1.Happy 2008 !!!01.01.2008 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti BolsinBloemendaal Chess Festival08.12.2007 The Bloemendaal Chess Festival was held Saturday 8 December 2007 in Overveen (Netherlands). The main event was the Lex Jongsma Invitational, a 8 player Round-Robin rapid tournament, organized to celebrate the 40 years jubilee of Lex Jongsma as chess journalist of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. The 8 players were Lex Jongsma and his chess friends GMs William Lombardy, Fridrik Olafsson and Vlastimil Hort and the Dutch players IM Hans Böhm, Rob Duijn, IM Rob Hartoch and Eddy Scholl. Hort won the tournament. One of the side events was an open rapid tournament (7 rounds, 66 participants), which was won by IM Piet Peelen on 6.5 points, followed by GM Dimitri Reinderman, Thomas Broek and Pieter Roggeveen on 6.0 points.ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 200701.07.2007 The ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2007 in Haarlem (Netherlands) took place 29 June – 1 July 2007. ChessVista’s 16.06.2006 report provided a survey of the Top 7 Weekend Tournaments (with first price EUR 1.000 or more) in the Netherlands in 2006, with Haarlem on top of all. When you want to go for the biggest price money in a Dutch weekend tournament, Haarlem is the city to visit. The 2007 first price was EUR 1.350, like in 2006. The 2007 edition saw GMs Stelios Halkias and Aleksandar Berelovich winning on 5.5/6 points. They were followed by Friso Nijboer, Igor Glek, Yochanan Afek, Ton Timman and Xander Schouwerwou on 5.0 points. The tournament attracted around 160 participants. The 2008 edition will be 27-29 June 2008, info: fwelling@wish.net (Mr. Frits Welling, HWP Haarlem). Price money 2008: 1st price EUR 1.350, 2nd price EUR 800, 3rd price EUR 400, 4th price EUR 200, etcetera. Photo impression round 3, 30 June 2007 by Frits Agterdenbos.Dutch Championship 200730.06.2007 The Dutch Championship took place 16-28 June 2007 in a television studio in Hilversum Media Park. The 2006 champion Sergei Tiviakov (8.0/11 points) took the title after a tiebreak blitz match (1½- ½) against youngster Daniel Stellwagen (8.0/11 points). Ivan Sokolov, Friso Nijboer and Erwin L’Ami finished on 7.0 points. Sixfold Dutch champion Loek Van Wely (2000-2005) did not participate. The Dutch Championship for women was a clear win by Zhaoqin Peng, who scored 8.0/9 points. Second became Desiree Hamelink on 6.0 points. Marlies Bensdorp took the third place. The 2008 Championship will take place 2-13 April 2008.Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R913.05.2007 Share Dimension Groningen is the 2007 winner of the Dutch Club Competition Premier League. The final round (round 9), organized by HMC Calder, took place in Den Bosch on 13 May 2007. Share Dimension Groningen (top boards Tiviakov, I.Sokolov, Naiditsch, Mchedlishvili) defeated Homburg Apeldoorn 8-2. HSG (Nijboer, L’Ami, Smeets, Stellwagen) defeated SMB 7-3. HMC Calder (Kasimdzhanov, Fridman, Speelman) defeated Utrecht 5½ - 4½. Martijn Dambacher and Roeland Pruijssers made GM norms. SMB and Zukertort Amstelveen have been relegated. HWP Sas van Gent and LSG 2 will take their places next competition year 2007-2008.Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R724.03.2007 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 7 took place on 24 March. The matches of the two strongest teams were played in Rotterdam (SO Rotterdam - Share Dimension Groningen) and in Enschede (ESGOO vs HSG). Share Dimension Groningen (with on top boards Tiviakov, Khenkin, Naiditsch, Landa, Baramidze) won 7½-2½ and HSG (L’Ami, Nikolic, Nijboer, Stellwagen, Smeets) won 8-2. Share Dimension Groningen leads with 13 match points, HSG is second on 12 match points and Homburg Apeldoorn is third on 8 match points. In this report we provide results, standings and photos (Utrecht – Zukertort Amstelveen).Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R605.03.2007 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 6 took place on 3 March 2007. Share Dimension Groningen (top 100 players Kramnik, Nisipeanu, Naiditsch, I.Sokolov, defeated HSG (Van Wely, Nijboer, Seirawan, Nikolic) 6½ -3½. Thanks to the appearance of the world champion the match attracted a lot of media attention. Share Dimension Groningen leads with 11 match points, followed by HSG on 10 match points. The final 3 rounds are on 24 March, 21 April and 13 May. Next round (R7) Share Dimension Groningen will play SO Rotterdam (third on 8 match points) and HSG will play ESGOO (fourth on 7 match points). In this report we provide results, standings and photos (Share Dimension Groningen - HSG).Predrag Nikolic wins Daniël Noteboom Tournament19.02.2007 The 67th Daniël Noteboom Tournament (16-18 February 2007) in Leiden (Netherlands) was won by Predrag Nikolic. In the Final round he made a draw versus Friso Nijboer to finish on 5.5/6. Friso Nijboer, Patrick Driessens, Erik Van Den Doel and Jan Smeets followed on 5.0 points. The tournament attracted 143 participants (including 6 GMs and 5 IMs) in the main group plus 153 participants in the second group (Elo < 1900). The Daniël Noteboom Tournament is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game.Welcome in the Year of the Pig18.02.2007 Happy Chinese New Year!!! Welcome in the Year of the Pig (18 February 2007 – 6 February 2008). The Chinese New Year generally begins on the day of the second New Moon after the Winter Solstice, which was in 2006 on 22 December. In a 12-year cycle, each year is represented by an animal, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep (or Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (or Boar). So everybody is an animal. Which animal you are depends on your Date of Birth. The Pig Chess Player Elo Top 5 is: Michael Adams (born 17-11-1971, Elo 2735), Ruslan Ponomariov (11-10-1983, 2723), Alexander Grischuk (31-1-1983, 2717), Vladimir Akopian (7-12-1971, 2700) and Dmitry Jakovenko (28-06-1983, 2691).Chessvibes Blitz Tournament in Amsterdam11.02.2007 The First Chessvibes Blitz Tournament (17 rounds Swiss, rate of play: 5 minutes per person per game) was held Saturday 10 February 2007 to celebrate the first birthday of doggers-schaak.nl and the introduction of chessvibes.com. The event took place in Sporthal De Pijp in Amsterdam. Peter Doggers and his Chessvibes team attracted 54 participants including 6 GMs (Van Den Doel, Rogers, Reinderman, Van Der Weide, Jonkman and Ree) and 7 IMs (Solleveld, Smerdon, Van Haastert, Bosboom, Van Delft, Peelen and Afek). IM David Smerdon from Australia won the 400 euro first prize on 13.5 points, followed by IM Manuel Bosboom on 12.5 points and GM Karel Van Der Weide on 12.0 points. Big photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.French Premier League - Top 16 2007 to start08.02.2007 The French Premier League - Top 16 2007 is to start on 9 February on four different locations: Marseille, Vandoeuvre, Châlons-en-Champagne and Metz. The competition format holds a Première phase and a Seconde phase. In the Première phase (Preliminaries) the 16 teams are divided over 2 pools (Poule A and Poule B) of 8 teams each playing 7 rounds. In the Seconde phase (Finals) the best 4 of Poule A (Pool A) and the best 4 of Poule B (Pool B) go to Poule Haute (Pool High). The other 8 teams go to Poule Bas (Pool Low). In the Seconde phase, which takes 4 rounds, the teams play the 4 teams they haven’t played in the Première phase. Number 1 of Poule Haute is champion of France. Numbers 1 and 2 of Poule Haute go to the European Club Cup 2007, 6-14 October in Kemer, Turkey. Numbers 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Poule Bas will be relegated to the Nationale I (Second Division). Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R504.02.2007 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 5 took place on 3 February. The top matches were played in Hilversum (HSG vs HMC Calder) and in Enschede (ESGOO - Share Dimension Groningen). HSG (top 100 players Nijboer and Seirawan) defeated HMC Calder (Kasimdzhanov) 7-3. Share Dimension Groningen (Ivanchuk, Tiviakov, Rublevsky and I.Sokolov) defeated ESGOO 7½ -2½. HSG leads with 10 match points, followed by Share Dimension Groningen on 9 match points. The clash of the favourites, Share Dimension Groningen vs HSG, will be next round (R6) on 3 March 2007 in Groningen. In this report we provide results, standings and photos (HSG-HMC Calder).Harmen Jonkman - Globetrotter plays Home Tournament02.02.2007 He has the looks of a proto-Dutchman and the heart of a cosmopolitan: the Dutch GM Harmen Jonkman (born in 1975). In Wijk aan Zee, not far from his residence Beverwijk, he participated in the Corus Chess 2007 Group C. He was the only player who could sleep at home, no need for a hotel. Harmen Jonkman was one of the totally 14 Dutch players in the A, B & C groups. His performance in Wijk aan Zee came shortly after a 4 months trip to Latin America where he stayed with his Peruvian girlfriend Lida meanwhile playing some tournaments in Peru, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. Harmen Jonkman has a great liking for exotic countries, and it was no surprise when he met Lida Carlota Ynza Benites in Moscow (Aeroflot 2005) that she made him fall in love. We provide you with a survey of Harmen’s Latin American tournaments and with some photos of Harmen in Wijk aan Zee.Chess Eyes Quiz – Solutions and Winner31.01.2007 In ChessVista’s End of Year Quiz 2006 we have challenged you to guess 16 chess players by recognizing their eyes. Well, the 32 eyes belong to: Elisabeth Paehtz, Ulf Andersson, Mark Paragua, Xie Jun, Mikheil Mchedlishvili, Gata Kamsky, Alexander Baburin, Vladimir Belov, Regina Pokorna, Yuriy Kuzubov, Loek Van Wely, Lilit Mkrtchian, Alexander Khalifman, Jolanta Zawadzka, Ali Frhat and Antoaneta Stefanova. The winner is Marlies Bensdorp of the Netherlands. She guessed 11 names correctly. The Chess Portraits Book 64 Schaakportretten (Frits Agterdenbos, 1984) was delivered to her during the Corus Chess Tournament. Congratulations, Marlies!Corus Chess 2007 Closing Ceremony30.01.2007 The Closing Ceremony of the 69th Corus Chess Tournament took place Sunday 28 January in the Chess Pavillion in Wijk aan Zee. Corus people, players, seconds, partners, organizers, journalists and guest of honour former world champion Anatoly Karpov… they all joined the party. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the Grandmaster Groups: Topalov, Aronian and Radjabov (A), Eljanov (B) and Krasenkow (C). In the meanwhile, maybe even more important, the 64th Pea Soup Dinner (the first dinner was in 1943) took place. The tournament is full of traditions. The 70th edition of the tournament will take place 11-27 January 2008. As Corus will probably be taken over within a few days, likely by Tata (India) or CSN (Brazil), the question is what the name of the tournament in 2008 will be.Corus Chess 2007 Round 1328.01.2007 The final round 13 was played on Sunday 28 January 11.30 PM (Group C) and 12.30 PM (Groups A+B). Group A was won by Topalov, Aronian and Radjabov on 8.5 points. Radjabov vs Topalov was drawn, while Aronian defeated Tiviakov. Kramnik follows on 8 points. Anand finished on 7.5 points. Group B was won by Eljanov on 9.0 points, Sargissian, Bu, Vachier-Lagrave and Jakovenko finished on 8.0 points. Group C was won by Krasenkow on 10.5 points. In the final round he defeated Peng, while Nepomniachtchi surprisingly lost to Nadezhda Kosintseva. Nepomniachtchi finished on 10.0 points. Berg finished on 8.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 0.0/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 3.5/7 in C = 5.5/14.Corus Chess 2007 Round 1227.01.2007 Round 12 was played on Saturday 26 January 01.30 PM. In group A the Big Fight Topalov vs Kramnik drawn. Radjabov defeated Motylev and Van Wely defeated Svidler. Topalov and Radjabov lead on 8.0 points, followed by Aronian on 7.5 points and Anand, Svidler and Kramnik on 7.0 points. In group B Eljanov leads on 8.0 points, followed by three players on 7.5 points: Sargissian, Bu and Vachier-Lagrave. In group C Nepomniachtchi vs Negi was drawn. Krasenkow defeated Van Haastert. Nepomniachtchi leads on 10.0 points, followed by Krasenkow on 9.5 points and Berg on 8.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 1.5/2 in A + 1.5/5 in B + 2.5/7 in C = 5.5/14. The final round will be played on Sunday. The C group starts 11.30 AM, the A & B groups start 12.30 AM.Corus Chess 2007 Round 1126.01.2007 Round 11 was played on Friday 24 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov sensationally lost to Svidler, and Aronian defeated Karjakin. The other games were drawn. Topalov leads on 7.5 points, followed by Aronian, Svidler and Radjabov on 7.0 points. In group B Eljanov, who defeated Vachier-Lagrave, leads on 7.5 points, followed by seven players on 6.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Brynell) won again. Krasenkow defeated Jonkman. Nepomniachtchi leads on 9.5 points, followed by Krasenkow on 8.5 points, Berg on 7.0 points and Hou Yifan on 6.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 1.0/2 in A + 3.5/5 in B + 2.5/7 in C = 7.0/14. Tomorrow the Big Fight is on: Topalov - Kramnik.Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 325.01.2007 Today Thursday 25 January is the third rest day for the players in groups A, B & C. Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 January the final three rounds will be played. In tomorrow’s round 11 Topalov (group A), Bologan / Vachier-Lagrave / Eljanov (group B) and Nepomniachtchi (group C) will be defending their leading positions. In this report we provide you with the Standings Round 10, the Pairings Round 11, the Final Three Rounds Opponents of the Top 6 and a few photos.Corus Chess 2007 Round 1024.01.2007 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 24 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov increased the gap with Radjabov by defeating Carlsen, while Radjabov made a draw against Svidler. Anand won his second game in a row. The victim was Karjakin. Topalov leads on 7.5 points, followed by Radjabov on 6.5 points. Anand, Aronian, Svidler and Kramnik are on 6.0 points. In group B only one game was drawn. Vachier-Lagrave lost to Jakovenko, Bologan (vs Nijboer) and Eljanov (vs Smeets) both won. Bologan, Vachier-Lagrave and Eljanov lead on 6.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Spoelman) made his third draw. Hou Yifan lost to Willemze. Nepomniachtchi leads on 8.5 points, followed by Krasenkow on 7.5 points and Berg on 6.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 1.0/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 4.0/7 in C = 7.0/14. Today Manuel Bosboom (1963) turned 44. Tomorrow Thursday 25 January the players in groups A, B & C will be having a rest day.Corus Chess 2007 Round 923.01.2007 Round 9 was played on Tuesday 23 January 01.30 PM. In group A Shirov defeated Navara, Ponomariov defeated Karjakin and Anand defeated Van Wely. The other games were drawn. Topalov is now on 6.5 points, Radjabov follows on 6.0 points. Aronian, Svidler and Kramnik are on 5.5 points. In group B Smeets vs Vachier-Lagrave was drawn, while L’Ami defeated Eljanov. Vachier-Lagrave leads on 6.5 points, followed by Bu, Bologan (who defeated Georgiev) and Eljanov, all on 5.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi vs Hou Yifan was drawn. Nepomniachtchi leads on 8.0 points, followed by Krasenkow on 6.5 points and Berg on 6.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 0.5/2 in A + 3.5/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 7.0/14.Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 222.01.2007 Today Monday 22 January is the second rest day for the players in groups A, B & C. The agenda announces two playing days on Tuesday and Wednesday, one more rest day on Thursday 25 January, followed by the final three rounds. Sunday 28 January the event will end with the traditional big pea soup eating party. Today Round 4 of the nine-round events is being played. Players of all levels participate in groups 1A, 1B, 2A, … , 9C. The winners of 1A and 1B will be invited to Corus Chess 2008 group C. In tomorrow’s round 9 Topalov (group A), Vachier-Lagrave (group B) and Nepomniachtchi (group C) will be defending their leading positions.Corus Chess 2007 Round 821.01.2007 Round 8 was played on Sunday 21 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov took over the lead after defeating Anand, while Radjabov lost to Aronian. Topalov leads on 6.0 points, followed by Radjabov on 5.5 points. Karjakin, Aronian, Svidler and Kramnik are on 5.0 points. In Group B Vachier-Lagrave defeated L’Ami, while Eljanov made a draw with Stellwagen. Vachier-Lagrave leads on 6.0 points, Eljanov follows on 5.5 points, Bu is third on 5.0 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Willemze) won again. Nepomniachtchi leads on 7.5 points. Berg (who defeated Nadezhda Kosintseva) follows on 6.0 points. Krasenkow is on 5.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 1.0/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 4.0/7 in C = 7.0/14. Tomorrow Monday 22 January the players in groups A, B & C will be having a rest day.Corus Chess 2007 Round 720.01.2007 Round 7 was played on Saturday 20 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov defeated Ponomariov. Anand vs Radjabov was drawn. Radjabov leads on 5.5 points, followed by Topalov on 5.0 points and Kramnik on 4.5 points. Next round 8 Topalov vs Anand, Radjabov vs Aronian and Kramnik vs Carlsen are scheduled. In Group B only one game was drawn: Bologan vs Eljanov. Vachier-Lagrave defeated Stellwagen. Vachier-Lagrave and Eljanov lead on 5 points, Bu follows on 4.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi keeps on winning. Today’s victim was Peng. Nepomniachtchi leads on 6.5 points. Krasenkow (vs Willemze) and Berg (vs Negi) both won, following on 5.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 0.5/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 5.5/14.Corus Chess 2007 Round 619.01.2007 Round 6 was played on Friday 19 January 01.30 PM. In group A Kramnik won the top match against Anand. The unlucky Shirov (vs Karjakin) lost again. The Dutch top match Van Wely vs Tiviakov was drawn. Radjabov leads on 5.0 points, followed by Topalov and Kramnik on 4.0 points. Next round 7 it is Anand’s job to oppose Radjabov. In Group B Eljanov defeated L’Ami taking the lead position on 4.5 points. Smeets and Vachier-Lagrave are on 4.0 points. In group C the amazing Nepomniachtchi (vs Van Haastert) won again. He is on 5.5 points. Negi, Krasenkow, Berg and Hou are on 4.0 points. Next round 7 Peng will try to stop Nepomniachtchi. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 1.0/2 in A + 2.5/5 in B + 2.0/7 in C = 5.5/14.Corus Chess 2007 Round 518.01.2007 Round 5 was played on Thursday 18 January 01.30 PM. In group A Radjabov (vs Navara) won again. Also Anand (vs Svidler) and Van Wely (vs Shirov) won their games. Radjabov is leader on 4.5 points, followed by Topalov and Anand on 3.5 points. Aronian and Kramnik are on 3.0 points. In Group B leader Smeets lost to Bologan. There are 4 players on 3.5 points: Bologan, Smeets, Eljanov and Jakovenko. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Jonkman) won again. He is on 4.5 points. Berg is second on 4 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 1.5/2 in A + 1.0/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 5.5/14. Tomorrow Kramnik plays Anand. Also the best Dutch players will play: Van Wely vs Tiviakov.Corus Chess 2007 in storm-swept Wijk aan Zee18.01.2007 A severe storm (wind-force 10) raged on Thursday 18 January across the Netherlands causing extensive damage and disrupting traffic. The extreme weather conditions also hit Wijk aan Zee where the Corus Chess Organization Committee had to take safety measures. The white and red Corus Chess flags were damaged and had to be removed. The commentary session in the Corus Chess pavilion was cancelled, maybe for the first time in Corus Chess history. The Organization Committee feared the lighting equipment to fall down. Later on –initiated by Arlette Van Weersel, one of the best Dutch female players- a short commentary session was given in the Tournament hall’s Café. Arlette and good old Lex Jongsma animated a small audience, especially when Dutch GM Loek Van Wely was winning against Alexei Shirov.Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 1 17.01.2007 Today Wednesday 17 January is the first rest day. The players in groups A, B & C are taking a break. There are two more rest days to come: Monday 22 January and Thursday 25 January. So the schedule is: 4 games, rest, 4 games, rest, 2 games, rest, 3 games. Your photographer took a day off, being happy he had not to carry his camera equipment for another day in a row. Though ChessVista provides you with a few stock photos and two links to interesting websites. You can go for a 360 degrees virtual tour through the Corus Chess complex. And you can enjoy Mikhail Golubev’s analyses of Radjabov's games versus Van Wely (R1) and Shirov (R3). Tomorrow round 5 will be played. Radjabov (A), Smeets (B) and Nepomniachtchi (C) will be defending their 3.5 points leading positions.Corus Chess 2007 Round 416.01.2007 Round 4 was played on Tuesday 16 January 01.30 PM. In group A Radjabov (vs Tiviakov) and Topalov (vs Shirov) won their games. Radjabov is leader on 3.5 points, followed by Topalov on 3 points. Anand (vs Carlsen) and Kramnik (vs Navara) drew their games. In Group B Smeets leads (3.5 points) after defeating Werle, while Bu lost to Eljanov. 5 Players are on 2.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Bosboom) won again. He is on 3.5 points. The Kosintseva sisters both won their games. Tatiana defeated Sargissian in group B and Nadezhda defeated Negi in group C. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 2: 0.5/2 in A + 2.5/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 6.0/14.Corus Chess 2007 Round 315.01.2007 Round 3 was played on Monday 15 January 01.30 PM. In group A Radjabov (2.5 points) took the lead.by defeating Shirov (and winning the expert prize), while the Big Three all drew their games: Kramnik vs Tiviakov, Topalov vs Karjakin, and Anand vs Aronian. In Group B only one game was drawn: Bologan vs Stellwagen. Bu and Smeets are on 2.5 points, followed by 3 players on 2 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi made his first draw. He shares the lead with Negi and Bosboom, all on 2.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 1: 1.0/2 in A + 3.5/5 in B + 2.0/7 in C = 6.5/14. Corus Chess 2007 Round 214.01.2007 Round 2 was played on Sunday 14 January 01.30 PM. In group A the Big Three all won their games: Kramnik defeated Shirov, Topalov defeated Van Wely and Anand defeated Motylev. Only one game was drawn: Radjabov versus Karjakin. 7 Players are on 1.5 points. In Group B all games were drawn. Bu, Bologan, Smeets and Eljanov are on 1.5 points. In Group C Nadezhda Kosintseva lost her birthday game against Wouter Spoelman. Nepomniachtchi won his second game in a row. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 2: 0.0/2 in A + 2.5/5 in B + 3.5/7 in C = 6.0/14. Tomorrow 15 January Jan Werle (1984) will turn 23.Corus Chess 2007 Round 113.01.2007 Round 1 was played on Saturday 13 January 01.30 PM. In group A Teimour Radjabov was the only one to win a game (against Loek Van Wely). The other games were drawn. In Group B Jan Smeets won the expert prize (EUR 250), awarded by commentator Ivan Sokolov, for gaining the victory over Gabriel Sargissian. In Group C Zhaoqin Peng missed a mate in three. John Van Der Wiel saved half a point. The two Chinese players did well today. Both Bu Xiangzhi and Hou Yifan won their games. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 4: 0.5/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 2.5/7 in C = 5.0/14. Tomorrow 14 January Nadezhda Kosintseva (1985) will turn 22.Corus Chess 2007 Opening Ceremony12.01.2007 The Opening Ceremony of the 69th Corus Chess Tournament took place on Friday 12 January in the Dudok House (by architect Willem Marinus Dudok, 1884 – 1974, known for his blocky brick buildings) in Velsen-Noord. The tournament will be held 13-28 January in Wijk aan Zee. Group A will show the Big Three (Topalov, Anand, Kramnik). The pairings in Group A, round 1 are: Topalov – Motylev, Van Wely – Radjabov, Karjakin – Kramnik, Shirov – Svidler, Tiviakov – Carlsen, Navara – Aronian, Ponomariov – Anand. Group A participant Sergey Karjakin turned 17 today. The average age in group A is 27.4 years, in group B 26.1 years and in group C 29.5 years. The Elo sum of Groups A,B, C is 109,279. Photo report of the Opening Ceremony.25+2 Champions of EU Member States09.01.2007 On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union. By now the EU has 27 Member States. The EU's population has increased from 463 million people to 493 million. The EU’s economy has grown to EUR 10.9 trillion (the biggest single market in the world). The enlargement will go on. Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have been granted the status of a candidate country.
This ChessVista report surveys the chess champions of all 25 EU Member States in 2006, plus the 2 champions of Bulgaria and Romania in 2006. The champions list includes Colin Pace, Paris Klerides, Francisco Vallejo Pons and one woman: Eva Moser.ChessVista’s Most Viewed Photos and Reports 200607.01.2007 ChessVista.com was launched 16 May 2006, just a few days before the start of the Turin Chess Olympiad. Since then 57 reports and 7 photo albums have been published. The launching date was well chosen. Thanks to the Olympiad many chess fans from 127 countries (!) have found their way to ChessVista.com. Many of them have become regulars. In this report we provide some statistics on the most viewed reports, photo albums and photos. The reports on the Olympiad were clearly the most popular, and still do attract a lot of visitors. Also the item Photo of the Month is attracting a lot of viewers.Happy New Year01.01.2007 Happy New Year to all ChessVista.com’s frequenters. In the Netherlands it is a tradition to celebrate New Year’s Eve while eating doughnut balls. And then at midnight we are used to set off firework. In Caissa’s world some people do play the game around the turn of the year. Like in Hastings, L’Estartit, Stockholm, Reggio Emilia and Canberra where the tournaments did span the change of years. We would like to see the players to set fire to the chess pieces. Okay it is time to provide you with some free New Year Cards to email to your beloved ones.Chess Eyes - End of Year Quiz 200631.12.2006 In ChessVista’s End of Year Quiz 2006 you are challenged to guess 16 chess eyes. Guess which chess players are on the photos, mail the answers to ChessVista and win the Chess Portraits Book 64 Schaakportretten (Frits Agterdenbos, 1984). There are only 1000 copies of this book in the world! The Chess Eyes End of Year Quiz 2006 is open to everyone. The winner is the person who submits the most correct answers. In case of a tie, a drawing of lots will decide. Only one entry is permitted per person and must be emailed to info@chessvista.com. Entrants must supply their first and last names and a valid email address as the winner will be contacted by email. The Quiz closes at 12 midday GMT on 15 january 2007. Solutions and declaration of the winner will be on 31 January 2007.MonRoi International Women's Grand Prix30.12.2006 MonRoi Inc. has announced the MonRoi International Women's Grand Prix to be organized in 2007. There will be 7 Grand-Prix Qualifiers (which are existing tournaments) in Gibraltar, Cannes, Zagreb, Dresden, Liechtenstein, St. Petersburg and Philadelphia. The Final will be held 21-28 July 2007 in Montreal, Canada. MonRoi Inc. is a Montreal-based company, founded by CEO Brana Malobabic-Giancristofaro, that creates chess products and services. Their technology is put together in the MonRoi System (Personal Chess Manager, Professional Tournament Manager, World Databank of Chess). The Personal Chess Manager (PCM) is an electronic scoresheet device. Season’s Greetings from Heemstede25.12.2006 Christmas… these days we hear a lot about peace on earth for all human beings regardless of religion, ideology, race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else. Like Christmas, chess is full of symbols and international language. ChessVista believes in the language of visualization, in the power of photos, because photography is an international language that makes people understand each other better. Chess brings people together. Today 25 Dec, there are tournaments in -amongst others- Pamplona (Spain) and Groningen (Netherlands). Tomorrow 26 Dec a lot of tournaments start. See for example the calendars of Harmen Jonkman, of the FIDE and of the USCF. In this report ChessVista sends you greetings from Heemstede (Netherlands), the residence of the photographer. Ivanchuk wins Carlos Torre Memorial 200624.12.2006 Vassily Ivanchuk has won the Carlos Torre Repetto in Memoriam (Carlos Torre Memorial) 2006. The event took place 14-22 December 2006 in Mérida, Yucatán, México. In the final of the Wimbledon (Knock Out) Section the Ukrainian GM beat the Cuban GM Lázaro Bruzón who won the tournament in 2005. Ivanchuk won 88000 Mexican pesos, which is about EUR 6200, Bruzón won 49500 pesos (EUR 3500) and Jaan Ehlvest who was beaten by Bruzón in the semi finals won 24750 pesos (EUR 1750). The Magistral en Sistema Suizo (Swiss Section) was won by the Swiss GM Vadim Milov. GM Jesús Nogueiras from Cuba finished second.Together we are strong: Kirsan & Kok23.12.2006 An important breakthrough in the world of chess was announced by Bessel Kok by distributing an email dated 22 December 2006. FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and his challenger at the FIDE Elections in June 2006, Bessel Kok have signed a Memorandum of Understanding following a meeting in Prague on 21 December 2006. This is for sure a win-win situation for the two giants. A company called Global Chess will be launched to be located in Amsterdam. There is a five year business plan. An initial EUR 4.5 million plus an additional EUR 5.5 million will be invested in chess. Well we love that! Global Chess, headed by chairman Bessel Kok, will become responsible for marketing, development and promotion of all FIDE tournaments and matches related to the World championship cycles for Men, Women, Youths and Juniors.Meanwhile in Khanty-Mansiysk23.12.2006 When the 2005 World Chess Cup was announced to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk (West Siberia, Russia), journalists complained it was far and away. Moreover, it was much too cold to go there. Of course the qualified players did go to West Siberia since the 128 player knock out tournament was a qualifier for the Candidate Matches and there was a lot of money at stake. The mass event turned out to be a very well organized tournament. And yes indeed the temperature was minus a lot, but the cold was not unbearable. Half a year later in May 2006, in Turin, the 2010 Chess Olympiad was entrusted to Khanty-Mansiysk. The Khanty-Mansiysk bid included a promise to organize two World Chess Cups (2007, 2009) as well. By now the events are scheduled in the agenda. Meanwhile for the second time Khanty-Mansiysk hosted the Cup of the Governor 20 to 26 November 2006.Corus A, B, C participants update21.12.2006 The organizers of the Corus Chess Tournament 2007 have announced the replacement of two players in the Grandmaster Groups B and C. In Group B Alexandra Kosteniuk (who is ill) has been replaced by Viktor Bologan from Moldova, and in Group C Sipke Ernst (university obligations) has been replaced by Dutch woman champion Zhaoqin Peng. The categories remain the same. Group A is a category 19 event, B is category 14 and C is category 10. The Grandmaster Groups host 3 x 14 = 42 players of which 14 are from the Netherlands, 7 from Russia and 3 from Ukraine. Four female players will participate: Tatiana Kosintseva in Group B and Nadezhda Kosintseva, Hou Yifan and Zhaoqin Peng in Group C. The mega event will take place 13-28 January 2007 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands).Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R418.12.2006 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 4 took place on 16 December on five different locations. HSG from Hilversum (last year’s runner-up) and Share Dimension Groningen (new ambitious sponsor) are the most likely candidates to win the title. The clash of the favourites will be in round 6 on 3 March 2007 in Groningen. In the run to this match LSG from Leiden is playing a key role. The round 3 match Share Dimension Groningen – LSG ended in an unexpected draw 5-5. In round 4 on 16 December HSG feared a new LSG trick, but the Hilversum team escaped with a close 5½-4½ victory. Share Dimension Groningen defeated HMC Calder, HSG’s next opponent in round 5 on 3 February 2007. In this report we provide results, standings and photos (LSG-HSG).Corus A, B, C participants announced02.12.2006 The Corus Chess Tournament 2007 will be held 13-28 January 2007 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 12 January. In October and November the organizers announced the participants of the Grandmaster A and B Groups. Today the list with the Grandmaster C Group participants was released. In this report we provide you with the names of all the 3x14=42 players. The highest ranked is GM Veselin Topalov (world ranking 1, Elo 2813), the lowest is IM Manuel Bosboom (world ranking 2927, Elo 2375). The oldest participant is John Van Der Wiel (born 1959), the youngest is Yifan Hou (born 1994). All ratings and rankings are based on the FIDE Rating List of October 2006.11th Cultural Village - Portraits01.12.2006 The 11th Cultural Village Chess Tournament saw a field of experienced masters and IM norm hunters. Experienced masters: Romeo Sorin Milu (ROM, 2430, IM), David Smerdon (AUS, 2473, IM), Julius Armas (FRA, 2392, IM) and Yochanan Afek (ISR, 2372, IM). IM Norm hunters: Jan Willem De Jong (NED, 2435, FM), Bianca Muhren (NED, 2336, WIM), Robin Swinkels (NED, 2379), Michiel Abeln (NED, 2380, FM) and Dennis Ruijgrok (NED, 2278). Though the tournament was won by the young master Thomas Willemze (NED, 2384, IM). In this report we provide you with portraits of all the players, by photographer Frits Agterdenbos.11th Cultural Village Wijk aan Zee01.12.2006 The 11th Cultural Village Chess Tournament took place 20-29 November 2006 in city of Corus chess Wijk aan Zee (The Netherlands). Tournament set up: 10 player Round-Robin. Elo average: 2386. Basic intention: to offer (young) Dutch players the opportunity to achieve an IM norm. Time control: 100 minutes for the entire game plus 30 seconds a move.
The tournament was won by young Dutch IM Thomas Willemze, who won EUR 600 and an invitation to play in Corus-C 2007, next January. Making the tournament a Corus Qualifier is a brilliant move by organizers Bert Kisjes (Cultural Village) and Jeroen Van Den Berg (Corus Chess Tournament). From now on the Cultural Village Chess Tournament will be a lot more in focus of the international chess community.Remco Heite Chess Tournament 200627.11.2006 Loek Van Wely showed superior strength in the Invitation Group of the Remco Heite Chess Tournament, a new tournament, which took place 24 – 26 November in Wolvega (Netherlands). Participants in the Invitation Group, a six player Round-Robin, were the Dutch Loek Van Wely, Jan Timman, Jan Werle and the Non-Dutch Artur Yusupov, Robert Hübner, Vlastimil Hort. Time control: 105 minutes for first 35 moves + 15 minutes to finish. Loek Van Wely exercised the winner’s call option buying a horse to take home. The Open Group (9 rounds, including 4 GMs and 3 IMs) was won by Erik Van Den Doel, scoring 8.5/9, performance rating 2824. Time control in this group: 45 minutes for the entire game. The Remco Heite Chess Tournament will be held two-yearly.German Club Team Championship 2006-07 (Bundesliga)23.11.2006 In the German Bundesliga (Premier League) 16 teams of 8 players each play for the Championship in a 15 rounds all-play-all. The German Bundesliga is seen as one of the strongest club team competitions of the world, don’t forget the Russian competition. Werder Bremen won the 2004-2005 championship after beating SG Porz in a play off. OSC Baden-Baden won the 2005-2006 championship. In 2006-2007 OSC Baden-Baden is favourite far out. Other likely candidates to win the title are SG Porz, SC Remagen, Bindlach-Aktionär and Werder Bremen. The 2006-2007 competition started 28 October 2006 and, in case no play off is needed, will finish 1 April 2007. In Round 3 (18 November 2006) the classic match SG Porz vs OSC Baden-Baden was played. SG Porz won 4½-3½.Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-2007, R313.11.2006 The Dutch Club Team competition scheme holds 10 teams with each 10 players playing nine rounds in the Meesterklasse (Premier league). R1 (23 September 2006) - R8 are on eight Saturdays on five different locations spread all over the country, and R9 (13 May 2007) is on a Sunday: a combined final round with all 100 players together. Contrary to 2005-2006, there will be no play-offs (top four playing for championship) in 2006-2007. The number one after R9 will be called Dutch Club Team Champion. The 2005-2006 winner U-Boat Worx (De Variant) withdrew from the championship. Groningen lost Hotels.nl as main sponsor but has attracted a new ambitious sponsor, Share Dimension, who does not only want to win the Dutch championship but also the European Club Cup (Kemer, TUR, October 2007). Frits Agterdenbos visited 11 November the R3 match Share Dimension Groningen – LSG to make a big photo report.Hoogeveen – Essential People08.11.2006 The 10th Essent Chess tournament was the strongest and most interesting in history. Mamedyarov, the 2005 World Junior Champion, won the Crown Group. The winners of 10 years Hoogeveen: Emil Sutovsky (1997), Judit Polgar (1998), Jan Timman, (1999), Alexander Khalifman (2000), Judit Polgar & Loek Van Wely (2001), Peter Acs (2002), Judit Polgar (2003), Ivan Sokolov (2004), Pentala Harikrishna (2005), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2006). The Essent Chess tournament has grown into one of the most important chess events on the current Dutch chess calendar. In this report we provide you with a lot of photos (by Frits Agterdenbos), mostly portraits of players in the Open Group.Mamedyarov wins Hoogeveen07.11.2006 The Essent 2006 Crown Group was won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) with 4.5/6 points. Second became Judit Polgar (HUN), also on 4.5 points. Former World Champion Veselin Topalov (BUL) scored 2.0/3 in the second half of the tournament finishing on 2.5 points. Ivan Sokolov (NED) disappointed scoring 0.5/6 points. The Open Group was won by Topalov’s second Ivan Cheparinov (BUL) with 7.0/9 points. Second became Jan Werle (NED), also on 7.0 points. Four players shared the third prize: Evgeny Postny (ISR), Michail Brodsky (UKR), Mikhail Gurevich (TUR) and Alexander Goloshchapov (UKR) on 6.5 points.Hoogeveen - Essent Open 200626.10.2006 The 10th Essent Chess Tournament takes place 20-28 October in Hoogeveen (Netherlands). Just like last year there are several competitions: a Crown Group, a strong Essent Open (first prize EUR 3000), an Amateur Tournament, a pub tournament and an event for youth. The Essent Open has attracted 17 GMs including Mikhail Gurevich, Ivan Cheparinov, Evgeny Postny, Erwin L’Ami, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov, Michail Brodsky, Semen Dvoirys, Alexander Goloshchapov, Jan Werle, Rasul Ibrahimov, Ian Rogers, Jan Smeets, John Van Der Wiel, Vlastimil Hort and 13 IMs. After round 6 Brodsky, Goloshchapov and Rogers top the ranking with 5.0 points, followed by a group of 6 players (including Gurevich and Cheparinov) on 4.5 points.Essent Chess 2006 Crown Group25.10.2006 The city of Hoogeveen (Netherlands) is celebrating its 10th edition of the Essent Chess Tournament which takes place 20-28 October. The Crown Group, a four player double Round-Robin with Veselin Topalov, Judit Polgar, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Ivan Sokolov, started 22 October. Halfway the tournament we find an exhausted Topalov at the bottom of the table with only half a point after losing to Mamedyarov (round 1) and Polgar (round 2). 1-2 Mamedyarov, Polgar 2.5 points (out of 3), 3-4 Sokolov, Topalov 0.5 points. Topalov fans do believe the former world champion is warming up for a 3/3 finish. (photo report by Frits Agterdenbos)Magnus Carlsen wins ticket to Monaco12.09.2006 The NH Chess Tournament, also called the ‘Rising Star Chess Challenge’, took place 19 – 29 August in Hotel Krasnapolsky, in the centre of Amsterdam. It was a battle between an ‘Experience’ team (Ulf Andersson, Alexander Beliavsky, Artur Jussupow (Yusupov), Ljubomir Ljubojevic and John Nunn) and a 'Rising Stars' team (Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, Jan Smeets, Daniel Stellwagen en Wang Hao). The Rising Stars won the double-rounded Scheveningen, virtually five mini-matches, 28-22. The Rising Stars players won EUR 2000 each and the Experience players won EUR 1000 each. A special prize was won by Magnus Carlsen for being the best Rising Star. He will get an invitation to play in the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament in Monaco in 2007. Photo report of round 10 (29 August) by Frits Agterdenbos.Kasparov’s Blitz Return in Zurich12.09.2006 To mark the bank’s 150th anniversary, Credit Suisse invited the legendary Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Viktor Korchnoi and Judit Polgar to play a double round robin blitz (5 minutes + 3 seconds increment per move) tournament, and to take on 4 x 20 challengers in a simultaneous exhibition. Date: 22 August 2006. The scene of the act was “Lichthof”, the shopping arcade in the Credit Suisse building at the Paradeplatz, a square located at the expensive Bahnhofstrasse (high real estate prices, exclusive boutiques, department stores and street-side cafés) in Zurich, Switzerland. The media were excited about Kasparov’s blitz return, but it was no real surprise at all, since he had declared he would go on playing blitz and rapid chess occasionally, when on 10 March 2005 he announced his retirement from professional chess. Kasparov and Karpov shared first on 4.5/6 points. Polgar scored 2.5 points and Korchnoi finished on 0.5 points.Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 200613.08.2006 The 34th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2006 took place 29 July – 6 August in the Civic Theatre (Schauspielhaus) in the centre of the city. Final standings: 1 Vladimir Kramnik (2743 RUS 4,5 points); 2 Peter Svidler (2742 RUS 4,5); 3 Michael Adams (2732 ENG 4,0); 4 Peter Leko (2738 HUN 4,0); 5 Boris Gelfand (2729 ISR 4,0); 6 Arkadij Naiditsch (2664 GER 3,5); 7 Levon Aronian 2761 ARM 2,0) and 8 Baadur Jobava (2651 GEO 1,5).
The side event match Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) versus Irina Krush (USA) was won by the American lady 3,5 – 2,5.Friso Nijboer wins Dutch Open Championship04.08.2006 Friso Nijboer (NED) gained a well-deserved tournament victory (7.5 points) starting with 6 out 6 including a bizar win against Tiviakov (round 6), and finishing with 3 draws against Mchedlishvili (7), Greenfeld (8) and Ernst (9). The Dutch GM is on his way to a solid position in the FIDE Top 100, next October. Alon Greenfeld (ISR) finished second on 7 points. Mikheil Mchedlishvili (GEO), Sipke Ernst (NED), Willy Hendriks (NED) and Erik Van Den Doel (NED) shared the third place on 6.5 points. Elo favourite Sergey Tiviakov who came to Dieren to break the 2700 barrier spoiled a lot of Elo points scoring 5.5 points only. In the final round he lost to Erik Van Den Doel.Dutch Open round 6 drama Tiviakov vs Nijboer01.08.2006 The Dutch Open Championship 2006 Round 6 (31 July) encounter between Sergey Tiviakov playing white against Friso Nijboer was in fact Part 2 of a Championship Drama of which Part 1 took place 37 days ago when the same players clashed in Round 7 (24 June) of the Dutch Championship. Photographer Frits Agterdenbos was on the spot again because he felt there was fire to be expected.Dutch Open Championship 2006 24 July – 3 August01.08.2006 The Dutch Open Championship 2006 (9 rounds Swiss, first prize 2250 euro) has attracted 86 participants including 10 GMs: Sergey Tiviakov 2668, Friso Nijboer 2598, David Baramidze 2591, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov 2587, Sergey Erenburg 2585, Erik Van Den Doel 2577, Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2561, Alon Greenfeld 2551, Shilong Li 2540 and Dibyendu Barua 2453.
Round 6 was played on Monday 31 July. Playing against Friso Nijboer, Sergey Tiviakov lost dramatically in won position when –in unnoticed check- he made an illegal queen move and was forced to play a legal queen move at the cost of her majesty. Friso Nijboer is now the only player with a perfect score 6 out 6, followed by Alon Greenfeld and Mikheil Mchedlishvili on 5 points. Report with photos of round 6. Plus photos of all GMs.3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament: Sergey Tiviakov winner26.07.2006 The Final Round 9 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Sunday 23 July 11.30 AM. The crucial games were: Sergey Tiviakov drew against Lubomir Ftacnik, Friso Nijboer defeated Stelios Halkias and Erwin L’Ami lost to Sergey Erenburg. The results brought three players (Tiviakov, Erenburg and Nijboer) on a shared first place. In accordance with the tiebreak system, as published in the Tournament Regulations, the Dutch champion Sergey Tiviakov officially won the tournament, although this was not mentioned at the closing ceremony. The prize money was divided equally, as it should. Photos of final round 9. 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Portraits of all GMs22.07.2006 The 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament is taking place 15-23 July. In the group A 86 players are participating including 14 GMs. In this report ChessVista provides portraits of all the Grandmasters: Tiviakov, Nijboer, Timman, L’Ami, Erenburg, Ftacnik, Stellwagen, Al-Modiahki, Tukmakov, Halkias, Li, Parker, Van Der Weide and De Vreugt.3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 721.07.2006 Round 7 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Friday 21 July 01.00 PM. Sergey Tiviakov (NED), who defeated Frans Cuijpers, and Erwin L’Ami (NED), who defeated Karel Van Der Weide, stay on top of the rankings with 6.0/7. Friso Nijboer won his 5th game in a row making up his slow 0,5/2 start. Stelios Halkias (GRE), who defeated Jan Timman and Friso Nijboer (NED) are on 5,5 points. 5 Players are on 5 points: Lubomir Ftacnik (SVK), Mohamad Al-Modiahki (QAT), Sergey Erenburg (ISR), Arthur Van De Oudeweetering (NED) and Renier Vazquez Igarza (ESP). 12 Players follow on 4.5 points including Jan Timman (NED). Round 8 top encounters are: Sergey Tiviakov – Friso Nijboer and Stelios Halkias – Erwin L’Ami. Photos of round 7. 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 519.07.2006 Round 5 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Wednesday 19 July 01.00 PM. The Dutch heat wave which is frying the participants in the playing hall, like french fries in a pan, brought a show of shorts wearing, water drinking chess players. In the press room it was 36 degrees Celsius. Erwin L’Ami drew with Jan Timman, while Mohamad Al-Modiahki lost to Sergey Tiviakov. Karel Van Der Weide climbed to a top place in the table by beating Lubomir Ftacnik. Sergey Tiviakov (NED) and Erwin L’Ami (NED) top the rankings with 4.5/5, followed by five players on 4 points: Jan Timman (NED), Stelios Halkios (GRE), Jonathan Parker (ENG), Karel Van Der Weide (NED) and Sebastian Siebrecht (GER). 9 Players are on 3.5 points. Round 6 top encounters are: Sergey Tiviakov – Erwin L’Ami and Jan Timman - Jonathan Parker. Photos of round 5.3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 317.07.2006 Round 3 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Monday 17 July 01.00 PM. In the A group three players have the maximum score of 3.0/3: Erwin L’Ami (NED), Lubomir Ftacnik (SVK) and Stelios Halkias (GRE). Eight players are on 2.5 points: Sergey Tiviakov, Jan Timman, Frank Holzke, Simon Ansell, Mohamad Al-Modiahki, Sipke Ernst, Sebastian Siebrecht and Matthew Tan. 19 Players are on 2 points. Round 4 will bring the first GM encounters of the event: Lubomir Ftacnik vs Erwin L’Ami and Sergey Tiviakov vs Stelios Halkias. Report with photos of round 3.3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament 15-23 July 200615.07.2006 The 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament is taking place 15-23 July in the University Sport Centre in Amsterdam Buitenveldert. The 446 player Swiss tournament (9 rounds) is being held in 4 groups (A, B, C and D). The A group (Elo > 2225, first prize 3500 euro) has attracted 86 participants including 14 GMs and 22 IMs. The 2500+ players are: Tiviakov 2668, Nijboer 2598, Timman 2594, L’Ami 2586, Erenburg 2585, Ftacnik 2579, Stellwagen 2575, Al-Modiahki 2564, Tukmakov 2560, Halkias 2551, Li 2540, Vazquez Igarza 2517, Cuijpers 2510, Parker 2509 and Ernst 2504. Report with photos of round 1.Four times Ivan Sokolov versus Sergey Tiviakov (July 05 – June 06)13.07.2006 There are not so many chess events in which the Dutch Top 3 (in alphabetical order: Ivan Sokolov, Sergey Tiviakov and Loek Van Wely) do participate all together. During the past 12 months (July 05 – June 06) they played as part of the Dutch team in Göteborg (European Chess Team Championship 2005) and Turin (Chess Olympiad 2006), maybe missing a slight chance to be in Beer Sheva (World Chess Team Championship). On five other occasions the Top 3 were competitors: Warsaw/Zegrze-Poludniowe (European Individual Chess Championship 2005), Dutch Club Competition 2005-2006, Khanty-Mansiysk (World Chess Cup 2005), Wijk aan Zee (Corus 2006) and Dutch Championship 2006. ChessVista reports on the four games that Ivan Sokolov and Sergey Tiviakov played. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.Erwin L’Ami wins Weekend Tournament in Haarlem11.07.2006 The ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament in Haarlem (Netherlands) took place 7-9 July 2006. Erwin L’Ami won the 1.350 Euro (first prize) event with 5.5/6 half a point clear of a group of 7 players (5 points). 176 Participants decided to spend the weekend in Haarlem (Friday night till Sunday late afternoon). Amongst them: 5 GMs (Mikhail Gurevich, 2005 winner Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Harmen Jonkman and Dennis De Vreugt) and 5 IMs (Yge Visser [GM Cond], Leonid Milov, Yuri Boidman, Leon Pliester and Piet Peelen). Text and photos (taken 9 July) by Frits Agterdenbos.Karel The Great does Hilversum performing 290602.07.2006 The HSG Open was one of the many side events being organized during the Dutch Championships in Hilversum (the Netherlands). The event took place 19-29 June 2006 in television Studio 22, the same venue as the one where also the championships were being held. The Open was won by Dutch GM Karel Van Der Weide, who has chosen Karel The Great as a nickname, appropriate for his height and presumably for many other aspects of his personality. Karel Van Der Weide won all his 9 games, a performance rating of 2906. ‘A Kasparov performance’, he whispered from above.Dutch Championships: Tiviakov and Peng champions30.06.2006 Sergey Tiviakov is the new Dutch Champion with a fabulous score of 9/11. In the final round Thursday 29 June he defeated Erwin l’Ami, while only left competitor Ivan Sokolov lost to Friso Nijboer to finish second. Loek Van Wely had already been shaken off a round ago. The former champion (2000-2005) and Nijboer finished on third place. Jan Timman was in bad shape losing many Elo points.
In the women’s section Zhaoqin Peng again won the title. She made only one draw (against Tea Lanchava who finished third) and won all the other games. Bianca Muhren performed excellent, finishing second. She made a score of 7/9, enough to get the WGM title soon.Dutch Championships: Tiviakov and Peng lead28.06.2006 Tuesday 27 June round 9 of the Dutch Championship (12 player Round Robin) was played. Sergey Tiviakov defeated Loek Van Wely and Ivan Sokolov defeated Jan Werle. Sergey Tiviakov is on top of the standings with 7 points, followed by Ivan Sokolov on 6,5. Loek Van Wely is third on 5,5 points. With two more rounds to go sixfold titleholder Loek Van Wely should be considered being cut out for the championship. Next round Tiviakov plays Jan Timman, who is on a disappointing score of 3 points.
In the women’s section, a 10 player Round Robin, round 7 was played. Zhaoqin Peng is on 6,5 points. Bianca Muhren defeated Tea Lanchava to take over second place with 5,5 points.Happy Birthday Ulf Andersson27.06.2006 Today the Swedish Grandmaster Ulf Andersson turns 55. He was born on June 27th, 1951 in Vasteras, Sweden. He was awarded the IM title in 1970 and the GM title in 1972. He was in the world top in the 1970s and 1980s. His career highlights include frequent participation in WC qualifiers and tournament victories in Belgrade, Buenos Aires, Wijk aan Zee, Hastings, London, Turin and Rome. Ulf Andersson is famous for his rock solid positional play, bringing a high percentage of draws. His endgame technique is feared. Ulfie loves to squeeze his opponents out when almost no material is left on the board.Dutch Championships: General and Women’s section22.06.2006 The Dutch Chess Championship started 17 June. Thursday round 5 was played. The three Elo favourites are on top: Sergey Tiviakov leads with 4,0 points, followed by Ivan Sokolov and Loek Van Wely (3,5 points). Jan Timman is living in troubled times after losing two times and making three draws. In the Women's Championship, which started 19 June, 10 players are competing: the 4 players in the Dutch Olympiad women’s team, Zhaoqin Peng (GM, 2395), Tea Lanchava (IM, 2380), Petra Schuurman (FM, 2258) and Bianca Muhren (WIM, 2253), plus 6 other players: Linda Jap Tjoen San (WIM, 2191), Mariska De Mie (2153), Arlette Van Weersel (2148), Maartje De Jonge (2136), Pauline Van Nies (2107) and Biaina Geragousian (1992). After 3 rounds Bianca Muhren is on 3 points. Titleholder Zhaoqin Peng is on 2,5 points, followed by Tea Lanchava and Maartje De Jonge (2,0 points).Dutch Championship 17-29 June18.06.2006 The Dutch Chess Championship takes place 17 – 29 June in a big television studio (Studio 22) in Hilversum Media Park. First prize is EUR 12.000. It is a 12 player Round Robin with Ivan Sokolov, Sergey Tiviakov, Loek Van Wely, Jan Timman, Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Daniel Stellwagen, Jan Smeets, Jan Werle, John Van Der Wiel, Yge Visser and Jeroen Bosch. Which means that it is the strongest manned championship of the century, so far. This photo report by Frits Agterdenbos shows portraits of the participants in Round 2. Monday 19 June the women (10 players) will start their championship. Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands16.06.2006 The Netherlands is known as a country with a good chess climate. First of all there is the Corus Chess Tournament (next edition is 13-28 January 2007). In the summer three other important tournaments are on the agenda: The Amsterdam Chess Tournament (15-23 July 2006), The Dutch Open Championship (24 July – 3 August 2006), and The Hogeschool Zeeland Chess Tournament (5 – 12 August 2006). When you have a lot of energy you can play 27 games in 29 days. You will have rest and travel days on 24 and 30 July and 4 August; on 6 August you will play 2 games. Don’t forget to come back 20-28 October to play the Essent Tournament in Hoogeveen. In this report we provide you a Survey of the Top 7 Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands: in Leiden, Zwolle, Bussum, Utrecht, Haarlem, Tilburg and Apeldoorn.Chess Olympiad Wrap-up report12.06.2006 In the blas hdsv dv av av afv e b b b b sd bb ethb eaqhba hbqaebbdbd da v as dvav sdfd fg f gfdg blas hdsv dv av av afv ebb bb sd bb ethb eaqhba hbqaebbdbd da v as dvav sdfd fg f gfdg blas hdsv dv av av afv e b b b b sd bb ethb eaqhba hbqaebbdbd da v as dvav sdfd fg f gfdg blas hdsv dv av av afv e bb b b sd bb ethb eaqhba hbqaebbdbd da v as dvav sdfd fg f gfdg blas hdsv dv av av afvb bbsd bb ethb eaqhba hbqaebbdbd da v as dvav sdfd fg f gfdg sdfd fg f gfdg blas hdsv dv av av afvb bbsd bb ethb eaqhba hbqaebbdbd da v as dvav sdfd fg f gfdg
Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands in 2006 with minimum 1st Prize EUR 1.000
Chess Olympiad Final Round 13 & Awards Ceremony05.06.2006 The final round 13 was played on Sunday 4 June 2006.Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian) won gold in the men’s section. China finished second and USA finished third.
In the women’s section Ukraine (Lahno, Yanovska-Gaponenko, Ushenina) won gold. Russia finished second and China finished third.
Men’s section 1.Armenia 2.China 3.USA
Women’s section 1.Ukraine 2.Russia 3.ChinaChess Olympiad Round 1204.06.2006 Round 12 was played on Saturday 3 June 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section the main results were France – Armenia 2-2 (all games draw), Czech Republic – China 1-3 (Zhang P and Wang won) and Russia – Cuba 3-1 (no draws, Kramnik won). Ukraine lost to Netherlands 1,5-2,5. Armenia is going for gold with 34,0 points. Second is China on 31,5 and Russia is back at the top on third place with 31,0 points. France and Hungary with 30,5 will try to win bronze. In the Women’s section the main results were Ukraine – India 2,5-0,5 (Zhukova and Lahno won), Russia – France 1,5-1,5 (all games draw) and USA – China 1,5-1,5. Ukraine with 28,0 points will win gold. Second is Russia with 26,0 points and clear third is China with 25,0 points. USA is fourth on 23,0 points. There is one final round to go. The players will have to get up early since Round 13 will start at 10.00 a.m.Kirsan Ilyumzhinov re-elected03.06.2006 The FIDE President election took place on Friday 2 June at the General Assembly in the Torino Incontra Congress Centre in the centre of Turin, 4 kilometers from the Olympic playing hall. The General Assembly is part of The 77th FIDE Congress 27 May – 4 June. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was re-elected, scoring 96-54. Bessel Kok (together with Ali Nihat Yazici in The Right Move team) loss was an honourable defeat. He showed being a good loser. His attempt to take over the FIDE presidency was a very serious wake-up call for FIDE. After hearing the election result Bessel Kok seemed relieved. Together with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov the other (Chess Fidelity) team members will enter (again) the Presidential Board: Georgios Makropoulos, Lewis Ncube, Ignatius Leong, Nigel Freeman.Chess Olympiad Round 1102.06.2006 Round 11 was played on Friday 2 June 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section the main results were Armenia – Czech Republic 3-1, China – France 1,5-2,5 and USA – Russia 2,5-1,5. Armenia is clear leader with 32,0 points. Second are China and France with 28,5. Russia and USA are on 28,0 points.
In the Women’s section the main results were Bulgaria – Ukraine 0,5-2,5, Georgia – Russia 1-2 and China – Greece 3-0. Ukraine leads with 25,5 points, followed by Russia on 24,5. Third is China with 23,5 points. USA and India are on 21,5 points.
In the list of achieved norms so far three women have scored a general(!) GM norm: Zhao Xue, Hoang Thanh Trang and Tatiana Kosintseva. There are two more rounds to go.Chess Olympiad Round 1001.06.2006 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 31 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section number 1 Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian) boosted its position at the top defeating number 2 China (Bu, Zhang Z, Wang, Ni) 2,5-1,5. Akopian won, other games draw. Armenia is on 29 points, second is China with 27 points. Russia (Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Bareev) climbed to third place in the table with 26,5 points (together with Czech Republic) after beating Ukraine (Ivanchuk, Volokitin, Karjakin, Efimenko) 3-1. Svidler and Bareev won, other games draw. In the Women’s section Ukraine is leading with 23,0. Russia is on 22,5 and third is China with 20,5 points. The night brought the Barmuda party. Thursday 1 June is the second rest day. There are three more rounds to go.Chess Olympiad Round 931.05.2006 Round 9 was played on Tuesday 30 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section leader Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian) defeated Ukraine (Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Elyanov, Moiseenko) 2,5-1,5. Armenia remains on top of the rank with 26,5 points. China (Bu, Zhang Z, Wang, Ni) jumped to second place (25,5) by crushing Georgia 4-0. Russia lost to France 1,5-2,5. Fressinet defeated Rublevsky. France (24 points) is third in the table. Russia, USA and Ukraine are on 23,5.
In the Women’s section China drew Russia. Ukraine is leading with 21,0. Russia is on 20,5 and third is Georgia with 19,0 points. China and Bulgaria are on 18,5.
Chess Olympiad Round 830.05.2006 Round 8 was played on Monday 29 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Armenia improved its leading position in the table beating Cuba 3-1, Akopian and Sargissian won their games. Czech Republic drew Russia (Navara defeated Svidler).
The playing hall is increasingly becoming the domain of the election campaigns of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (Chess FIDE Fidelity) and Bessel Kok (The Right Move). More and more one sees chess players showing support by wearing caps and shirts with electoral slogans. Today Kamsky and Nakamura expressed their preference for Bessel Kok and Ali Nihat Yazici. Battle? Although it is commonly thought that compared to what it once has been, this election battle is more a boy scout’s fight.Chess Olympiad Round 729.05.2006 Round 7 was played on Sunday 28 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Armenia made a clear victory over Netherlands 3-1. Aronian crushed Sokolov in a 19 mover, a game Sokolov would like to forget. Sargissian defeated L’Ami. The other games (Akopian vs Tiviakov and Asrian vs Van Wely) ended in a draw. Other top encounters: Russia – Belarus 3-1, India – Ukraine 1,5-2,5, USA – Sweden 2-2. Armenia is now first ranked with 21 points, followed by Russia with 20,0 points. Third is Cuba with 19,5 points. Four countries are on 19,0 points: Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Georgia and Czech Republic. In the Women’s section Russia leads with 17,5 followed by Ukraine 16,5 and USA 15,5.Chess Olympiad Round 628.05.2006 Round 6 was played on Saturday 27 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Netherlands defeated Russia 2,5-1,5. Friso Nijboer who turned 41 the day before got a late birthday present, it was Sergey Rublevsky’s scalp. The other games ended in a draw: Sokolov (white) vs Kramnik, Tiviakov (black) vs Svidler and Van Wely (white) vs Grischuk.
Armenia is now first ranked with 18 points, followed by Netherlands on 17,5. Russia and Belarus are on 17. India, Ukraine, USA and Sweden have 16,5 points. In the Women’s section Russia leads with 14,5, followed by Ukraine 14, Slovakia 13,5. Romena, USA, India and Bulgaria are on 13.Chess Olympiad Round 526.05.2006 Round 5 was played on Thursday 25 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section the top 5 encounters ended in 2-2, like Russia (Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Morozevich) versus Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian), Uzbekistan (Kasimdzhanov, Gareyev, Iuldachev, Kayumov) versus Netherlands (Sokolov, Tiviakov, Van Wely, Van Den Doel), Spain versus Sweden, Ukraine versus Bulgaria and India versus China. So there is no real change at the top. Russia and Armenia are on 15,5 points. Netherlands is on 15,0 points. Uzbekistan is fourth on 14,5 points. In the Women’s section Ukraine defeated Russia 2-1 (Zhukova-Kosteniuk 1-0). The rank after round 5 is: 1.Russia 12,5 2.Ukraine 12,0 3.Hungary 11,5.
Chess Olympiad Round 425.05.2006 Round 4 was played on Wednesday 24 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Russia (Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Bareev) defeated China (Bu, Zhang, Zhang, Wang) 3-1. The two Zhangs lost. Uzbekistan – Ukraine ended in a draw 2-2. Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) defeated Ivanchuk (Ukraine). England lost to Turkey 1,5 – 2,5. Russia and Armenia are on 13,5 points. Clear third is Netherlands with 13,0 points. Uzebekistan is fourth on 12,5 points. Spain, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Sweden are on 12,0 points. In the Womens’ section Lithuania, the proud leader after round 3 with maximum score, was given the brush-off by Russia 0-3. Russia is clear leader with 11,5 points. Second is Ukraine with 10 points.
By the way Bobby is playing in Turin!!!Chess Olympiad Round 324.05.2006 Round 3 was played on Tuesday 23 May at 03.00 p.m. Russia (Kramnik, Morozevich, Bareev, Rublevsky) defeated Germany (Naiditsch, Yusupov, Lutz, Graf) with 2,5-1,5. Fight of the Day was Kramnik-Naiditsch. It was Kramnik’s first game in in the chess arena after an absence of about half a year. Kramnik won. In the Men’s section Russia, China and Uzbekistan lead with 10,5 points, followd by Ukraine, Netherlands and Greece with 10 points. A group of 6 countries is on 9,5 points. In the Women’s section Lithuania (Cmilyte, Ciuksyte, Daulyte, Batyte) leads with the maximum score 9 points, followed by Russia and China who dropped half a point. Chess Olympiad Round 223.05.2006 Round 2 was played on Monday 22 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Russia (as in round 1 with Grischuk, Morozevich, Bareev and Rublevsky) defeated Latvia 4-0. Russia is on the maximum score with 8 game points. Runners-up are Poland, Greece, Serbia & Montenegro, and Germany with 7,5 game points, followed by a group of 9 countries (Netherlands, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Iceland, Turkey, Slovakia, Vietnam, China and Australia) with 7 game points. Hosting country Italy is represented with 3 teams. Italy A is on 5 games points, Italy B is on 4,5 and Italy C is on 4. Morozevich' victory over Miezis was called the Game of the Day by the Olympiad Bulletin Turin Moves.Chess Olympiad Round 122.05.2006 Round 1 was played on Sunday 21 May at 03.00 p.m. in the Olympic Oval. In the Men’s section 146 teams are participating, while in the Women’s section there are 106 teams. Resulting from the usual pairings system the first round saw a lot of giants – dwarfs encounters, for the most part ending in a maximum win for the giants, meaning 4-0 in the men’s section and 3-0 in the women’s section. And it is no surprise, as in every Chess Olympiad, that in round 1 there are surprises. In the Men's section top seeded Russia (1st round with Grischuk, Morozevich, Bareev and Rublevsky) defeated Kazakhstan 4-0. Second seeded India lost to Morocco scoring only 1 point: 3-1. Ukraine dropped half a point because Ivanchuk was not able to beat IBCA world champion (blind people) Sergey Krylov. In the Women’s section top seeded Russia (1st round with Kosteniuk and the Kosintseva sisters) scored a 3-0 victory over Portugal, while second seeded Ukraine spoiled half a point.Chess Olympiad Opening Ceremony and Captains’ Meeting21.05.2006 The Opening Ceremony took place on Saturday 20 May at 09.00 p.m. in the Congress Centre just across the Olympic Oval. Most of the players attended the official festivity, during which FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the president of the Italian Chess Federation, Gianpietro Pagnoncelli declared the Olympiad being opened. At 11.00 p.m. the event was followed by the Captains’ Meeting in the Olympic Village. A remarkable decision concerning the pairings system was recalled.
Chess Olympiad Torino Accreditation20.05.2006 The Chess Olympiad in Torino (Turin) is about to start. The first round will be on Sunday 21 May 3.00 PM. This photo report by Frits Agterdenbos shows the arrival and the accreditation of the people involved: players, captains, arbiters, organizers, journalists. And it shows the Olympic Village, where almost everybody will be accommodated. More than 2000 people will stay in the Village. Not all organizational matters are solved yet, but what is new? Warming-up time is always needed. Most people are optimistic. “We will survive this Olympiad.”Dutch Club Team Championship 2005-200615.05.2006 The competition scheme holds 10 teams with each 10 players playing nine rounds in the Meesterklasse (Premier league). R1-R8 are on eight Saturdays on five different locations spread all over the country, and R9 is on a Sunday: a combined final round with all 100 players together. The top four ranked will go through to the play-offs in a conclusive weekend. On Saturday the semi finals are being held. The winners go on to the final on Sunday, while the losers play a consolation final for third and fourth place. The winner of the final will be called Dutch Club Team Champion. This year’s winner is U-Boat Worx, as usual. HSG lost again the final to finish second. SO Rotterdam (third) won the consolation final beating Hotels.nl (fourth). Timman wins in Malmö06.05.2006 Jan Timman won in Malmö (Sweden) the category 13 Sigeman & Co Chess tournament. The event took place 28th April – 6th May 2006. Timman scored 7/9, followed by Tiger Hillarp Persson and Suat Atalik with 6/9. Timman was invited for the 7th time in Malmö. Jan Timman will not be a member of the Dutch Olympiad team because of being in the Advisory Support team of Bessel Kok / Ali Nihat Yazici in Turin.
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Yaroslav Zherebukh wins 8th BDO Chess Tournament 02.09.2012 GM Yaroslav Zherebukh (Ukraine, age 19) has won the 8th BDO Chess Tournament, which took place 25 August - 2 September 2012 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. By winning the Premier Tournament (a ten player Round Robin tournament) Zherebukh received an invitation to Wijk aan Zee (Tata Steel Chess) 2013 Group C. Final standings: 1.Yaroslav Zherebukh (7.0/9), 2.Twan Burg (6.0), 3.Friso Nijboer and Robin Swinkels (5.0), 5.David Klein (4.5), 6.Vaibhav Suri (4.0), 7.Martijn Dambacher, Krystian Kuzmicz and Alexander Donchenko (3.5), 10.Jaap de Jager (3.0). Twan Burg made a GM norm. Manuel Bosboom won the second group: the Challenger Tournament. Final standings 1.Manuel Bosboom (6.0/9), 2.Rob Schoorl (6.0), 3.Arthur Pijpers and Ivo Wantola (5.0), 5.Merijn van Delft, Yochanan Afek and Jonas Lampert (4.5), 8.Thomas Willemze (4.0), 9.Michal Bartel (3.0), 10.Zoran S. Ilic (2.5). Photo impression of round 9 by Frits Agterdenbos.
Korchnoi wins CEG versus Legendaries 10.08.2012 Viktor Korchnoi has won the CEG versus Legendaries (CEG contre Legendes) chess tournament, which took place 4-10 August in Geneva (Switzerland). Five former World Championship candidates (the Legendaries: Ulf Andersson, Vlastimil Hort, Viktor Korchnoi, Zoltan Ribli and Kevin Spraggett) played against five players of Switzerland (Alexandre Domont, Bastien Dubessay, Richard Gerber, Lars Rindlisbacher and Alexandre Vuilleumier) in a double round Scheveningen system tournament. Viktor Korchnoi, Kevin Spraggett and Zoltan Ribli all scored 7.0/10, but Korchnoi was declared winner on a better Sonneborn-Berger individual score. Spraggett finished second and Ribli third. The tournament was organized by the Chess Club of Geneva (Club d'Echecs de Genève) in the Swissôtel Métropole, a five star hotel located in the chic shopping area with a view over the Lac Léman. ChessVista provides you with a photo impression of the penultimate round (R9), the shopping area and sun bathing in Geneva. Photos (9 August) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Hungaski and Greenfeld win SPAchess Open in Amsterdam 22.07.2012 IM Robert Hungaski (USA) and GM Alon Greenfeld (ISR) have won the 2nd Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, 14-22 July in Amsterdam. The Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, also called SPAchess Open, included rating Groups A (elo >2050), B (elo 1800-2100), C (elo 1550-1850) and D (elo <1600). The 9-rounds Swiss event attracted 290 participants, including 6 GMs in Group A: Alon Greenfeld, Stewart Haslinger, Roeland Pruijssers, Gergely Antal, Tejas Bakre and Vladimir Sergeev. Four players shared third place: David Klein, Vladimir Sergeev, Sjoerd Plukkel (IM norm) and Gergely Antal. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Ivanchuk wins ACP Golden Classic in Amsterdam 22.07.2012 Vassily Ivanchuk has won the ACP Golden Classic which took place 14-22 July place in Amsterdam (Netherlands). The tournament was organized by the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) in collaboration with Science Park Amsterdam Chess. The name ACP Golden Classic referred to the classic time control of the tournament: 2,5 hours/40 moves + adjournment. Seven strong players from seven different countries were invited: Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR, 2769), Gata Kamsky (USA, 2741), Baadur Jobava (GEO, 2730), Krishnan Sasikiran (IND, 2707), Le Quang Liem (VIE, 2693), Emil Sutovsky (ISR, 2687) and Anna Muzychuk (SLO, 2606). It was a Category XIX tournament with an overall prize-fund of 35000 USD. The event was unrated. Ivanchuk scored 5.0/6. Kamsky finished second with 4.5 points. Anna Muzychuk’s 50% score was excellent: a 2722 performance. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Ivan Sokolov’s just-in-time management 21.07.2012 The final round of the Dutch Championship (a 8-player round-robin) started Saturday 21 July at 11.00 hours. Six players were present but nobody was at the board Ivan Sokolov - Sipke Ernst. Sipke Ernst was the first to arrive at 11.12 hours. Ivan Sokolov arrived much later but just in time: he made his first move at 11.54 hours. Six minutes later it would have been fatal. Then he would have been defaulted for not being present within one hour after the start time (11.00 hours) of the round. In an interview afterwards Ivan Sokolov told he had train problems and couldn't find a taxi. A friend, chess journalist Tom Bottema, picked him up with his car and delivered him just in time at the playing venue. Ivan Sokolov managed to win the game despite his loss of time, scored 5.0/7 points and finished second in the championship. A photo story by Frits Agterdenbos shows the excitement in the first 54 minutes of the final round.
Dutch champions 2012: Anish Giri and Tea Lanchava 21.07.2012 Anish Giri and Tea Lanchava have taken the Dutch Championship titles. The Dutch Championships took place 15-21 July in Sports Center Universum at Science Park Amsterdam, 5 km from the Amsterdam city centre. The 18 year old 2009 & 2011 Dutch champion Anish Giri dominated the field from the start to convincingly win his third championship title. Anish Giri finished on 6.0/7 points in the 8-player round-robin. He defeated Ivan Sokolov (second) and Erwin l’Ami (third) who finished both on 5.0 points. Robin van Kampen finished on fourth spot (3.5 points), followed by Jan Smeets (2.5), Dimitri Reinderman (2.0), Sipke Ernst (2.0) and Robin Swinkels (2.0). Tea Lanchava won the Dutch Championship Women title for the first time in her life. She won the 4-player double round-robin with 4.5/6, half a point ahead of number two: 13-fold Dutch Champion Women Zhaoqin Peng. Anne Haast finished third (2.5 points), followed by Martine Middelveld (1.0). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Hodge-podge chess in Science Park Amsterdam 19.07.2012 The Science Park Amsterdam hodge-podge chess event, taking place 14-22 July, is a remarkable mixture of modern and classic chess. The top tournament, the ACP Golden Classic, is a 7 player round-robin with classic time control (2.5 hours for the first 40 moves) and adjourned games. The rate of play in the other tournaments (Dutch Championship, Dutch Championship Women and SPAchess Open) is 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game; with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the start. The Dutch Championship is a 8 player round-robin. The Dutch Championship Women is a 4 player double round-robin. The SPAchess Open, or Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, is a Swiss-system tournament. Vassily Ivanchuk is leading the ACP Golden Classic with 3.0/4. Gata Kamsky and Anna Muzychuk are second with 2.0 + 1 adjourned game. Anish Giri is dominating the Dutch Championship. He is first with 4.5/5. Ivan Sokolov, Erwin l’Ami and Robin van Kampen are second. Tea Lanchava is on first spot in the Dutch Championship Women with 3.5/4. In the main group (Group A) of SPAchess Open three players are leading with 5.0/6: Tejas Bakre, Manuel Bosboom and Floris van Assendelft. Photo impression (19 July) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Chess Tournaments in Science Park Amsterdam 18.07.2012 A major chess event is taking place in Sports Center Universum at Science Park Amsterdam, near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The ACP Golden Classic (14-22 July) participants are Vassily Ivanchuk, Gata Kamsky, Baadur Jobava, Krishnan Sasikiran, Le Quang Liem, Emil Sutovsky and Anna Muzychuk The Dutch Championship (15-21 July) participants are Anish Giri, Ivan Sokolov, Jan Smeets, Erwin l’Ami, Dimitri Reinderman, Robin van Kampen, Sipke Ernst and Robin Swinkels. The Dutch Championship Women (15-21 July) participants are Zhaoqin Peng, Tea Lanchava, Anne Haast and Martine Middelveld. The Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, also called SPAchess Open (14-22 July) includes Groups A, B, C and D. Among the participants in Group A are GMs Alon Greenfeld, Stewart Haslinger, Roeland Pruijssers, Gergely Antal, Tejas Bakre and Vladimir Sergeev. Photo impression (18 July) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Erwin l’Ami wins Nova College Weekend Tournament 2012 08.07.2012 Dutch GM Erwin l’Ami has won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2012, which took place 6-8 July 2012 in Haarlem, Netherlands. GM Erwin l’Ami, GM Stewart Haslinger and GM Robin van Kampen scored 5.0/6 in Group A (elo>1950, 66 participants). The better Median Buchholz score brought Erwin l’Ami the cup plus the first prize (1200 euro). Stewart Haslinger finished second and Robin van Kampen finished third. They were followed by IM Chiel van Oosterom, GM Harmen Jonkman and GM Georgui Castaneda, who all scored 4.5 points. GM Ulf Andersson finished 7th with 4.0 points. The 2012 (11th) edition of the tournament attracted 185 participants (2011: 181, 2010: 120, 2009: 151, 2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 8 GMs and 5 IMs. Group B (elo<2000, 72 participants) was won by Ton Fasel, and Group C (elo<1650, 47 participants) was won by Frederique Lacourt. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Final round (6) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Levon Aronian winner 29.01.2012 The final round (round 13) of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Sunday 29 January. Levon Aronian won the tournament, Pentala Harikrishna won Group B and Maxim Turov won Group C. Group A Final Standings: 1.Levon Aronian (9 points) 2.Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov (8) 5.Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura (7½) 7.Gata Kamsky (7) 8.Sergey Karjakin (6½) 9.Loek Van Wely (5½) 10.Vugar Gashimov, Boris Gelfand and Veselin Topalov (5) 13.Anish Giri and David Navara (4½). Group B Final Standings: 1.Pentala Harikrishna (9 points) 2.Lazaro Bruzon and Alexander Motylev (8½) 4.Erwin L'Ami and Sergey Tiviakov (8) 6.Illya Nyzhnyk and Dimitri Reinderman (7½) 8.Vladimir Potkin (6½) 9.Jan Timman (6) 10.Sipke Ernst (5) 11.Kateryna Lahno and Daniele Vocaturo (4½) 13.Viktorija Cmilyte (4) 14.Harika Dronavalli (3½). Group C Final Standings: 1.Maxim Turov (10½ points) 2.Hans Tikkanen (10) 3.Baskaran Adhiban and Daan Brandenburg (8½) 5.Sahaj Grover, Elisabeth Paehtz and Matthew Sadler (7) 8.Tania Sachdev (6) 9.Elina Danielian (5½) 10.Etienne Goudriaan (5) 11.Lars Ootes (4½) 12.Pieter Hopman and Lisa Schut (4) 14.Anne Haast (3½). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 12 28.01.2012 Round 12 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Saturday 28 January. Group A: Levon Aronian is sole leader (with 8.5/12) after defeating Boris Gelfand with black. Magnus Carlsen (draw against Gata Kamsky) and Teimour Radjabov (draw against Vassily Ivanchuk) share second place with 7.5 points. Fabiano Caruana and Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura share fourth place with 7.0 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna is on first spot (with 8.5 points) after a draw against Alexander Motylev. Erwin L’Ami and Alexander Motylev share second place with 8.0 points. Lazaro Bruzon is fourth (7.5 points). Group C: Hans Tikkanen and Maxim Turov share first place (9.5 points) with a two points margin to Baskaran Adhiban and Daan Brandenburg (7.5 points). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 11 27.01.2012 Round 11 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Friday 27 January. Group A: Only one draw, four black wins and two white wins. It was a remarkable day in Wijk aan Zee. R10 leader Levon Aronian lost to tail-ender David Navara, but remained in first position (with 7.5/11). Magnus Carlsen and Teimour Radjabov, who defeated respectively Veselin Topalov and Vugar Gashimov, share second place with 7.0 points. Fabiano Caruana and Vassily Ivanchuk share fourth place with 6.5 points. Group B: There was also only one draw in this group. Pentala Harikrishna lost to Dutchman Sipke Ernst, but stays in the lead with 8.0/11 points. Erwin L’Ami versus Alexander Motylev ended in a draw and both players share second place with 7.5 points. Lazaro Bruzon is fourth (6.5 points). Group C: Hans Tikkanen and Maxim Turov share first place (8.5 points) and Baskaran Adhiban is third (7.5 points). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 10 25.01.2012 Round 10 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Wednesday 25 January. Group A: Four out of seven games ended in a win, the highest number so far, and all for Black. Anish Giri lost his third game in a row. In round 10 Levon Aronian was superior to him. The Armenian is sole leader with 7.5/10, a full point ahead of Vassily Ivanchuk who climbed up to second place after a win versus the unlucky tail-ender David Navara. Magnus Carlsen shares third place (6.0 points) with Teimour Radjabov, the tenth player who couldn’t defeat bottom seed Loek Van Wely. Fabiano Caruana, who defeated Veselin Topalov, and Hikaru Nakamura share fifth place with 5.5 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna won against Daniele Vocaturo and remains sole leader (8.0 points). Erwin L’Ami (who defeated Viktorija Cmilyte) and Alexander Motylev (who defeated Sipke Ernst) share second place with 7.0 points. Lazaro Bruzon (draw against Sergey Tiviakov) is fourth. Group C: Maxim Turov is sole leader (8.0 points) again after a draw against Elisabeth Paehtz and Hans Tikkanen’s loss to Dutchman Pieter Hopman. Hans Tikkanen is second (7.5) and Baskaran Adhiban is third (7.0). Thursday 26 January is the third rest day. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 9 24.01.2012 Round 9 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Tuesday 24 January. Group A: The upset of the day was Magnus Carlsen’s loss to Sergey Karjakin. Levon Aronian took maximum profit by defeating Fabiano Caruana taking sole lead (6.5/9) with a full point margin. Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk (who won against Holland’s hope Anish Giri), and Teimour Radjabov (draw with black against Gata Kamsky) share second place with 5.5 points. Hikaru Nakamura is fifth with 5.0 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna won against Illya Nyzhnyk and remains sole leader (7.0 points). Three players share second place with 6.0 points: Lazaro Bruzon (who defeated Vladimir Potkin), Erwin L’Ami (who defeated Harika Dronavalli) and Alexander Motylev. Illya Nyzhnyk and Sergey Tiviakov (who won against Dimitri Reinderman) share fifth place. Group C: Maxim Turov and Hans Tikkanen both won and share the first place (7.5 points), and Baskaran Adhiban is third (6.5). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 8 22.01.2012 Round 8 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Sunday 22 January. Group A: There was only one decisive game: Vugar Gashimov defeated Anish Giri. Magnus Carlsen (draw versus Teimour Radjabov) and Levon Aronian (draw versus Veselin Topalov) continue to share the lead, with 5.5/8 points. Teimour Radjabov is third with 5.0 points. Three players share fourth place with 4.5 points: Fabiano Caruana, Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura. Group B: The Indian Pentala Harikrishna is still leading (6.0 points) after drawing against Sergey Tiviakov. He is followed by Alexander Motylev (5.5 points) who defeated Daniele Vocaturo. Lazaro Bruzon and Erwin L’Ami both won their games and share third place with 5.0 points. Illya Nyzhnyk is fifth on 4.5 points. Group C: Maxim Turov and Hans Tikkanen share the first place (6.5 points), and Baskaran Adhiban is third (5.5). Monday 23 January is the second rest day. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 7 21.01.2012 Round 7 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Saturday 21 January. Group A: Magnus Carlsen rejoined Levon Aronian in the lead by defeating Boris Gelfand, while the Armenian made a draw against Vassily Ivanchuk. Both players are on 5.0/7. Teimour Radjabov (draw against Hikaru Nakamura) is third with 4.5 points. Four players share fourth place with four points: Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna remains sole leader with 5.5 points after a draw versus Vladimir Potkin. Alexander Motylev (draw versus Harika Dronavalli) is second with 4.5 points. Four players share third place with 4.0 points: Lazaro Bruzon and Erwin L’Ami, Illya Nyzhnyk and Dimitri Reinderman. Group C: Maxim Turov is first (6.0 points), Hans Tikkanen is second (5.5) and Baskaran Adhiban is third (5.0). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 6 20.01.2012 Round 6 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Friday 20 January. Group A: Four wins reshuffled the landscape in the main group. Levon Aronian is sole leader (with 4.5 points) after a win versus Vugar Gashimov. Magnus Carlsen couldn't keep up with the winning speed of the Armenian and made a draw against David Navara. The Norwegian world number one shares second place (4.0 points) with Teimour Radjabov who defeated Sergey Karjakin. Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri (win versus Gata Kamsky), Vassily Ivanchuk and Hikaru Nakamura (win versus Boris Gelfand) share third place. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna defeated Jan Timman and stays in first spot with 5.0 points. Alexander Motylev is second with 4.0 points. Lazaro Bruzon and Erwin L’Ami share third place with 3.5 points. Group C: Maxim Turov secured his leading position (5.5 points) by drawing against Hans Tikkanen. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 5 19.01.2012 Round 5 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Thursday 19 January. Group A: Magnus Carlsen (draw against Anish Giri) and Levon Aronian (draw against Loek Van Wely) share the first place (3.5/5). Fabiano Caruana (draw against Gata Kamsky), Vassily Ivanchuk (who won against Vugar Gashimov) and Teimour Radjabov (draw against Veselin Topalov) share third place (3.0 points). Boris Gelfand defeated Sergey Karjakin. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna leads Group B with 4.0 points after drawing against Erwin L’Ami. Alexander Motylev (who won against Kateryna Lahno) is second with 3.0 points. Erwin L’Ami and Jan Timman (who won against Sipke Ernst) share third place with 2.5 points. Group C: Maxim Turov leads with maximum score 5.0/5 points. Lars Ootes was his round 5 victim. Hans Tikkanen is second and Baskaran Adhiban is third. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 4 17.01.2012 Round 4 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Tuesday 17 January. Group A: The world's two highest ranked share the first place (3.0/4) after Magnus Carlsen draw against Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronians win against Gata Kamsky. Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov share third place with 2.5 points. Sergey Karjakin defeated David Navara. Five players are on 2.0 points. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna leads Group B with 3.5 points. He lost his first half by making a draw against Viktorija Cmilyte. Erwin L’Ami (who lost against Sipke Ernst) and Alexander Motylev (who won against Sergey Tiviakov) share second place with 2.5 points. Six players are on 2.0 points. Group C: Maxim Turov leads with maximum score 4.0 points after defeating Anne Haast. Baskaran Adhiban and Hans Tikkanen share second place with 3.0 points. Wednesday 18 January is the first rest day. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 3 16.01.2012 Round 3 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Monday 16 January. Group A: World number one Magnus Carlsen defeated world number two Levon Aronian to take sole lead with 2.5 points. Teimour Radjabov (who defeated David Navara), Fabiano Caruana (draw against Hikaru Nakamura) and Levon Aronian share second place with 2.0 points. Five players are on 1.5 points and five players are on 1.0 point. Sergey Karjakin defeated Anish Giri. Group B: Pentala Harikrishna leads Group B with 3.0 points after defeating Harika Dronavalli. Second is Erwin L’Ami who is on 2.5 points after a win against Daniele Vocaturo. Third is Sergey Tiviakov (2.0 points) after beating Vladimir Potkin with black. Six players including first lady Kateryna Lahno are on 1.5 points. Senior GM Jan Timman defeated junior GM Illya Nyzhnyk. Group C: Maxim Turov leads with maximum score 3.0 points. He defeated Lisa Schut. Dutch Etienne Goudriaan is second with 2.5 points. Four players are on 2.0 points. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 2 15.01.2012 Round 2 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Sunday 15 January. Group A Round 2 Results: Veselin Topalov vs Loek Van Wely ½-½, Vugar Gashimov vs Gata Kamsky ½-½, Vassily Ivanchuk vs Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Hikaru Nakamura 1-0, Fabiano Caruana vs Sergey Karjakin 1-0, Anish Giri vs Teimour Radjabov ½-½, and David Navara vs Boris Gelfand ½-½. Group B Round 2 Results: Alexander Motylev vs Vladimir Potkin ½-½, Sergey Tiviakov vs Jan Timman 1-0, Illya Nyzhnyk vs Erwin L'Ami ½-½, Daniele Vocaturo vs Viktorija Cmilyte 1-0, Sipke Ernst vs Dronavalli Harika ½-½, Pentala Harikrishna vs Kateryna Lahno 1-0, and Dimitri Reinderman vs Lazaro Bruzon ½-½. Group C Round 2 Results: Pieter Hopman vs Maxim Turov 0-1, Lisa Schut vs Elina Danielian ½-½, Anne Haast vs Etienne Goudriaan ½-½, Lars Ootes vs Baskaran Adhiban ½-½, Hans Tikkanen vs Daan Brandenburg ½-½, Sahaj Grover vs Elisabeth Paehtz 1-0, and Matthew Sadler vs Sachdev Tania ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 1 14.01.2012 Round 1 of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Saturday 14 January. Group A Round 1 Results: David Navara vs Veselin Topalov ½-½, Boris Gelfand vs Anish Giri 0-1, Teimour Radjabov vs Fabiano Caruana ½-½, Sergey Karjakin vs Levon Aronian 0-1, Hikaru Nakamura vs Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Magnus Carlsen vs Vugar Gashimov 1-0 and Gata Kamsky vs Loek Van Wely ½-½. Group B Round 1 Results: Dimitri Reinderman vs Alexander Motylev ½-½ , Lazaro Bruzon vs Pentala Harikrishna 0-1, Kateryna Lahno vs Sipke Ernst 1-0, Dronavalli Harika vs Daniele Vocaturo ½-½, Viktorija Cmilyte vs Illya Nyzhnyk 0-1, Erwin L'Ami vs Sergey Tiviakov 1-0, and Jan Timman vs Vladimir Potkin ½-½. Group C Round 1 Results: Matthew Sadler vs Pieter Hopman 1-0, Sachdev Tania vs Sahaj Grover ½-½, Elisabeth Paehtz vs Hans Tikkanen 0-1, Daan Brandenburg vs Lars Ootes ½-½, Baskaran Adhiban vs Anne Haast 1-0, Etienne Goudriaan vs Lisa Schut 1-0, and Elina Danielian vs Maxim Turov 0-1. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2012 Wijk aan Zee Opening Ceremony 13.01.2012 The opening ceremony of Tata Steel Chess 2012 took place on Friday 13 January in the Chess Pavilion in Wijk aan Zee. Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel Europe, officially opened the tournament in the Chess Pavilion (commentary hall) in Wijk aan Zee. Tournament director Jeroen Van Den Berg performed the drawing of lots. Group A Round 1 Pairings: David Navara vs Veselin Topalov, Boris Gelfand vs Anish Giri, Teimour Radjabov vs Fabiano Caruana, Sergey Karjakin vs Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura vs Vassily Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen vs Vugar Gashimov and Gata Kamsky vs Loek Van Wely. Group B Round 1 Pairings: Dimitri Reinderman vs Alexander Motylev, Lazaro Bruzon vs Pentala Harikrishna, Kateryna Lahno vs Sipke Ernst, Dronavalli Harika vs Daniele Vocaturo, Viktorija Cmilyte vs Illya Nyzhnyk, Erwin L'Ami vs Sergey Tiviakov, and Jan Timman vs Vladimir Potkin. Group C Round 1 Pairings: Matthew Sadler vs Pieter Hopman, Sachdev Tania vs Sahaj Grover, Elisabeth Paehtz vs Hans Tikkanen, Daan Brandenburg vs Lars Ootes, Baskaran Adhiban vs Anne Haast, Etienne Goudriaan vs Lisa Schut, and Elina Danielian vs Maxim Turov. The first round is on Saturday 14 January, 13.30 hours. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Club Team Competition 2011-2012, Round 5 07.01.2012 The Dutch Club Team Competition consists of a National Competition (KNSB Competitie) at the top of the pyramid, and a Regional Competition, which is divided into 13 regions. The highest level in the National Competition competition is the Meesterklasse (Premier League). The next level is the Eerste Klasse (First Division), followed by the Tweede Klasse (Second Division) and the Derde Klasse (Third Division). Between National Competion and Regional Competition, and also between Premier League and First, Second, Third Division, there is a system of promotion and relegation. The National Competition Round 5 took place on Saturday 7 January 2012. Premier League Round 5 standings: 1.Utrecht 9-31½ (9 match points, 31½ board points), 2.De Stukkenjagers 9-29, 3.Voerendaal 8-30, 4.Accres Apeldoorn 5-23, 5.SO Rotterdam 4-28, 6.Groningen 4-25½, 7.LSG 4-24, 8.HSG 4-20½, 9.HMC Calder 3-24, 10.BSG 0-14½. The Eerste Klasse (First Division) consists of Klasse 1A and Klasse 1B, at equal level. After Round 5 En Passant is leading Klasse 1A and Kennemer Combinatie 1 is leading Klasse 1B. In this report we provide photos (by Frits Agterdenbos) of the matches Kennemer Combinatie 1 - RSR Ivoren Toren, and Kennemer Combinatie 2 - Unitas.
Maxim Turov wins 7th BDO Chess Tournament 28.08.2011 Russian GM Maxim Turov has won the 7th BDO Chess Tournament, which took place 20-28 August 2011 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Maxim Turov and Robin van Kampen scored 6.5/9 points in the Premier Tournament, a ten player Round Robin tournament (3 GMs, 6 IMs, 1 FM). Turov won the play-off match. Dutch IM Ruud Janssen finished third on 6.0 points making his final GM norm. By winning the tournament Turov received an extra bonus: a ticket to Tata Steel Chess (‘Wijk aan Zee’) 2012 Group C. The Challenger Tournament, a ten player Round Robin tournament (4 IMs, 4 FMs) was won by Dutch FM David Klein who made his first IM norm. The Open A Tournament (45 participants, elo>1850) was won by Rini Kuijf and Rob Schoorl, and the Open B Tournament (45 participants, elo<1900) was won by Albert Dekker and Ton van Rooijen. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament 17.07.2011 Dusan Popovic has won the new chess tournament in Amsterdam, Netherlands: the Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament, which took place 9-17 July 2011. The well-organized tournament will get a second edition in 2012. Main sponsor of the tournament was Science Park Amsterdam. GM Dusan Popovic, IM Roeland Pruijssers (GM norm!), GM Aleksandr Lenderman, GM Nikola Sedlak and GM Adhiban Baskaran all finished on 7.0/9 points in Group A (elo>2050, 77 participants), after which Popovic was declared tournament winner on the best tie-break score. FM Matthew Tan (IM norm!) finished on spot 6 with 6.5 points, followed by GM Stewart Haslinger, GM Joshua Friedel, FM Floris Van Assendelft, GM Valeriy Neverov and GM Friso Nijboer with 6.0 points. Group B (elo 1800-2100, 84 participants) was won by Jan Cheung (7.5 points), half a point ahead of three players including tournament chairman Jeroen Van Den Berg (of Tata Steel Chess, Wijk aan Zee). Group C (elo 1550-1850, 84 participants) was won by Sereyo Bekkink and Huub Van Den Bergh. Group D (elo<1600, 46 participants) was won by Veron Roesink. Aart Strik was both tournament director and chief arbiter. Round 7 (15 July) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Sadler and Van Den Doel win Nova College 2011 03.07.2011 GMs Matthew Sadler and Erik Van Den Doel have won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2011, which took place 1-3 July 2011 in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2011 (10th) edition of the tournament attracted 181 participants (2010: 120, 2009: 151, 2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 6 GMs and 3 IMs. Matthew Sadler and Erik Van Den Doel scored 5.0/6 in Group A (elo>1950, 58 participants). They were followed by IM Christov Kleijn, 16-year-old WIM Lisa Schut (performance 2562!) and GM Das Neeloptal on 4.5 points. Six players including GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov finished on 4.0 points. GMs Stewart Haslinger and John Van Der Wiel, among others, scored 3.5 points. Group B (elo<2000, 84 participants) was won by Mees van Osch, Noud Lentjes and Jonathan de Kleuver, and Group C (elo<1650, 39 participants) was won by Floris Schleicher. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Photo impression (of rounds 3 and 6) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Junior Championships 2011 08.05.2011 Lars Ootes has won the Dutch Junior Champion title for the second time in a row. The Dutch Junior Championships 2011 (14-16-20 years, general and girls groups) took place 30 April – 8 May in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Lars Ootes finished on 6.5/9 points in Group A Juniors (boys and girls, up to and including the age of 20). Milan Mostertman, Yorick Ten Hagen, Hugo Ten Hertog and Arthur Pijpers scored 6.0 points. Evie Warmelink became the 2011 Dutch Girls Champion by winning Group A Girls (girls, up to and including the age of 20). Marion Severijnen finished second and Lisa Hortensius finished third. Roger Meng won Group B Juniors (boys and girls, up to and including the age of 16). Marco Kirana finished second. Sophia Thoma won Group B Girls (girls, up to and including the age of 16). Diana Dalemans finished second. Thomas Beerdsen won Group C Juniors (boys and girls, up to and including the age of 14). Mahsa Bitalzadeh finished second. Willemijn de Voogt won Group C Girls (up to and including the age of 14). Catheleijne Sanders finished second. Final round (R9) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Gerald Hertneck wins 3rd Batavia-Grolsch 27.02.2011 German GM Gerald Hertneck has won the 3rd Batavia-Grolsch Chess Tournament. The ten player Round Robin tournament (3 GMs + 7 IMs) took place 18-27 February 2011 in Cafe Batavia 1920 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Hertneck, last-minute subsitute for Dibyendu Barua, scored 6.5/9 points. Dutch IM Robin van Kampen finished second on 6.0, missing a GM norm by half a point. Main sponsor of the tournament is Dutch beer brewery Grolsch. The tournament is the brainchild of Bas Beekhuizen (chess photographer) and sponsor Peter Tames (Cafe Batavia 1920). Final standings: 1.Gerald Hertneck 6.5, 2.Robin van Kampen 6.0, 3.Benjamin Bok and Bart Michiels 5.5, 5.Niaz Murshed and Merijn van Delft 4.5, 7.Christov Kleijn 4.0, 8. Praveen M Thipsay and Manuel Bosboom 3.0, and 10.Robert Ris 2.5. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Hikaru Nakamura winner 30.01.2011 The final round (round 13) of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place in Wijk aan Zee on Sunday 30 January. Group A was won by Hikaru Nakamura with 9.0/13 points, after drawing against Wang Hao. World champion Viswanathan Anand finished second with 8.5 points after a draw versus Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In fact all games in Group A ended in a draw. Levon Aronian and Magnus Carlsen finished third with 8.0 points. Sixteen-year-old super talent Anish Giri of Holland scored a respectable 6.5 points (50%). In Group B Luke McShane and David Navara scored both 8.5 points. Luke McShane was declared winner of Group B on Sonneborn-Berger. Both players will receive an invitation to participate in Group A next year. Zahar Efimenko finished third with 8.0 points. Daniele Vocaturo won Group C with 8.5 points after a draw against Ilya Nyzhnyk, who finished second with 8.0 points. Kateryna Lahno finished third with 8.0 points. The 74th Tata Steel Chess 2012 will take place 13-29 January 2012. Photo impression of the final day by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 12 29.01.2011 Round 12 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Saturday 29 January. Hikaru Nakamura leads group A with 8.5 points, Luke McShane and David Navara lead group B with 8.0 points, and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 8.5 points. Group A Round 12 Results: Viswanathan Anand vs Anish Giri ½-½, Ruslan Ponomariov vs Alexei Shirov ½-½, Erwin l'Ami vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Jan Smeets vs Alexander Grischuk 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Wang Hao 1-0, Hikaru Nakamura vs Vladimir Kramnik ½-½, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 1-0. Group B Round 12 Results: Laurent Fressinet vs Li Chao 1-0, Vladislav Tkachiev vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0, Friso Nijboer vs David Navara 0-1, Luke McShane vs Wesley So 1-0, Radek Wojtaszek vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly 0-1, Le Quang Liem vs Zahar Efimenko ½-½, Gabriel Sargissian vs Jon Ludvig Hammer ½-½. Group C Round 12 Results: Benjamin Bok vs Roeland Pruijssers 1-0, Mark van der Werf vs Tania Sachdev 0-1, Sebastian Siebrecht vs Mark Bluvshtein 0-1, Ivan Ivanisevic vs Jan Willem de Jong 1-0, Kateryna Lahno vs Murtas Kazhgaleyev ½-½, Dariusz Swiercz vs Daniele Vocaturo 1-0, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Robin van Kampen 1-0. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 11 28.01.2011 Round 11 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Friday 28 January. Hikaru Nakamura leads group A with 8.0 points, Zahar Efimenko, Luke McShane, David Navara and Wesley So lead group B with 7.0 points, and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 8.5 points. Group A Round 11 Results: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Hikaru Nakamura 0-1, Vladimir Kramnik vs Magnus Carlsen 0-1, Wang Hao vs Jan Smeets ½-½, Alexander Grischuk vs Erwin l'Ami ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½, Alexei Shirov vs Anish Giri ½-½. Group B Round 11 Results: Gabriel Sargissian vs Laurent Fressinet ½-½, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Le Quang Liem 0-1, Zahar Efimenko vs Radek Wojtaszek ½-½, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Luke McShane 0-1, Wesley So vs Friso Nijboer ½-½, David Navara vs Vladislav Tkachiev 1-0, Wouter Spoelman vs Li Chao 1-0. Group C Round 11 Results: Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Benjamin Bok 1-0, Robin van Kampen vs Dariusz Swiercz 0-1, Daniele Vocaturo vs Kateryna Lahno 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Ivan Ivanisevic ½-½, Jan Willem de Jong vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Mark Bluvshtein vs Mark van der Werf ½-½, Tania Sachdev vs Roeland Pruijssers ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 9 25.01.2011 Round 9 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Tuesday 25 January. Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Hikaru Nakamura lead group A with 6.0 points, followed by Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with 5.5 points. Luke McShane, Gabriel Sargissian and Wesley So lead group B with 6.0 points. Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 7.5 points, followed by Kateryna Lahno and Ilya Nyzhnyk with 6.0 points. Group A Round 9 Results: Hikaru Nakamura vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Jan Smeets 0-1, Vladimir Kramnik vs Erwin l'Ami 1-0, Wang Hao vs Ruslan Ponomariov 1-0, Alexander Grischuk vs Anish Giri ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Alexei Shirov 1-0. Group B Round 9 Results: Le Quang Liem vs Laurent Fressinet 1-0, Gabriel Sargissian vs Radek Wojtaszek 1-0, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Luke McShane ½-½, Zahar Efimenko vs Friso Nijboer ½-½, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Vladislav Tkachiev 0-1, Wesley So vs Li Chao 0-1, David Navara vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0. Group C Round 9 Results: Dariusz Swiercz vs Benjamin Bok 0-1, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Kateryna Lahno ½-½, Robin van Kampen vs Ivan Ivanisevic ½-½, Daniele Vocaturo vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Mark van der Werf 1-0, Jan Willem de Jong vs Roeland Pruijssers ½-½, Mark Bluvshtein vs Tania Sachdev 1-0. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 8 23.01.2011 Round 8 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Sunday 23 January. Viswanathan Anand and Hikaru Nakamura lead group A with 5.5 points, Wesley So leads group B with 6.0 points and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 6.5 points. Group A Round 8 Results: Viswanathan Anand vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Alexei Shirov vs Alexander Grischuk 1-0, Anish Giri vs Wang Hao 1-0, Ruslan Ponomariov vs Vladimir Kramnik ½-½, Erwin l'Ami vs Ian Nepomniachtchi ½-½, Jan Smeets vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura 1-0. Group B Round 8 Results: Laurent Fressinet vs David Navara ½-½, Wouter Spoelman vs Wesley So 0-1, Li Chao vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly ½-½, Vladislav Tkachiev vs Zahar Efimenko 1-0, Friso Nijboer vs Jon Ludvig Hammer ½-½, Luke McShane vs Gabriel Sargissian ½-½, Radek Wojtaszek vs Le Quang Liem 1-0. Group C Round 8 Results: Benjamin Bok vs Mark Bluvshtein 1-0, Tania Sachdev vs Jan Willem de Jong 1-0, Roeland Pruijssers vs Murtas Kazhgaleyev ½-½, Mark van der Werf vs Daniele Vocaturo 0-1, Sebastian Siebrecht vs Robin van Kampen 1-0, Ivan Ivanisevic vs Ilya Nyzhnyk 1-0, Kateryna Lahno vs Dariusz Swiercz ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 7 22.01.2011 Round 7 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Saturday 22 January. Hikaru Nakamura, after defeating Jan Smeets, leads group A with 5.5 points. Zahar Efimenko, Luke McShane (who lost to Le Quang Liem ) and Wesley So lead group B with 5.0 points. Ilya Nyzhnyk and Daniele Vocaturo both won and lead group C with 5.5 points. Group A Round 7 Results: Magnus Carlsen vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Hikaru Nakamura vs Jan Smeets 1-0, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Erwin l'Ami ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½, Vladimir Kramnik vs Anish Giri 1-0, Wang Hao vs Alexei Shirov ½-½, Alexander Grischuk vs Levon Aronian 0-1. Group B Round 7 Results: Radek Wojtaszek vs Laurent Fressinet 1-0, Le Quang Liem vs Luke McShane 1-0, Gabriel Sargissian vs Friso Nijboer 1-0, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Vladislav Tkachiev 0-1, Zahar Efimenko vs Li Chao ½-½, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0, Wesley So vs David Navara 1-0. Group C Round 7 Results: Kateryna Lahno vs Benjamin Bok 1-0, Dariusz Swiercz vs Ivan Ivanisevic ½-½, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Robin van Kampen vs Mark van der Werf 1-0, Daniele Vocaturo vs Roeland Pruijssers 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Tania Sachdev 1-0, Jan Willem de Jong vs Mark Bluvshtein 0-1. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 6 21.01.2011 Round 6 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Friday 21 January. It was a black day for the Dutch trio in Group A: Anish Giri, Jan Smeets and Erwin l’Ami, who all played white, lost 0-3. Viswanathan Anand and Hikaru Nakamura lead group A with 4.5 points, Luke McShane leads group B with 5.0 points, Ilya Nyzhnyk and Daniele Vocaturo lead group C with 4.5 points. Group A Round 6 Results: Viswanathan Anand vs Alexander Grischuk ½-½, Levon Aronian vs Wang Hao ½-½, Alexei Shirov vs Vladimir Kramnik 0-1, Anish Giri vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 0-1, Ruslan Ponomariov vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ½-½, Erwin l'Ami vs Hikaru Nakamura 0-1, Jan Smeets vs Magnus Carlsen 0-1. Group B Round 6 Results: Laurent Fressinet vs Wesley So 0-1, David Navara vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly 1-0, Wouter Spoelman vs Zahar Efimenko 0-1, Li Chao vs Jon Ludvig Hammer 1-0, Vladislav Tkachiev vs Gabriel Sargissian ½-½, Friso Nijboer vs Le Quang Liem 0-1, Luke McShane vs Radek Wojtaszek 1-0. Group C Round 6 Results: Benjamin Bok vs Jan Willem de Jong 0-1, Mark Bluvshtein vs Murtas Kazhgaleyev 0-1, Tania Sachdev vs Daniele Vocaturo 1-0, Roeland Pruijssers vs Robin van Kampen ½-½, Mark van der Werf vs Ilya Nyzhnyk ½-½, Sebastian Siebrecht vs Dariusz Swiercz 0-1, Ivan Ivanisevic vs Kateryna Lahno ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 5 20.01.2011 Round 5 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Thursday 20 January. The day after the first rest day brought a lot of fighting chess: only 8 (of 21) games were drawn. Viswanathan Anand leads group A with 4.0 points, Luke McShane leads group B with 4.0 points, and Daniele Vocaturo leads group C with 4.5 points. Group A Round 5 Results: Jan Smeets vs Viswanathan Anand 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Erwin l'Ami 1-0, Hikaru Nakamura vs Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Anish Giri ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Alexei Shirov ½-½, Vladimir Kramnik vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Wang Hao vs Alexander Grischuk 1-0. Group B Round 5 Results: Luke McShane vs Laurent Fressinet ½-½, Radek Wojtaszek vs Friso Nijboer 1-0, Le Quang Liem vs Vladislav Tkachiev ½-½, Gabriel Sargissian vs Li Chao ½-½, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Wouter Spoelman 1-0, Zahar Efimenko vs David Navara 1-0, Surya Shekhar Ganguly vs Wesley So 0-1. Group C Round 5 Results: Ivan Ivanisevic vs Benjamin Bok 1-0, Kateryna Lahno vs Sebastian Siebrecht 1-0, Dariusz Swiercz vs Mark van der Werf 0-1, Ilya Nyzhnyk vs Roeland Pruijssers 1-0, Robin van Kampen vs Tania Sachdev ½-½, Daniele Vocaturo vs Mark Bluvshtein 1-0, Murtas Kazhgaleyev vs Jan Willem de Jong 1-0. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 3 17.01.2011 Round 3 of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on Monday 17 January. The big news was Anish Giri’s victory in 22 moves over top ranked Magnus Carlsen. Group A Round 3 Results: Erwin l’Ami vs Viswanathan Anand ½-½, Jan Smeets vs Ruslan Ponomariov 0-1, Magnus Carlsen vs Anish Giri 0-1, Hikaru Nakamura vs Alexei Shirov 1-0, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Levon Aronian ½-½, Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Alexander Grischuk ½-½, and Vladimir Kramnik vs Wang Hao ½-½. Group B Round 3 Results: Friso Nijboer vs Laurent Fressinet ½-½, Luke McShane vs Vladislav Tkachiev 1-0, Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs Li Chao 1-0, Le Quang Liem vs Wouter Spoelman 0-1, Gabriel Sargissian vs David Navara ½-½, Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Wesley So ½-½, and Zahar Efimenko vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly ½-½. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Tata Steel Chess 2011 Wijk aan Zee Opening Ceremony 14.01.2011 The opening ceremony of Tata Steel Chess 2011 took place on 14 January. Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tata Steel Europe, officially opened the tournament in the Chess Pavilion (commentary hall) in Wijk aan Zee. Group A Round 1 Pairings: Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Wang Hao, Hikaru Nakamura vs Alexander Grischuk, Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian, Jan Smeets vs Alexei Shirov, Erwin l’Ami vs Anish Giri and Ruslan Ponomariov vs Viswanathan Anand. Group B Round 1 Pairings: Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Zahar Efimenko, Gabriel Sargissian vs Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Le Quang Liem vs Wesley So, Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs David Navara, Luke McShane vs Wouter Spoelman, Friso Nijboer vs Li Chao b and Vladislav Tkachiev vs Laurent Fressinet. The first round is on Saturday 15 January, 13.30 hours. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Wijk aan Zee - Tata Steel Chess - Preview 09.01.2011 The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2011 will be held 15-30 January 2011 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 14 January in the Tata Steel Chess Pavilion (commentary hall), close to the playing venue De Moriaan. Group A (category 20) will show Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, Kramnik, Grischuk, Nakamura, Ponomariov, Nepomniachtchi, Wang Hao, Shirov, Vachier-Lagrave, Giri, Smeets and l'Ami. Group B (category 17) will show Wojtaszek, Navara, Fressinet, Efimenko, So, Sargissian, Le Quang Liem, McShane, Ganguly, Li Chao, Hammer, Tkachiev, Nijboer and Spoelman. Group C (category 11) will show Kazhgaleyev, Ivanisevic, Bluvshtein, Vocaturo, Swiercz, Nyzhnyk, Lahno, Pruijssers, Bok, Van Kampen, Siebrecht, Van Der Werf, De Jong and Sachdev.
Happy 2011 !!! 01.01.2011 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti Bolsin
15th Cultural Village, Wijk aan Zee 25.11.2010 The 15th Cultural Village Chess Tournament took place 15-24 November 2010 in The Netherlands, Wijk aan Zee, the city of Corus Chess, from 2011 Tata Steel Chess. Tournament set up: a 10 player Round-Robin. Basic intention: to offer (young) players the opportunity to achieve an IM or a GM norm. Time control: 90 minutes for the entire game plus 30 seconds a move. GM Dariusz Swiercz of Poland (7.0/9 points) won the tournament and an invitation to participate in Tata Steel Chess Group C 2011, next January. IM Sahaj Grover (India) and GM Oleksandr Sulypa (Ukraine) shared second place. IM Roeland Pruijssers, being the best Dutchman, won an invitation for Tata Steel Chess Group C 2011. Jeroen Van Den Berg (tournament director of both Cultural Village Chess Tournament and Tata Steel Chess Tournament) surprised Sahaj Grover by awarding him with an invitation to participate in Tata Steel Chess Group C 2012. Photo impression round 6 (21 November) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Alexandra van der Mije (70) Blitz Chess 09.09.2010 Former world top female player WGM Alexandra van der Mije celebrated her 70th birthday by organizing a blitz chess tournament on 9 September 2010 in her place of residence Haarlem in the Netherlands. Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau was born as Alexandra Nicolau on 22 July 1940 in Romania. She was women champion of Romania six times (1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1973), and of the Netherlands five times (1974, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1979) after her marriage in 1974 with the Dutch Hendrik Cornelis van der Mije. Alexandra, in the Dutch chess society better known as Käty, decided to treat herself by organizing (with the help of chess club SV Het Spaarne of which she was named member of honour in September) the Käty van der Mije Blitz Chess Tournament to which only some friends and the members of the chess clubs of the Kennemer Combinatie (including SV Het Spaarne) were invited. The tournament was won by FM Richard Duijn. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Matthew Sadler wins Nova College 2010 04.07.2010 GM Matthew Sadler has won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2010 which took place 2-4 July 2010 in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2010 edition of the tournament attracted 120 participants (2009: 151, 2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 7 GMs and 3 IMs. GM Matthew Sadler scored 5.0/6 in Group A (elo>1950, 32 participants). He was followed by GM Martyn Kravtsiv, IM Chiel Van Oosterom and GM Maxim Turov on 4.5 points. GM Erik Van Den Doel, GM Robin Swinkels and Hebert Perez Garcia finished on 4.0 points. GM Zhaoqin Peng and GM Stewart Haslinger, among others, scored 3.5 points. Group B (elo<2000, 62 participants) was won by Pim Heijne, and Group C (elo<1650, 26 participants) was won by Michael Bekker (6.0/6). The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Final round photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Lars Ootes is Dutch Junior Champ 2010 09.05.2010 Lars Ootes is the 2010 Dutch Junior Champion. He and Anne Haast finished on 6.5/9 points in Group A Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1990). Lars Ootes won the blitz playoff. Benjamin Bok and Yorick Ten Hagen scored 6.0 points. Marieke Dirksen became the 2010 Dutch Girls Champion by winning Group A Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1990). In the final round she defeated Lisa Hortensius, who finished second. Hugo Ten Hertog won Group B Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1994). Arthur Pijpers finished second. Diana Dalemans won Group B Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1994). Evie Warmelink finished second. Stefan Beukema won Group C Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1994). Roger Meng finished second. Mahsa Bitalzadeh won Group C Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1994). Catheleijne Sanders finished second. Final round (R9) photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Junior Championships 2010 07.05.2010 The Dutch Junior Championships 2010 (14-20 years) are taking place 29 April – 8 May in Haarlem, the Netherlands. There are 6 groups. Group A Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1990). Group A Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1990). Group B Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1994). Group B Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1994). Group C Juniors (boys and girls, born after 31 December 1996). Group C Girls (girls, born after 31 December 1996). In the penultimate round (R8) Anne Haast, the only girl in Group A Juniors, defeated top ranked David Klein. Lars Ootes and Yorick Ten Hagen became the new leaders by defeating FM Benjamin Bok and Nicky Law respectively. Marieke Dirksen and Lisa Hortensius lead Group A Girls. Photo impression of R8 by Frits Agterdenbos.
2nd Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament 28.02.2010 Dutch FM Christov Kleijn has won the 2nd Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament, also called the Max Euwe Challenge. The ten player Round Robin tournament took place 19 - 28 February in Cafe Batavia 1920, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Khosla Shiven, a 14-year-old from India, finished second on 6.0 points. He made an IM norm. Khosla Shiven is the 2009 Asian Youth Chess Champion U14. Dutch IM Xander Wemmers finished third (5.5 points). The tournament is the brainchild of Bas Beekhuizen (chess photographer) and sponsor Peter Tames (Cafe Batavia 1920). In 2010 the Max Euwe Centre joined as a co-sponsor. The first edition (2009) was won by Dutch junior Robin Van Kampen and GM Ilan Manor.
Corus Chess 2010 Round 10 27.01.2010 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 27 January 01.30 PM. In group A World champion Viswanathan Anand delivered his first win this tournament by beating Alexei Shirov. Top seed Magnus Carlsen with black pieces defeated 2009 winner Sergey Karjakin. Sergey Tiviakov won the first Dutch encounter versus Jan Smeets. Vladimir Kramnik is the new leader on 7.0 points. He is followed by Alexei Shirov and Magnus Carlsen (6.5 points) and five players on 5.5 points (Sergey Karjakin, Hikaru Nakamura, Leinier Dominguez, Vassily Ivanchuk and Viswanathan Anand). In group B Anish Giri leads on 7.0 points, followed by three players on 6.5 points: Hua Ni, Erwin l’Ami and Wesley So. Arkadij Naiditsch is fifth on 6.0 points. In group C all games were decisive. Li Chao leads (7.5 points), followed by Ray Robson, Robin Swinkels, Robin Van Kampen and Daniele Vocaturo (6.0 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2010 Round 8 24.01.2010 Round 8 was played on Sunday 24 January 01.30 PM. In group A the top matches were Alexei Shirov (5.5) – Magnus Carlsen (5.0), which ended in a daw, and Vladimir Kramnik (4.5) – Hikaru Nakamura (5.0), which was won by the former world champion. Alexei Shirov is leader on 6.0 points, followed by Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik on 5.5 points. Hikaru Nakamura is fourth on 5.0 points. In group B Anish Giri won (vs David Howell). Dimitri Reinderman won his first game (vs Varuzhan Akobian). The other games were drawn. Anish Giri leads on 6.5 points, followed by a trio on 5.0 points: Hua Ni and Wesley So (who made a draw against each other), and Erwin l’Ami (draw vs Pentala Harikrishna). In group C Ray Robson leads (6.0 points), followed by Li Chao and Abhijeet Gupta (5.5 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2010 Round 6 22.01.2010 Round 6 was played on Friday 22 January 01.30 PM. In group A Alexei Shirov spoiled his first half by drawing against Nigel Short. Vladimir Kramnik, Leinier Dominguez and Peter Leko won their games versus Loek Van Wely, Sergey Tiviakov and Fabiano Caruana. Alexei Shirov is leader on 5.5 points, followed by Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk and Vladimir Kramnik on 4.0 points. In group B 15-year-old Anish Giri won again (vs Tomi Nyback). He is leader on 5.0 points, followed by Hua Ni (who defeated Anna Muzychuk) and Erwin l’Ami (who defeated Parimarjan Negi) on 4.0 points. David Howell, Arkadij Naiditsch, Wesley So and Pentala Harikrishna are on 3.5 points. In group C there was only one draw (Robin Swinkels vs Zhaoqin Peng). Ray Robson is still sole leader (5.5 points), followed by Li Chao (5.0 points) and Abhijeet Gupta (4.0 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2010 Round 5 21.01.2010 Round 5 was played on Thursday 21 January 01.30 PM. In group A Alexei Shirov (vs Loek Van Wely) won his fifth game in a row. Vladimir Kramnik defeated Jan Smeets. The other games were drawn. Alexei Shirov is leader on 5.0 points, followed by Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen and Vassily Ivanchuk on 3.5 points. In group B Dutch champion Anish Giri took sole lead (4.0 points) by defeating Emil Sutovsky. He is followed by David Howell (3.5 points) who defeated Hua Ni. Hua Ni, Arkadij Naiditsch, Parimarjan Negi, Pentala Harikrishna and Erwin l'Ami are on 3.0 points. In group C Ray Robson is sole leader (4.5 points) after defeating Zhaoqin Peng. Li Chao drew against Robin Van Kampen and is now on 4.0 points, followed by Daniele Vocaturo (3.5 points) who defeated Nils Grandelius. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2010 Opening Ceremony 15.01.2010 The Opening Ceremony (including the drawing of lots) of the 72th Corus Chess Tournament took place on Friday 15 January in the Chess Pavilion in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament will be held 16 - 31 January. Round 1 pairings GM A: Sergey Karjakin – Viswanathan Anand, Leinier Dominguez – Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko – Alexei Shirov, Fabiano Caruana – Vassily Ivanchuk, Sergey Tiviakov – Magnus Carlsen, Jan Smeets – Hikaru Nakamura, Loek Van Wely – Nigel Short. Round 1 pairings GM B: Ni Hua – Erwin l‘Ami, Emil Sutovsky – Dimitri Reinderman, Tomi Nyback – Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Anish Giri - Pentala Harikrishna, David Howell - Parimarjan Negi, Anna Muzychuk - Varuzhan Akobian, Arkadij Naiditsch - Wesley So. Photo report of the Opening Ceremony by Frits Agterdenbos.
Wijk aan Zee 2010 – the Day Before 14.01.2010 The 72th Corus Chess Tournament (‘Wijk aan Zee’) will be held Saturday 16 – Sunday 31 January. The Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday 15 January in the Chess Pavilion (commentary hall), close to the playing venue. Participants GM A (category 19): Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Leko, Shirov, Karjakin, Dominguez, Nakamura, Short, Caruana, Tiviakov, Smeets, Van Wely. Participants GM B (category 16): Naiditsch, Nisipeanu, Harikrishna, Hua Ni, Sutovsky, So, Nyback, Akobian, Negi, l’Ami, Howell, Giri, Reinderman, A.Muzychuk. Participants GM C (category 9): Li Chao, Gupta, Robson, Lie, Grandelius, Swinkels, Vocaturo, Van Kampen, M.Muzychuk, Peng, Kuipers, Swaminathan, Bok, Plukkel. Photo impression of Wijk aan Zee in summer 2009.
Happy 2010 !!! 01.01.2010 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti Bolsin
Daniel Fridman wins Intomart GfK Open 2009 06.07.2009 The Intomart GfK Open took place 27 June – 5 July 2009 in Hilversum, Netherlands. Daniel Fridman won the tournament on best Buchholz score, after he, Michal Krasenkow, Stewart Haslinger and Predrag Nikolic tied on 6.5/9. The four GMs each won a quarter of (3000 + 1800 + 1000 + 700) = 1625 euros. Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Wouter Spoelman, Dimitri Reinderman and Milos Pavlovic followed on half a point. Anish Giri, who didn’t play his R7 game (versus Fridman) due to illness, finished on 5.5 points. The tournament attracted 140 participants: 48 participants (including 10 GMs, who took places 1-10 in the final rank) in the main group (Group A, elo > 2100), plus 52 participants in Group B (elo 1700 - 2150), plus 40 participants in Group C (elo < 1750). The Intomart GfK Open, which is in fact the fourth edition of the HSG Open, is a 9 rounds Swiss tournament, 9 days, no rest days. The tournament was organized by chess club HSG. Photo impression of round 9 by Frits Agterdenbos.
ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2009 28.06.2009 GMs Igor Khenkin, Erik Van Den Doel and Alexander Berelovich have won the ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2009 which took place 26 - 28 June 2009 in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2009 edition of the tournament attracted 151 participants (2008: 126, 2007: 160) including 5 GMs and 4 IMs. Khenkin, Van Den Doel and Berelovich all scored 5.0/6 in Group A (44 participants), but Khenkin won the cup thanks to a better TPR (performance rating). Group B (64 participants) was won by Jeroen Schuil and Robert Boes, and Group C (43) was won by Lukas Boots. After Khenkin and Van Den Doel produced a 8-mover final round draw to secure a piece of the prize money, an old discussion came back up. Should quick final round draws somehow be prevented to give the audience value for coming to the playing hall? Should top ranked players be forced to play for a win? It is ChessVista’s take that just going for a result is part of any competition. People who make a living by playing chess, have the right to have a focus on generating income. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Photo impression round 4, 27 June 2009 by Frits Agterdenbos.
Friso Nijboer wins Utrecht Open Championship 2009 07.06.2009 Dutch GM Friso Nijboer has won the Utrecht Open Championship 2009 (in Dutch: Open Kampioenschap Utrecht 2009, abbreviated to OKU 2009). The weekend tournament, which attracted 167 participants, took place on 5 – 7 June 2009 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Group 1 (elo>1800, 73 participants including 8 GMs and 4 IMs) was won by GM Friso Nijboer with 5.0/6 points. Alexandre Danin, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Anish Giri also scored 5.0 points, but Friso Nijboer won the cup having a better Buchholz score. Group 2 (elo 1500-1900, 68 participants) was won by Niels Hendrikx. Group 3 (elo<1600, 26 participants) was won by Rudy Veenhof. The Utrecht Open Championship is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss, rate of play all moves in 115 minutes + 5 seconds added time per move. The event was was organized by Chess Club Paul Keres and sponsored by Adviesbureau Schrijvers and Wout van Veen Advocaten and others. A non-chess photo report of Utrecht City Centre by Frits Agterdenbos.
Hypercube Blitz 2009: Andrey Orlov wins 22.03.2009 The Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2009 was won by Andrey Orlov. The tournament (rate of play: 5 minutes per person per game) took place on Saturday 21 March in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The event was organised by Chess Club Utrecht and sponsored by Hypercube Business Innovation. The tournament attracted 127 participants including 7 GMs and 12 IMs. The first part of the tournament was the qualification phase in which the participants were divided in 8 qualifying groups (all play all) to qualify for the 8 final groups in the second part of the tournament, the final phase. Final group A was won by Andrey Orlov with 15.0/19 points (1000 euro), followed by Bogdan Lalic and Vladimir Epishin with 14.5 points. Group B was won by Alexandre Danin and group C by Tim Lammens. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Daniël Noteboom Tournament 2009 22.02.2009 The Ukrainian GM Yuri Solodovnichenko has won the 69th Daniël Noteboom Tournament, which took place 20-22 February 2009 in Leiden (Netherlands). Yuri Solodovnichenko and Friso Nijboer scored both 5.5/6 points, but Solodovnichenko won the cup having a better Buchholz score. In the final round Yuri Solodovnichenko defeated Erik Van Den Doel and Friso Nijboer defeated Martin Roobol. Predrag Nikolic, Roi Miedema, Roger Meng and Bob Beeke tied for third place with 5.0 points. The tournament attracted 317 participants: 146 participants (including 4 GMs and 1 IM) in the main group (Group A, Elo > 1800), plus 88 participants in the second group (Group B, 1600 < Elo < 1900), and 83 participants in the third group (Group C, Elo < 1700). Group B was won by Jaap Van Der Heijden and group C was won by Donna Kok. The Daniël Noteboom Tournament is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game. The tournament was organized by chess club LSG. The 70th Daniël Noteboom Tournament will be held 12-14 February 2010.
Van Kampen and Manor win Batavia Amsterdam 20.02.2009 Robin Van Kampen and Ilan Manor have won the Batavia Amsterdam Schaaktoernooi (Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament). The final round (round 9) was played on Friday 20 February in Cafe Batavia 1920, in Amsterdam. Dutch junior Robin Van Kampen (14 year old) made his first IM norm, by defeating Yochanan Afek. Henk Vedder failed to make his final IM norm. He was on a promising track with 5.0/7 points, needing just one more point, but lost both his games in the final two rounds. Taco Vrenegoor was the third Dutchman who needed a win to make an IM norm, but he drew with Merijn Van Delft. Arlette Van Weersel won a fine final round game against Tibor Karolyi. Final standings: 1. Robin Van Kampen and Ilan Manor (6.0), 3. Merijn Van Delft and Taco Vrenegoor (5.5), 5. Henk Vedder (5.0), 6. Tibor Karolyi (4.5), 7. Stefan Kuipers (4.0), 8. Yochanan Afek (3.5), 9. Arlette Van Weersel (3.0) and 10. Michael Karp (2.0). Report, with photos of 15 February, by Frits Agterdenbos.
Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament 16.02.2009 A dream has come through. A new chess tournament, the Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament, is taking place 11-20 February in Cafe Batavia 1920, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Chess photographer Bas Beekhuizen and cafe owner Peter Tames, both chess enthousiasts, are the initiators and organizers (among others) of the tournament. Jeroen Van Den Berg, Corus Chess tournament director, was asked to join the team. The tournament is a 10-player Round Robin including 1 GM (Ilan Manor) and 3 IMs (Merijn Van Delft, Tibor Karolyi and Yochanan Afek). Round 5 results: Yochanan Afek - Stefan Kuipers ½-½, Taco Vrenegoor - Arlette Van Weersel 1-0, Michael Karp - Henk Vedder ½-½, Merijn Van Delft -Ilan Manor ½-½, Robin Van Kampen - Tibor Karolyi ½-½. Manor and Vedder lead with 3.5 points. Report, with photos of round 5 (15 February) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2009 Final standings 02.02.2009 The final round (round 13) was played on Sunday 1 February. Group A was won by Sergei Karjakin, group B was won by Fabiano Caruana and group C was won by Wesley So. Final standings Group A: 1. Karjakin (8.0), 2. Aronian, Radjabov and Movsesian (7.5), 5. Carlsen and Dominguez (7.0), 7. Kamsky (6.5), 8. Van Wely, Smeets and Wang Yue (6.0), 11. Stellwagen, Ivanchuk, Adams and Morozevich (5.0). Final standings Group B: 1. Caruana (8.5), 2. Short, Motylev and Kasimdzhanov (8.0), 5. Volokitin and Vallejo Pons (7.5), 7. Efimenko (7.0), 8. Navara (6.5), 9. Hou Yifan and Reinderman (6.0), 11. L’Ami (5.5), 12. Mecking (4.5), 13. Sasikiran and Werle (4.0). Final standings Group C: 1. So (9.5), 2. Hillarp Persson and Giri (8.5), 4. Howell and Gupta (7.5), 6. Holzke (6.5), 7. Harika (6.0), 8. Nijboer, Iturrizaga, Bitalzadeh, Bosboom and Pruijssers (5.5), 13. Leon Hoyos (5.0), 14. Romanishin (4.5). Report by Frits Agterdenbos. No Pea Soup.
Corus Chess 2009 Round 12 Six players lead 31.01.2009 Today Grandmaster Groups A, B and C played round 12. Grandmaster Group A results: Sergei Movsesian - Teimour Radjabov ½-½, Daniel Stellwagen – Wang Yue ½-½, Magnus Carlsen - Jan Smeets 1-0, Levon Aronian - Alexander Morozevich ½-½, Vassily Ivanchuk - Leinier Dominguez ½-½, Sergei Karjakin - Michael Adams 1-0, Loek Van Wely - Gata Kamsky ½-½. Carlsen, Aronian, Karjakin, Dominguez, Radjabov and Movsesian lead with 7.0 points, followed by Kamsky with 6.0 points. Grandmaster Group B: Short and Kasimdzanov lead with 8.0 points, followed by Volokitin and Caruana with 7.5 points. Grandmaster Group C: So, who defeated Hillarp persson, leads with 9.0 points, followed by Giri with 8.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2009 Round 11 Four players lead 30.01.2009 Today Grandmaster Groups A, B and C played round 11. Grandmaster Group A results: Loek Van Wely – Sergei Movsesian 0-1, Gata Kamsky - Sergei Karjakin 1-0, Michael Adams - Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Leinier Dominguez - Levon Aronian 1-0, Alexander Morozevich - Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Jan Smeets – Daniel Stellwagen ½-½, Wang Yue - Teimour Radjabov 0-1. Aronian, Dominguez, Radjabov and Movsesian lead with 6.5. points, followed by Carlsen and Karajakin with 6.0 points. Grandmaster Group B: Short leads with 7.5 points, followed by Caruana and Kasimdzhanov with 7.0 points. Grandmaster Group C: So leads with 8.0 points, followed by Hillarp Persson with 7.5 points. Anish Giri (14 year old) made his third (and final) GM norm. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2009 Round 9 Aronian, Karjakin and Dominguez lead 27.01.2009 Today Grandmaster Groups A, B and C played round 9. Grandmaster Group A results: Sergei Karjakin - Sergei Movsesian 1-0, Loek van Wely - Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½, Gata Kamsky - Levon Aronian 0-1, Michael Adams - Magnus Carlsen ½-½, Leinier Dominguez - Daniel Stellwagen 1-0, Alexander Morozevich - Teimour Radjabov ½-½, Jan Smeets – Wang Yue ½-½. Aronian, Karjakin and Dominguez lead with 5.5. points, followed by Radjabov and Movsesian with 5.0 points. Grandmaster Group B: Shorts leads with 6.0 points, followed by Volokitin, Motylev, Navara, Caruana and Vallejo Pons with 5.5 points. Grandmaster Group C: Hillarp Persson leads with 6.5 points, followed by So with 6.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2009 Round 7 24.01.2009 Round 7 was played on Saturday 24 January. In Group A there were two decisive games. Movsesian defeated Ivanchuk and Morozevich Smeets. Karjakin and Movsesian lead with 4.5 points, followed by Aronian, Dominguez and Radjabov with 4.0 points. In Group B there were six decisive games, and one draw. Short (vs Kasimdzanov), Volokitin (vs Reinderman), Mecking (vs Sasikiran), Motylev (vs Hou), L’Ami (vs Navara) and Caruana (vs Werle) were the happy ones. Short leads with 5.0 points, followed by Volokitin, Motylev and Caruana with 4.5 points. In Group C there were three decisive games. Gupta defeated Howell, Hillarp Persson defeated Iturrizaga and Leon Hoyos defeated Bosboom (who turned 46 today). Hillarp Persson and So lead with 5.0 points. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2009 Round 1 Smeets defeats Ivanchuk 17.01.2009 17 January 2009 was the day that top seed Vassily Ivanchuk was paired against Group A debutant Dutch champion 2008 Jan Smeets. The day that Ivanchuk waited 10 minutes to do his first move, meanwhile walking around on stage. The day that Ivanchuk didn't make friends. The day that Ivanchuk failed to win a won position and finally lost on time. The day that Smeets had a dream start and was called to give a press conference. Grandmaster Group A Round 1 Results: Daniel Stellwagen - Sergei Movsesian ½-½, Magnus Carlsen - Teimour Radjabov ½-½, Levon Aronian - Wang Yue ½-½, Vassily Ivanchuk - Jan Smeets 0-1, Sergei Karjakin - Alexander Morozevich 1-0, Loek van Wely - Leinier Dominguez ½-½, Gata Kamsky - Michael Adams ½-½. Grandmaster Group B Round 1 Results: Hou Yifan - Rustam Kasimdzhanov 0-1, Krishnan Sasikiran - Erwin L'Ami ½-½, Dimitri Reinderman - Francisco Vallejo Pons 0-1, Nigel Short – Jan Werle ½-½, Andrei Volokitin - Fabiano Caruana ½-½, Henrique Mecking – Zahar Efimenko 0-1, Alexander Motylev – David Navara 0-1. Grandmaster Group C Round 1 Results: Tiger Hillarp Persson - Roeland Pruijssers ½-½, Dowell Howell - Manuel Bosboom 0-1, Friso Nijboer - Wesley So 0-1, Oleg Romanishin - Ali Bitalzadeh 1-0, Anish Giri - Frank Holzke ½-½, Abhijeet Gupta - Dronavalli Harika 0-1, Eduardo Iturrizaga - Manuel Leon Hoyos 1-0. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2009 Opening Ceremony 16.01.2009 The Opening Ceremony of the 71th Corus Chess Tournament took place on Friday 16 January in Wijk aan Zee. The tournament will be held 17 January – 1 February. Participants GM A (category 19): Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Morozevich, Radjabov, Movsesian, Aronian, Wang Yue, Kamsky, Dominguez, Adams, Karjakin, Van Wely, Stellwagen, Smeets. Participants GM B (category 16): Sasikiran, Vallejo, Efimenko, Kasimdzhanov, Motylev, Volokitin, Short, Caruana, Navara, Werle, L'Ami, Hou Yifan, Mecking, Reinderman. Participants GM C (category 11): So, Howell, Hillarp Persson, Gupta, Nijboer, Leon Hoyos, Romanishin, Iturrizaga, Holzke, Harika, Giri, Pruijssers, Bosboom, Bitalzadeh. Photo report of the Opening Ceremony.
Happy 2009 !!! 01.01.2009 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti Bolsin
Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands in 2008 31.12.2008 Weekend tournaments are very popular in the Netherlands. The weekend tournament format generally holds: 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss, rate of play all moves in 115 minutes + extra seconds added time per move. In 2008, 14 tournaments like this were being organized, with first prizes ranging from 300 – 1.350 euro. The total first prize sum was 12.050 euro. Above that two ‘extended’ (Friday till Monday) weekend tournaments, each first prized 2.000 euro, were held in May. The most successful 2008 weekend tournament players were the Dutch GMs Erik Van Den Doel (4 tournaments victories) and Friso Nijboer (3). Like in 2008, ChessVista will pay special attention to weekend tournaments in the Netherlands in 2009.
Bloemendaal Chess Festival 2008 07.12.2008 The Dutch IM Robert Ris has won the Bloemendaal Chess Festival 2008 which was held Saturday 6 December in the Bloemendaal Town Hall in Overveen (Netherlands). The tournament (Swiss open rapid, 7 rounds, 20 minutes per person per game), organized by Chess Club Bloemendaal, attracted 84 participants including 3 GMs and 5 IMs. Final Standings (top): 1.Robert Ris (6 points, 34.5 Buchholz score) 2.Piet Peelen (6 points, 32.5 Bs) 3.Rob Bertholee (6 points, 29 Bs) 4.Vyacheslav Ikonnikov ( 5.5 points, 36 Bs) 5.Richard Duijn (5.5 points, 30,5 Bs) 6.Lennart Dek (5.5 punt, 30 Bs) 7.Michiel Bosman (5.5 points, 29 Bs) 8.Dimitri Reinderman (5.5 points, 28.5 Bs). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Leiden Chess Tournament 2008 20.07.2008 The second Leiden Chess Tournament (a 9 rounds Swiss Open, first prize in the main group 2000 euro) took place 11-20 July 2008 in Leiden (Netherlands). The main group (Group A), for players with Elo > 1850, attracted 84 participants including 7 GMs and 4 IMs. The tournament was won by Roeland Pruijssers. IM Roeland Pruijssers and GM Erik Van Den Doel, both from the Netherlands, finished with 7.0 points, but the Dutch IM had a better Buchholz score. Five players finished with 6.5 points: GM Milos Pavlovic, GM Csaba Horvath, FM Fred Slingerland, GM Mikhail Golubev and GM Lev Gutman. Guido Bakker won the second group (Group B), for players with Elo < 1900; the group attracted 57 participants. The tournament was organized by Stichting Denksportpromotie Nederland. The sponsors of the event were amongst others: the H.L. Druckerfonds and the Stichting Kasteel Oud Poelgeest. Playing venue was the Leiden Denksportcentrum (Mind Games Center Leiden). Photo impression of round 8, 19 July.
First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament July 2008 19.07.2008 The First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament July 2008, organised by László Nagy, took place 5-17 July. The event (one GM group, one IM group and three FM groups) attracted 53 players from 17 countries. GM Zlatko Ilincic won the GM Tournament (a 14 player Round Robin). WGM Hou Yifan (14 year old) finished second. She was sent by the Chinese Chess Federation to make a GM norm but failed by half a point. Peter Prohaszka and Denes Boros, both from Hungary, shared the third place. Richard Rapport won the IM Tournament (14 player Round Robin). The next First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament starts on 2 August. (Info provided by László Nagy)
ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2008 29.06.2008 The ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2008 in Haarlem (Netherlands) took place 27 - 29 June 2008. The 2008 edition of the tournament attracted 126 participants (less than last year, 2007: 160) including GMs Erik Van Den Doel, Normunds Miezis, Alexandre Dgebuadze, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Zhaoqin Peng. The EUR 1350 first price was won by Dutch GM Erik Van Den Doel with 5.5 points. GM Normunds Miezis, GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov, IM Chiel Van Oosterom and IM Piet Peelen shared second place with 5.0 points. Good news from the sponsor: ROC Nova College will continue sponsorship till 2013. The tournament was organised by chess club HWP Haarlem. Photo impression round 2, 28 June 2008 by Frits Agterdenbos.
Friso Nijboer wins Utrecht Open Championship 2008 08.06.2008 The Utrecht Open Championship 2008 (in Dutch: Open Kampioenschap Utrecht 2008, or OKU 2008) took place on 6 – 8 June 2008 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The tournament attracted 143 particpants. Group 1 (elo>1800, 77 participants including 5 GMs and 2 IMs) was won by GM Friso Nijboer with 5.5/6 points. GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Lars Ootes finished second with 5.0 points, followed by GM Leonid Kritz, IM Roeland Pruijssers and FM Stefan Kuipers with 4.5 points. Group 2 (elo 1500-1900, 44 participants) was won by Rufail Mekuria. Group 3 (elo<1600, 22 participants) was won by Ernest de Vroome. The Utrecht Open Championship is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss, rate of play all moves in 115 minutes + 5 seconds added time per move. The event was was organized by Chess Club Paul Keres and sponsored by Adviesbureau Schrijvers and Wout van Veen Advocaten and others. Round 6 photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R9 17.05.2008 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League final round (R9), a combined round with all 100 players together, took place on 17 May in the Town Hall of Hilversum. HSG (Hilversum) already had secured the 2007-2008 title in R8. In R9 HSG (Magnus Carlsen, Jan Smeets, Daniel Stellwagen, Predrag Nikolic, Yasser Seirawan and others) defeated the 2006-2007 champion Hotels.nl (Groningen) 7.5-2.5 finishing with 18 match points. Schrijvers Rotterdam took second place (14 match points) by defeating LSG 2. Hotels.nl finished third with 12 match points. HMC Calder (Erik Van Den Doel, Rustam Kasimdzanov and others) finished fourth (10 match points). In the 2008-2009 competition Voerendaal and BSG will take the places of LSG 2 and HWP Sas van Gent (relegated). Photo impression 17 May by Frits Agterdenbos.
25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi 2008 13.05.2008 The 25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi (9-12 May 2008) in Bussum, Netherlands, was won by Dutch GM Erik Van Den Doel, scoring 6.0/7 points. Roeland Pruijssers and Robert Ris shared the second place with 5.5 points, followed by 4 players with 5.0 points: Joost Wempe, Aleksandar Berelovich, Anish Giri and Ivo Wantola. The tournament attracted 54 participants (including 4 GMs and 5 IMs) in the main group (Group 1) plus 58 participants in the second group (Elo < 1950). The second group (Group 2) was won by Jelle Wiering. The 25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi was an extended weekend tournament, 7 rounds Swiss in 4 days. The time control was 2 hours with 5 seconds increment after each move starting from the first move. Prize money Group 1: 2000 (first prize), 1000, 500, 300, 175, 150, 75, 75, 75, 75 euro. The tournament was organized by chess club BSG. Frits Agterdenbos photographed the final round (R7) on 12 May.
European Champion Sergei Tiviakov’s Homecoming 05.05.2008 European Champion Sergei Tiviakov was given a warm greeting by the Dutch Chess Federation when he arrived at Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol) on Sunday 4 May. Dutch Chess Federation Board Members Monique Stam and Michiel Bosman, and Koos Stolk of the Dutch Chess Federation Office were present at the airport to congratulate the champion. Your photographer Frits Agterdenbos was lucky to join in the coffee and apple pie party and made a photo impression. The European Individual Chess Championships took place 20th April - 4th May 2008 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Sergei Tiviakov won gold. The silver medal was for Sergei Movsesian and the bronze medal was won by Sergey Volkov. In the women’s section the winners were Kateryna Lahno (gold), Viktorija Cmilyte (silver) and Anna Ushenina (bronze).
37th Allshare Amsterdam Go Tournament 04.05.2008 Hong Seul-Ki (7d) from Korea/Germany has won the 37th Allshare Amsterdam Go Tournament which took place 1-4 May 2008 in the European Go Cultural Centre EGCC in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. The event, one of the strongest on the Dutch Go agenda and one of Europe’s main weekend Go tournaments, was a six rounds McMahon tournament with time limit: 1½ hours, Canadian byo-yomi, 10 stones in 5 minutes. The tournament is a major tournament of the Pandanet European Go Cup series 2008-2009. The winner Hong Seul-Ki, who remainded undefeated, took the 500 euro first prize. Zou Jin finished second, Ondrej Silt finished third. Two professional players were available for commentary during the tournament: Kang Seung-Hee (2p, Korea/Germany) and Guo Juan (5p, China/Netherlands). Frits Agterdenbos photographed round 5 on Saturday 3 May.
Anish Giri (13) wins Intomart GfK Open 2008 17.04.2008 The Intomart GfK Open (5-13 April 2008) in Hilversum Media Park, Netherlands, was won by 13 year old Anish Giri, who made his first GM norm. Giri is a Russian player currently living in the Netherlands. FM Anish Giri and GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia finished on 7.0 points, but the junior had a better Buchholz score. Erik Van Den Doel, Daniel Fridman, Alexandre Dgebuadze, Boris Chatabashev, John Van Der Wiel and Simon Ansell shared the third place. Dutch junior Roi Miedema made an IM norm. The tournament attracted 79 participants (including 7 GMs and 7 IMs) in the main group (Group A) plus 48 participants in the second group (Elo < 1900). The second group (Group B) was won by André Van Dinteren. The Intomart GfK Open, which is in fact the third edition of the HSG Open, is a 9 rounds Swiss tournament, 9 days, no rest days. The tournament, organized by HSG, was a Dutch Championships side event. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Draughts Championship for the Visually Impaired 17.04.2008 The 41th Dutch Draughts Championship for the Visually Impaired 2008 (in Dutch: Nederlands Kampioenschap Dammen voor Visueel Gehandicapten 2008) took place 9-13 April in Hilversum Media Park, Netherlands. The tournament was organized as a side event alongside the Dutch Chess Championships. ‘Visually impaired’ doesn't necessarily mean ‘blind’, it could mean being blind or having impaired vision. The championship was a 6 player Round Robin, followed by play-offs (2 rounds). The final standings are: 1.Herman Lamberts (champion); 2.Erik Essing; 3.Frans van Hek; 4.Marcel Zandbergen; 5.Peter Kers; 6.Roland van Ekeren. Herman Lamberts, 74 year old, won the title for the fifth time (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008). Frits Agterdenbos photographed the play-offs, round 2, on 13 April.
Dutch Champions 2008: Jan Smeets and Zhaoqin Peng 15.04.2008 Jan Smeets is the new Dutch Chess Champion. After the penultimate round four players had chances to win the title: Daniël Stellwagen (7.0), Sipke Ernst (6.5), Erwin L’Ami (6.5) and Jan Smeets (6.5). In the final round Sunday 13 April Jan Smeets defeated Daniël Stellwagen, while Sipke Ernst and Erwin L’Ami lost to Ruud Janssen and Manuel Bosboom, respectively. Daniël Stellwagen and Dimitri Reinderman shared the second place. Sipke Ernst and Erwin L’Ami shared the fourth place. The 2006 & 2007 champion Sergei Tiviakov played an unlucky tournament and finished on a shared sixth place together with Friso Nijboer. In the women’s championship Zhaoqin Peng won her tenth title. She scored 8.0/9, making only two draws. Petra Schuurman finished second and Tea Lanchava finished third. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Draughts blind simul by Ton Sijbrands 11.04.2008 An interesting side event of the Dutch Chess Championships was a non-chess event. The Dutch former world champion (1972-1973) of international draughts, Ton Sijbrands (1949) competed against 5 opponents in a draughts blind simul. The event took place on Friday 11 April in Hilversum Media Park, Studio 2. Sijbrands scored 100% doing the job in a bit more than 3 hours. Ton Sijbrands is world record holder draughts blind simul. In October 2007 he set the record at 25 opponents, scoring 92% in 28 hours and 23 minutes. The Dutch draughts player Erno Prosman will try to beat the record on 4 July 2008 (info ). Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Championship 2008, R9 + Women R7 11.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 9 took place Friday 11 April. Daniël Stellwagen (draw against Daan Brandenburg), Erwin L’Ami (victory over Jan-Willem De Jong) and Jan Smeets (draw against Yge Visser) lead with 6.0 points. The trio is followed by three players with 5.5. points: Sergei Tiviakov, Sipke Ernst and Dimitri Reinderman. Friso Nijboer and Yge Visser follow with 5.0 points. With two rounds to go anything can happen. Eight players have chances to become champion. In the women championship round 7 was scheduled. Zhaoqin Peng (who defeated Anne Haast) leads with 6.5 points, followed by Petra Schuurman (who defeated Bianca Muhren) with 6.0 points. Tea Lanchava (who defeated Marlies Bensdorp) is on third place with 4.5 points. Three players have chances to win the title. The final rounds are on Saturday and Sunday. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Interview WGM Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau 07.04.2008 Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau (1940) was women champion of Romania six times (1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1973) and of the Netherlands five times (1974, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1979). She was one of the best women players of the world. In 1969 Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau had the fifth position in the women’s ELO listing. She was born as Alexandra Nicolau in Romania, married in 1974 with the Dutch Hendrik Cornelis van der Mije and obtained Dutch nationality. In the Netherlands people are used to refer to her as Cathy van der Mije, which has become common use, but it is not accurate. The inner circle knows it should be Käty van der Mije, which has the same pronunciation. The Romanian Chess Federation has published an interview (by Dinu-Ioan Nicula, in Romanian language) with Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau and was willing to give ChessVista permission to publish a translation in English.
Dutch Championship 2008, R5 + Women R3 06.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 5 took place Sunday 6 April. Friso Nijboer, who was leading so far, lost surprisingly to Ruud Janssen. Yge Visser defeated Manuel Bosboom taking sole lead with 3.5 points. He is followed by seven players with 3.0 points: Sergei Tiviakov (draw versus Daan Brandenburg), Daniël Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami, Jan Smeets (who defeated Jan-Willem De Jong), Sipke Ernst, Friso Nijboer and Dimitri Reinderman. In the women championship round 3 was scheduled. Bianca Muhren took sole lead (3.0/3 points) by defeating Anne Haast. Second with 2.5 points is Zhaoqin Peng, who drew against Laura Bensdorp. Petra Schuurman and Martine Middelveld follow with 2.0 points. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Championship 2008, R4 + Women R2 05.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 4 took place Saturday 5 April. Friso Nijboer, who drew Dimitri Reinderman, leads with 3.0 points. He is followed by six players with 2.5 points: Sergei Tiviakov, Daniël Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami, Sipke Ernst, Dimitri Reinderman and Yge Visser. A remarkable coincidence was the game Erwin L’Ami versus Jan Smeets. The players celebrated their birthday. They are both born on 5 April 1985. The game ended in a draw. The women championship started Friday. Saturday round 2 was scheduled. Zhaoqin Peng (who defeated Petra Schuurman) and Bianca Muhren (who defeated Martine Middelveld) are on 2.0/2. Photo impression by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Championship 2008, R2 03.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 Round 2 took place 3 April. Friso Nijboer took the sole lead with 2.0 points by defeating Jan Smeets. Sergei Tiviakov (who defeated Manuel Bosboom) and Yge Visser (who drew against Erwin L’Ami) share the second place with 1.5 points. Five players follow with 1.0 point: Daniël Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami, Sipke Ernst, Dimitri Reinderman and Jan-Willem De Jong. Jan Smeets, Ruud Janssen, Manuel Bosboom and Daan Brandenburg are on 0.5 points. So far the 12 players did have Studio 2 for their own, but this will change soon. The women championship starts Friday. A strong open, the Intomart GfK Open, will start Saturday. Photo impression round 2 by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Championship 2008, R1 02.04.2008 The Dutch Chess Championship 2008 takes place 2 – 13 April in a television studio (Studio 2) in Hilversum Media Park. First prize is EUR 10.000. It is a 12 player Round Robin with 2007 champion Sergei Tiviakov (GM 2634), Daniël Stellwagen (GM 2621), Erwin L’Ami (GM 2600), Jan Smeets (GM 2578), Sipke Ernst (GM 2559), Friso Nijboer (GM 2558), Dimitri Reinderman (GM 2526), Ruud Janssen (IM 2504), Yge Visser (GM 2477), Jan-Willem De Jong (IM 2474), Manuel Bosboom (IM 2471) and Daan Brandenburg (IM 2435). In round 1 Visser defeated Janssen and Nijboer defeated Brandenburg, the other games ended in a draw. Friday 4 April the women (10 players) will start their championship. Zhaoqin Peng will be defending her title. Photo impression round 1 by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R8 31.03.2008 HSG (Hilversum) is the 2007-2008 champion. The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 8 took place on Saturday 29 March 2008. HSG (captain: Jan Stomphorst, players: Van Wely, Smeets, Nijboer, Stellwagen, L’Ami, Delemarre, De Vreugt, Vedder, Spoelman and Janssen) secured the title with one round to go by crushing Homburg Apeldoorn (8.5-1.5). The 2006-2007 champion Hotels.nl (Groningen) drew 5.0-5.0 against LSG 1. HSG leads with 16 match points, followed by Schrijvers Rotterdam and Hotels.nl, both with 12 match points. HMC Calder is fourth with 10 match points. ESGOO is fifth with 9 match points. LSG 2 and HWP Sas van Gent have been relegated. The final round (R9), a combined round with all 100 players together, will take place on 17 May in the Town Hall of Hilversum. In this report we provide results, standings and photos from Apeldoorn (Homburg Apeldoorn - HSG).
Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2008: Daniel Fridman wins 16.03.2008 The Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2008 (rate of play: 5 minutes per person per game) took place on Saturday 15 March in Utrecht (Netherlands). The event was organised by Chess Club Utrecht and sponsored by Hypercube Business Innovation. The tournament attracted 128 participants including 9 GMs (Daniel Fridman 2627, Vadim Malakhatko 2600, Felix Levin 2563, Stanislav Savchenko 2558, Michael Feygin 2554, Alexandre Dgebuadze 2512, Mihail Saltaev 2502, Harmen Jonkman 2438, Dennis De Vreugt 2390) and 7 IMs. The first part of the tournament was the qualification phase in which the participants were divided in 8 qualifying groups (all play all) to qualify for the final groups in the second part of the tournament, the final phase. Final group A: 8 numbers one + 8 numbers two + 4 numbers three, making 20 players in total. Prize money in Final Group A (20 player all play all): 1000 euro (first prize), 600, 250, 100, 50. GM Daniel Fridman won the 1000 euro first prize on 15.5/19 points, followed by GM Vadim Malakhatko on 15.0 points and IM Andrey Orlov on 13.0 points. The Dutch blitz specialist IM Manuel Bosboom finished fourth. Big photo report with portraits of all 20 final group A players by Frits Agterdenbos.
Ilmars Starostits wins Ichthus College Tournament 07.03.2008 The first Ichthus College Tournament (29 February – 2 March 2008) in Driehuis (Netherlands) was won by Latvian IM Ilmars Starostits (elo 2500) and 16 year old Dutch junior Yorick Ten Hagen with 5.5/6 points. Starostits won the cup having a better Buchholz score. The Ichthus College Tournament was a weekend tournament, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game. Prize money: 700 (first prize), 400, 250, 150 and 100 euro. The tournament, which attracted 69 participants, was organized by chess club Santpoort. Starostits takes fifth place after Miezis, Kengis, Meijers and Sveshnikov (FIDE Rating List January 2008, Country Top players list Latvia). Frits Agterdenbos photographed round 3 on 1 March.
Dutch Championship 2008 Semi-Finals Round 3 26.02.2008 The 32-player knockout Semi-Finals of the Dutch Championship 2008 took place on 5+6 January, 23+24 February and 25+26 February in the Town Hall of media city Hilversum. The Semi-Finals saw four players qualifying for the 12-player round-robin Dutch Championship to be held 2-13 April 2008: Ruud Janssen, Yge Visser, Jan-Willem De Jong and Manuel Bosboom. Six players had already qualified for the Championship. They include the five best players of the Dutch Championship 2007, Sergei Tiviakov (champion), Daniel Stellwagen, Ivan Sokolov, Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami and the best Dutchman in Dutch Open 2007 Erik Van Den Doel. Frits Agterdenbos photographed the Semi-Finals round 3, day 1, on 25 February.
Dutch Championship 2008 Semi-Finals Round 2 24.02.2008 The Semi-Finals of the Dutch Championship 2008 is a 32-player knockout. There are three rounds: round 1 (32 players) on 5+6 January, round 2 (16 players) on 23+24 February and round 3 (8 players) on 25+26 February. The tournament format holds (for each round) matches comprising two games per round, plus tiebreak games in case the scores are level after two games. Four players will go to the Finals (the Dutch Championship 2008) which will take place 2-13 April in Hilversum. The eight players going to round 3 are: Ruud Janssen, Merijn Van Delft, Yge Visser, Jan-Willem De Jong, Jeroen Bosch, Manuel Bosboom, Robin Swinkels and Herman Grooten. The Semi-Finals of the Dutch Women Championship 2008 is a 16-player knockout: round 1 (16 players) on 5+6 January and round 2 (8 players) on 23+24 February, after which four players proceed to the Finals. The four players are: Pauline Van Nies, Talitha Munnik, Anne Haast and Martine Middelveld. Frits Agterdenbos photographed the Semi-Finals round 2, day 1, on 23 February.
Ikonnikov wins Aalsmeer Open Championship 2008 16.02.2008 The Aalsmeer Open Championship 2008 (Open Schaak Kampioenschap Aalsmeer 2008) took place on Saturday 16 February 2008 in Aalsmeer (Netherlands). The Rabobank sponsored the event. The tournament (Group A, main group) was won by GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov with 6.5/7 points. IM Robert Ris finished second with 6.0 points and Tex De Wit finished third with 5.0 points. The tournament, which was a 7 rounds Swiss Rapid (20 minutes per player), was organized by Chess Club Aalsmeer (Schaakcub Aalsmeer). Group B was won by Dennis Flohr and Group C was won by Erwin Komrij and Ruud Küchler. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Valentine poem for C 14.02.2008 ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ is what we say today to our beloved ones. It is the day we want to reach the ones we love, sometimes the unreachable love. As chess is often without words, the chess player, even more than others, needs ways to tell his world is bigger than a board with pieces. The chess player wants to say you are the only chess piece that really counts, you are my flower on the board. We send a card, a flower. Maybe we will write a poem. This moment, it is you. I have been hunting you so much. Sometimes I see you, but I can not capture you. Your face, your look. This moment, it is you… Chess photographer Frits Agterdenbos has written a poem (Portrait of C, 14 February 2008). Inspired by his love for the people in the world of Chess. Inspired by his wish to get a true picture of the chess player.
Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R6 10.02.2008 The Dutch Club Team Competition scheme holds 10 teams with each 10 players playing nine rounds in the Meesterklasse (Premier League). R1-R8 are on eight Saturdays on different locations spread all over the country. R9 will be on Saturday 17 May 2008. The intention is to make R9 a combined final round with all 100 players together. Round 6 took place on 9 February. The main results of R9 were the loss of 2006-2007 champion Hotels.nl (Groningen) versus HMC Calder and the victory of HSG (Hilversum) over HWP Sas van Gent. HSG (Hilversum) leads with 12 match points, followed by Hotels.nl with 9 match points. Schrijvers Rotterdam and HMC Calder are on 8 match points. Round 7 will take place on 8 March. In this report we provide results, standings and photos from Utrecht (Utrecht – LSG 1).
Leiden Chess Tournament 2008 announced 08.02.2008 The second Leiden Chess Tournament (a 9 rounds Swiss Open, first prize in the main group 2000 euro) will be held 11-20 July 2008 in Leiden (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 10 July. The main group (Group A) is for players with Elo > 1850, the second group (Group B) is for players with Elo < 1900. There will be two byes possible in the first six rounds. The tournament will be organized by Stichting Denksportpromotie Nederland. The sponsors of the event are amongst others: the H.L. Druckerfonds and the Stichting Kasteel Oud Poelgeest. Playing venue is the Leiden Denksportcentrum (Mind Games Center Leiden). The first edition took place 13-22 July 2007. The winner was GM Erik Van Den Doel. Second was GM Dimitri Reinderman, and third was GM John Van Der Wiel. For registration you can use the entry form (in Dutch, see tournament website) or contact Mr. Jan Bey (tournament director), e-mail: jan.bey@leidenchess.nl.
Welcome in the Year of the Rat 07.02.2008 Happy Chinese New Year!!! Welcome in the Year of the Rat (7 February 2008 – 25 January 2009). In a 12-year cycle, each year is represented by an animal, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep (or Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (or Boar). So everybody is an animal. Which animal you are depends on your Date of Birth. Famous Rats are: Zinedine Zidane, Ursula Andress, Louis Armstrong, Charles Aznavour, Lauren Bacall, James Baldwin, Marlon Brando, Charlotte Bronte, George H. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Cameron Diaz, T.S. Eliot, Clark Gable and Hugh Grant. Rat Chess Players in de FIDE Rating List Top 100 (January 2008) are Alexei Shirov (born 4-7-1972, elo 2755, world ranking 7), Vadim Milov (1-8-1972, 2690, 30), Loek Van Wely (7-10-1972, 2681, 35), Predrag Nikolic (11-9-1960, 2665, 50), Artyom Timofeev (6-1-1985, 2664, 51), Konstantin Landa (22-5-1972, 2641, 78), Victor Mikhalevski (8-7-1972, 2632, 92) and Yasser Seirawan (24-3-1960, 2628, 98). Report by rat Frits Agterdenbos (7-4-1960, unrated, unranked).
Daniël Noteboom Tournament 2008 03.02.2008 The 68th Daniël Noteboom Tournament (1-3 February 2008) in Leiden (Netherlands) was won by Predrag Nikolic and John Van Der Wiel with 5.5/6 points. Nikolic won the cup having a better Buchholz score. In the final round Nikolic made a draw against Dgebuadze and Van Der Wiel defeated Roeland Pruijssers. Shilong Li, Martin Roobol, Alexandre Dgebuadze and Bogdan Lalic tied for third place with 5.0 points. The tournament attracted 131 participants (including 7 GMs and 3 IMs) in the main group (Group A) plus 127 participants in the second group (Elo < 1900). The second group (Group B) was won by Dennis Flohr and Erik-Jan Colijn. The Daniël Noteboom Tournament is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game. The tournament was organized by LSG.
Corus Chess 2008 - Hey, that's me! on ChessVista 01.02.2008 An incredible strong tournament, that is how most people Corus Chess 2008 will remember. Corus Chess 2008 was even more than that. Thanks to the many side events (amateur groups) the tournament is also a mass chess event attracting players of all levels. The Weekend-three-round events attracted more than 500 players and the Weekday-three-round events attracted more than 300 players. In the Nine-round events more than 600 players participated. Nine-round event 1A was won by IM Frank Holzke and Nine-round event 1B was won by IM Manuel Bosboom. Holzke and Bosboom promote to Corus Chess 2009 Group C. The Rapid tournament (around 100 participants in two groups) was won by IM Bernd Schneider. The Blitz Tournament Arbiters Corus Chess (17 participants) was won by IM Pavel Votruba, followed by Joost Jansen. Today’s report provides some photos of the amateur groups. Maybe you can recognize yourself. Maybe you can say: “Hey, that's me! on ChessVista”.
Corus Chess 2008 Closing Ceremony 31.01.2008 The Closing Ceremony of the 70th Corus Chess Tournament took place Sunday 27 January in the Chess Pavillion in Wijk aan Zee. An important part of the Corus Chess closing ceremony is the Prize-Giving, but the most important part is the Pea Soup Dinner. It is said that a newcomer in the tournament who openly dislikes the soup will not be invited again. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the Grandmaster Groups: Aronian and Carlsen (A), Movsesian (B) and Caruana (C). In the meanwhile, the 65th Pea Soup Dinner (Dutch: Snertmaaltijd) took place. The tournament is full of traditions. Which include rules and restrictions to players and journalists. And there are privileges for a few happy ones. Maybe you ask, how did the pea soup taste this year? Well I don’t know. It was the first time since 1980 (in which year I had my first Wijk aan Zee photo on the cover of Schakend Nederland) that my request to join the dinner was refused. Okay I said, just let me take photos, that will be enough. That was allowed. But at arriving at the Chess Pavillion, crowded with chess companions sitting at tables, I was told to wait outside till the soup had been served. Later on I got access. And I did my job. A lot of chess journalists were excluded and stayed away from the scene. Wondering why. I saw one of them drinking in a bar, lonely as chess can make you. Disappointed and grieved. Next year the fight to be in will be tougher than ever. But not everybody will come again. To pea or not to pea, that is the question. Report by Frits Agterdenbos.
DGT and UEP in Interactive Chess TV 30.01.2008 While Anand and Kramnik were playing their last serious game (Corus Chess 2008, round 13 on Sunday 27 January) before the World Chess Championship Match to be held in October 2008 in Bonn, DGT (Digital Game Technology) and UEP (Universal Event Promotion) have signed a declaration of intent to develop Interactive Chess TV. The signing and the celebration took place in Café De Moriaan, fifty meters from the Anand vs Kramnik fight, in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The expected amount to invest is ranging from 250 thousand to 300 thousand euro. It is a first next step in bringing chess to the people. ‘We expect to attract a new group of chess public’. DGT and UEP want to broadcast the World Chess Championship Match via Interactive Chess TV. ‘We need a 5000+ audience who on Pay per View basis will be witness of this chess event’. Report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 13 27.01.2008 The final round (13) was played on Sunday 27 January. Group A was won by Aronian and Carlsen. Group B was won by Movsesian and group C was won by Caruana. Group A: 1. Aronian and Carlsen (8.0), 3. Radjabov and Anand (7.5), 5. Ivanchuk and Leko (7.0), 7. Kramnik and Adams (6.5), 9. Mamedyarov, Polgar and Topalov (6.0), 12. Eljanov, Gelfand and Van Wely (5.0). Group B: 1. Movsesian (9.5), 2. Bacrot and Short (8.5), 4. Harikrishna (7.5), 5. Nepomniachtchi (7.0), 6. Cheparinov (6.5), 7. Hou, Stellwagen, Smeets and L’Ami (6.0), 11. Koneru (5.5), 12. Sargissian and Krasenkow (5.0), 14. Spoelman (4.0). Group C: 1. Caruana (10.0), 2. Negi and Reinderman (8.0), 4. Carlsson (7.5), 5. Nijboer, Braun, Van Der Wiel and Krush (7.0), 9. Van Der Werf (6.5), 10. Li, Grivas (6.0), 12. Ushenina and Peng (4.5), 14. Ruijgrok (2.0). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 12 26.01.2008 Round 12 was played on Saturday 26 January. In Group A the big news was Carlsen’s victory over Kramnik. Eljanov defeated Topalov, and Polgar defeated Adams. Aronian and Carlsen lead with 7.5 points, followed by Radjabov and Anand with 7.0 points. In Group B Movsesian (vs L’Ami), Smeets (vs (Nepomniachtchi) and Spoelman (vs Koneru) won their games, the other games ended in a draw. Movsesian leads with 9.0 points, followed by two players on 8.0 points: Bacrot and Short. In Group C Caruana defeated Nijboer, Krush defeated Van Der Wiel, Negi defeated Grivas and Carlsson defeated Ushenina. Caruana leads with 9 points, followed by Negi with 8.0 points and Reinderman with 7.5 points. The Honorary Group was won by Ljubojevic (4.0 points), followed by Kortchnoi and Timman (3.0 points) and Portisch (2.0 points). Tomorrow the final round 13 will be played. Group C starts at 11.30, Groups A and B start at 12.30. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 11 25.01.2008 Round 11 was played on Friday 25 January. In Group A Levon Aronian took the lead with 7.0 points after winning against Loek Van Wely, while leader Magnus Carlsen lost to Viswanathan Anand. Teymour Radjabov, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand tie for second place with 6.5 points. Vladimir Kramnik, Michael Adams and Vassily Ivanchuk are on 6.0 points. In Group B there were only two draws. Sergey Movsesian (draw against Ian Nepomniachtchi) leads with 8.0 points. Etienne Bacrot and Nigel Short (who defeated Smeets) tie for second place with 7.5 points. In Group C Fabiano Caruana (after defeating Anna Ushenina) clearly leads with 8.0 points, followed by Friso Nijboer, Parimarjan Negi and Dimitri Reinderman on 7.0 points. In the Honorary Group Ljubomir Ljubojevic defeated Viktor Kortchnoi and Lajos Portisch defeated Jan Timman. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Rest Day 3 24.01.2008 Today Thursday 24 January is the final rest day for the players in A, B, C and the Honoray Group. Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 January the final three rounds will be played. In tomorrow’s round 11 Magnus Carlsen (group A), Sergey Movsesian (group B), Fabiano Caruana (group C) and Viktor Kortchnoi (Honorary Group) will be defending their leading positions. In this report ChessVista provides you with the Pairings Round 11, the Final Three Rounds Opponents of the Top 7 (group A) including some statistics. Also in this report: a gallery of the Honorary Group and some stock photos by Frits Agterdenbos plus some links to interesting websites.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 10 23.01.2008 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 23 January. In Group A Van Wely was winning against Carlsen but he threw it all away and lost. The match Ukraine vs Ukraine was won by Ivanchuk. The other games ended in a draw. Carlsen leads with 6.5 points, followed by Aronian who is on 6.0 points. Five players are on 5.5 points. In Group B the girls made a draw (Hou vs Koneru). Movsesian defeated Smeets to take clear lead on 7.5 points, followed by two players on 6.5 points: Bacrot and Short, who defeated Krasenkow. In Group C only two games ended in a draw. Caruana lost to Li, but still leads with 7.0 points. Krush defeated Braun and Ushenina defeated Grivas. In the Honorary Group Ljubojevic (vs Timman) and Kortchnoi (vs Portisch) won their games. Kortchnoi leads with 3.0 points. Tomorrow is a rest day. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 9 22.01.2008 Round 9 was played on Tuesday 22 January. In Group A the big clash Topalov vs Kramnik was won by the Bulgarian. They did not shake hands at the start of the game, apparently there was no wish to do so. Carlsen lost to Leko and Adams beat Van Wely. Aronian after a draw versus Eljanov shares the lead with Carlsen with 5.5 points followed by four players who are half a point behind. In Group B Movsesian (draw vs Short) leads with 6.5 points followed by Bacrot (draw vs Sargissian) who turned 25 today. Short is third. In Group C only two games ended in a draw. Caruana leads with 7.0 points, followed by Reinderman who is on 6.5 points. In the Honorary Group both games ended in a draw. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 8 – Short vs Cheparinov replayed 21.01.2008 Round 8 game Nigel Short versus Ivan Cheparinov (Group B) was replayed Tuesday 21 January (in fact Rest Day 2) after a decision made by the Appeals Committee (Kramnik, Krasenkow and Polgar). The game was won by Short. The Appeals Committee (AC) had decided that the game had to be replayed. The AC also decided that Cheparinov had to make public excuses to Short for his refusal to shake hands. Moreover, the AC decided that both players had to shake hands at the start of the game. In a statement Cheparinov made apologies to Short, but also to the Tournament Committee and to Corus as sponsor of the tournament. Cheparinov arrived in the playing hall before the scheduled time 13.30 hours. But rumours made believe Short was not going to show up. Chief arbiter Thomas van Beekum started the clock at 13.30 hours. Short did arrive some minutes later, and after the handshake, he made his first move 1.e4 at 13.40 hours. The game took 72 moves. Big photo report showing the start of the game, full of tension - by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 8 20.01.2008 Round 8 was played on Sunday 20 January. It was the day of a remarkable incident in Group B. Cheparinov refused to shake hands with Short. The Bulgarian saw his game declared a loss by the chief arbiter, but later the Appeals Committee decided the game will be played Monday 21 January. In Group A the big clash Anand vs Topalov was won by the world champion. The other games were all draws. Carlsen leads with 5.5 points, followed by Kramnik and Aronian with 5.0 points. In Group B Movsesian defeated Spoelman and Krasenkow defeated Sargissian. No matter the result of Short vs Cheparinov, Movsesian will lead with 6.0 points, since Bacrot made a draw. In Group C all games were decisive. Caruana defeated Braun to take sole lead with 6.0 points, followed by Reinderman (5.5 points) who defeated Li. In the Honorary Group both games ended in a draw. Big photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 7 19.01.2008 Round 7 was played on Saturday 19 January. In Group A there were two decisive games. Aronian defeated Radjabov and Anand defeated Polgar. Carlsen leads with 5.0 points, followed by Kramnik and Aronian with 4.5 points. In Group B there were three decisive games. Movsesian (vs Stellwagen), Hou (vs Smeets) and Koneru (vs Krasenkow) were the happy ones. Movsesian and Bacrot lead with 5.0 points, followed by four players with 4.0 points. In Group C there were four decisive games. Grivas defeated Braun, Caruana defeated Carlsson, Negi defeated Krush and Ushenina defeated Van Der Werf. Caruana and Braun lead with 5.0 points. The Honorary Group started today with wins for Kortchnoi (vs Portisch) and Timman (vs Ljubojevic).
Corus Chess 2008 Round 6 18.01.2008 Round 6 was played on Friday 18 January, the day after Bobby Fischer died at the chess age of 64. A one-minute silence tribute honouring the chess genius was held at the start of the round. One hour later, at the opening ceremony of the Honorary Group in the chess pavilion, the one-minute silence tribute was done again. It was a little bit like ‘The king is dead. Long live the king!’ seeing Carlsen taking sole lead in Group A. He defeated Judit Polgar. Kramnik (vs Aronian) and Topalov (versus Leko) also won their games. In Group B Bacrot leads with 4.5 points after making a draw versus Nepomniachtchi. He is followed by Stellwagen, Movsesian and Smeets with 4.0 points. In Group C Braun is leading with 5.0 points, followed by Nijboer, Reinderman and Caruana who lost to Krush. The Honorary Group starts Saturday. First round pairings are Ljubojevic – Timman and Kortchnoi – Portisch.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 5 17.01.2008 Round 5 was played on Thursday 17 January. Veselin Topalov defeated Boris Gelfand and Shakhryar Mamedyarov defeated Loek Van Wely. Teymour Radjabov (by defeating Pavel Eljanov) joined the lead with Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian who both drew their games. In Group B Etienne Bacrot defeated Jan Smeets to take the sole lead with 4.0 points. Pentala Harikrishna is second on 3.5 points after a draw versus Sergey Movsesian, who is now on 3.0 points, together with the Dutch GMs Daniel Stellwagen, Erwin L’Ami and Jan Smeets. Wouter Spoelman scored his first half versus Yifan Hou. In group C Arik Braun lost his first half by drawing versus Dennis Ruijgrok who scored his first half in the tournament. Arik Braun is leading with 4.5 points, followed by Fabiano Caruana (4.0 points) and Dimitri Reinderman (3.5 points). Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Rest Day 1 16.01.2008 Today Wednesday 16 January is the first rest day. The players in groups A, B & C are taking a break. There are two more rest days to come: Monday 21 January and Thursday 24 January. So the schedule is: 4 games, rest, 4 games, rest, 2 games, rest, 3 games. Tomorrow round 5 will be played. Aronian and Carlsen (A), Harikrishna, Smeets and Bacrot (B) and Braun (C) will be defending their leading positions. The Honorary Group, a double round-robin, with Viktor Kortchnoi, Jan Timman, Ljubomir Ljubojevic and Lajos Portisch will start Saturday 19 January with R(ound)1. And continues 20-R2, 22-R3, 23-R4, 25-R5 and 26-R6. Today ChessVista provides you with a few stock photos and some links to interesting websites. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 4 15.01.2008 Round 4 was played on Tuesday 15 January. It was a happy day for Holland in Group A. Loek Van Wely defeated former world champion Veselin Topalov. Magnus Carlsen versus Levon Aronian was a draw. Both players maintain their lead on 3.0 points, followed by Vladimir Kramnik (who defeated Pavel Eljanov), Teymour Radjabov, Judit Polgar (who defeated Boris Gelfand) and Loek Van Wely on 2.5 points. Anand is on 1.5 points. In Group B Pentala Harikrishna (who defeated the unhappy Wouter Spoelman), Jan Smeets (draw versus Michal Krasenkow) and Bacrot (draw versus Sergey Movsesian) share the lead on 3.0 points. In group C Arik Braun keeps on winning. He leads on 4.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 3 14.01.2008 Round 3 was played on Monday 14 January. It was a drawish day in Group A, all games ended in a draw but not without fight. Levon Aronian and Magnus Carlsen maintain their lead on 2.5 points, followed by Radjabov on 2.0 points. In Group B there was only one draw (Daniel Stellwagen – Pentala Harikrishna), white won five times, black one. Jan Smeets (who defeated Ivan Cheparinov) and Etienne Bacrot (who defeated Wouter Spoelman) share the lead on 2.5 points, followed by four players on 2.0 points. In group C John Van Der Wiel lost to Parimarjan Negi. Fabiano Caruana and Arik Braun kept on winning. They share the lead on 3.0 points. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 2 13.01.2008 Round 2 was played on Sunday 13 January. It definitely was a good day for the white pieces (nine wins). In group A Levon Aronian defeated Boris Gelfand. Aronian said at the press conference his victory over Gelfand was the first time in his life. Magnus Carlsen defeated Pavel Eljanov. The other games ended in a draw. Aronian and Carlsen lead on 2.0 points. In Group B six players share the lead on 1.5 points. In group C only two games ended in a draw. Pontus Carlsson (fever 40.0) made a quick draw versus Zhaoqin Peng. Li, Caruana, Braun and Van Der Wiel lead on 2.0 points. The Dutch squadron (11 players) scored minus 4: 0.5/1 in A + 1.0/4 in B + 2.0/6 in C = 3.5/11. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 1 12.01.2008 Round 1 was played on Saturday 12 January 01.30 PM. In group A the Big Three didn’t do well. Viswanathan Anand lost to Teymour Radjabov and Veselin Topalov lost to Levon Aronian. Vladimir Kramnik – Loek Van Wely was a draw. Magnus Carlsen defeated Shakhryar Mamedyarov. In Group B Ivan Cheparinov defeated Wouter Spoelman and Etienne Bacrot defeated Yifan Hou. In group C no game ended in a draw. The three ladies lost their games: Anna Ushenina – John Van Der Wiel 0-1, Shilong Li - Irina Krush 1-0 and Zhaoqin Peng – Fabiano Caruana 0-1. The Dutch squadron (11 players, in 2007 there were 14) scored plus 1: 0.5/1 in A + 2.5/4 in B + 3.0/6 in C = 6.0/11. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Opening Ceremony 11.01.2008 The Opening Ceremony of the 70th Corus Chess Tournament (‘Wijk aan Zee’) took place on Friday 11 January in the Dudok House in Velsen-Noord. The tournament will be held 12-27 January. Group A will show the Big Three (world champion Anand, Kramnik, Topalov). The pairings in Group A, round 1 are: Kramnik – Van Wely, Radjabov – Anand, Mamedyarov – Carlsen, Eljanov – Leko, Adams – Gelfand, Aronian – Topalov, Ivanchuk – Polgar. Good news for the chess world: Corus announced that the Corus Chess Tournament is guaranteed till 2013 (75th edition). The Elo sum of Groups A,B and C is 110,099 (2007: 109,279). Photo report of the Opening Ceremony.
Corus Chess 2008 Photo Preview – the Day Before 10.01.2008 The Corus Chess Tournament 2008 will be held 12-27 January 2007 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 11 January in the Corus Headquarters Netherlands, the Dudok House in Velsen-Noord.
Group A (category 20) will show Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Mamedyarov, Leko, Ivanchuk, Aronian, Gelfand, Radjabov, Carlsen, Adams, Polgar, Eljanov and Van Wely.
Group B (category 15) will show Cheparinov, Bacrot, Movsesian, Sargissian, Harihrishna, Short, Krasenkow, Stellwagen, Koneru, Nepomniachtchi, L’Ami, Smeets, Hou and Spoelman.
Group C (category 10) will show Caruana, Nijboer, Braun, Reinderman, Negi, Grivas, Li, Carlsson, Van Der Wiel, Ushenina, Krush, Peng, Van Der Werf and Ruijgrok.
Today ChessVista provides a photo preview (photos taken by Frits Agterdenbos on 10 January) from Wijk aan Zee getting ready for Round 1.
Happy 2008 !!! 01.01.2008 A Gut Yohr - Aam Saiid - Akemashite Omedetô - Ath Bhliain Faoi Mhaise - Boldog Új Évet - Bonne Année - Ein Gutes Neues Jahr - Farsælt Komandi Ár - Felice Anno Nuovo - Felix Sit Annus Novus - Feliz Ano Novo - Feliz Año Nuevo - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar - Gilocavt Akhal Tsels - Godt Nyttår - Gott Nýggjár - Gott Nytt År - Happy New Year - Felicxan Novan Jaron - Hauoli Makahiki Hou - Head Uut Aastat - Kali Chronia - Lokkich Nijjier - S Novim Godom - Selamat Tahun Baru - Shana Tova - Shine Jiliin Bayariin Mend Hurgeye - Shnorhavor Nor Tari - Srečno Novo Leto - Sun Lin Fi Lok - Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku - Un An Nou Fericit - Xin Nian Kuai Le - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun - Zhana Zhiliniz Kutti Bolsin
Bloemendaal Chess Festival 08.12.2007 The Bloemendaal Chess Festival was held Saturday 8 December 2007 in Overveen (Netherlands). The main event was the Lex Jongsma Invitational, a 8 player Round-Robin rapid tournament, organized to celebrate the 40 years jubilee of Lex Jongsma as chess journalist of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. The 8 players were Lex Jongsma and his chess friends GMs William Lombardy, Fridrik Olafsson and Vlastimil Hort and the Dutch players IM Hans Böhm, Rob Duijn, IM Rob Hartoch and Eddy Scholl. Hort won the tournament. One of the side events was an open rapid tournament (7 rounds, 66 participants), which was won by IM Piet Peelen on 6.5 points, followed by GM Dimitri Reinderman, Thomas Broek and Pieter Roggeveen on 6.0 points.
ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2007 01.07.2007 The ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2007 in Haarlem (Netherlands) took place 29 June – 1 July 2007. ChessVista’s 16.06.2006 report provided a survey of the Top 7 Weekend Tournaments (with first price EUR 1.000 or more) in the Netherlands in 2006, with Haarlem on top of all. When you want to go for the biggest price money in a Dutch weekend tournament, Haarlem is the city to visit. The 2007 first price was EUR 1.350, like in 2006. The 2007 edition saw GMs Stelios Halkias and Aleksandar Berelovich winning on 5.5/6 points. They were followed by Friso Nijboer, Igor Glek, Yochanan Afek, Ton Timman and Xander Schouwerwou on 5.0 points. The tournament attracted around 160 participants. The 2008 edition will be 27-29 June 2008, info: fwelling@wish.net (Mr. Frits Welling, HWP Haarlem). Price money 2008: 1st price EUR 1.350, 2nd price EUR 800, 3rd price EUR 400, 4th price EUR 200, etcetera. Photo impression round 3, 30 June 2007 by Frits Agterdenbos.
Dutch Championship 2007 30.06.2007 The Dutch Championship took place 16-28 June 2007 in a television studio in Hilversum Media Park. The 2006 champion Sergei Tiviakov (8.0/11 points) took the title after a tiebreak blitz match (1½- ½) against youngster Daniel Stellwagen (8.0/11 points). Ivan Sokolov, Friso Nijboer and Erwin L’Ami finished on 7.0 points. Sixfold Dutch champion Loek Van Wely (2000-2005) did not participate. The Dutch Championship for women was a clear win by Zhaoqin Peng, who scored 8.0/9 points. Second became Desiree Hamelink on 6.0 points. Marlies Bensdorp took the third place. The 2008 Championship will take place 2-13 April 2008.
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R9 13.05.2007 Share Dimension Groningen is the 2007 winner of the Dutch Club Competition Premier League. The final round (round 9), organized by HMC Calder, took place in Den Bosch on 13 May 2007. Share Dimension Groningen (top boards Tiviakov, I.Sokolov, Naiditsch, Mchedlishvili) defeated Homburg Apeldoorn 8-2. HSG (Nijboer, L’Ami, Smeets, Stellwagen) defeated SMB 7-3. HMC Calder (Kasimdzhanov, Fridman, Speelman) defeated Utrecht 5½ - 4½. Martijn Dambacher and Roeland Pruijssers made GM norms. SMB and Zukertort Amstelveen have been relegated. HWP Sas van Gent and LSG 2 will take their places next competition year 2007-2008.
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R7 24.03.2007 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 7 took place on 24 March. The matches of the two strongest teams were played in Rotterdam (SO Rotterdam - Share Dimension Groningen) and in Enschede (ESGOO vs HSG). Share Dimension Groningen (with on top boards Tiviakov, Khenkin, Naiditsch, Landa, Baramidze) won 7½-2½ and HSG (L’Ami, Nikolic, Nijboer, Stellwagen, Smeets) won 8-2. Share Dimension Groningen leads with 13 match points, HSG is second on 12 match points and Homburg Apeldoorn is third on 8 match points. In this report we provide results, standings and photos (Utrecht – Zukertort Amstelveen).
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R6 05.03.2007 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 6 took place on 3 March 2007. Share Dimension Groningen (top 100 players Kramnik, Nisipeanu, Naiditsch, I.Sokolov, defeated HSG (Van Wely, Nijboer, Seirawan, Nikolic) 6½ -3½. Thanks to the appearance of the world champion the match attracted a lot of media attention. Share Dimension Groningen leads with 11 match points, followed by HSG on 10 match points. The final 3 rounds are on 24 March, 21 April and 13 May. Next round (R7) Share Dimension Groningen will play SO Rotterdam (third on 8 match points) and HSG will play ESGOO (fourth on 7 match points). In this report we provide results, standings and photos (Share Dimension Groningen - HSG).
Predrag Nikolic wins Daniël Noteboom Tournament 19.02.2007 The 67th Daniël Noteboom Tournament (16-18 February 2007) in Leiden (Netherlands) was won by Predrag Nikolic. In the Final round he made a draw versus Friso Nijboer to finish on 5.5/6. Friso Nijboer, Patrick Driessens, Erik Van Den Doel and Jan Smeets followed on 5.0 points. The tournament attracted 143 participants (including 6 GMs and 5 IMs) in the main group plus 153 participants in the second group (Elo < 1900). The Daniël Noteboom Tournament is a weekend tournament, 48 hours from Friday night till Sunday afternoon, 6 rounds Swiss 40 moves / 105 minutes + 15 minutes to finish the game.
Welcome in the Year of the Pig 18.02.2007 Happy Chinese New Year!!! Welcome in the Year of the Pig (18 February 2007 – 6 February 2008). The Chinese New Year generally begins on the day of the second New Moon after the Winter Solstice, which was in 2006 on 22 December. In a 12-year cycle, each year is represented by an animal, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep (or Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (or Boar). So everybody is an animal. Which animal you are depends on your Date of Birth. The Pig Chess Player Elo Top 5 is: Michael Adams (born 17-11-1971, Elo 2735), Ruslan Ponomariov (11-10-1983, 2723), Alexander Grischuk (31-1-1983, 2717), Vladimir Akopian (7-12-1971, 2700) and Dmitry Jakovenko (28-06-1983, 2691).
Chessvibes Blitz Tournament in Amsterdam 11.02.2007 The First Chessvibes Blitz Tournament (17 rounds Swiss, rate of play: 5 minutes per person per game) was held Saturday 10 February 2007 to celebrate the first birthday of doggers-schaak.nl and the introduction of chessvibes.com. The event took place in Sporthal De Pijp in Amsterdam. Peter Doggers and his Chessvibes team attracted 54 participants including 6 GMs (Van Den Doel, Rogers, Reinderman, Van Der Weide, Jonkman and Ree) and 7 IMs (Solleveld, Smerdon, Van Haastert, Bosboom, Van Delft, Peelen and Afek). IM David Smerdon from Australia won the 400 euro first prize on 13.5 points, followed by IM Manuel Bosboom on 12.5 points and GM Karel Van Der Weide on 12.0 points. Big photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
French Premier League - Top 16 2007 to start 08.02.2007 The French Premier League - Top 16 2007 is to start on 9 February on four different locations: Marseille, Vandoeuvre, Châlons-en-Champagne and Metz. The competition format holds a Première phase and a Seconde phase. In the Première phase (Preliminaries) the 16 teams are divided over 2 pools (Poule A and Poule B) of 8 teams each playing 7 rounds. In the Seconde phase (Finals) the best 4 of Poule A (Pool A) and the best 4 of Poule B (Pool B) go to Poule Haute (Pool High). The other 8 teams go to Poule Bas (Pool Low). In the Seconde phase, which takes 4 rounds, the teams play the 4 teams they haven’t played in the Première phase. Number 1 of Poule Haute is champion of France. Numbers 1 and 2 of Poule Haute go to the European Club Cup 2007, 6-14 October in Kemer, Turkey. Numbers 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Poule Bas will be relegated to the Nationale I (Second Division).
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R5 04.02.2007 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 5 took place on 3 February. The top matches were played in Hilversum (HSG vs HMC Calder) and in Enschede (ESGOO - Share Dimension Groningen). HSG (top 100 players Nijboer and Seirawan) defeated HMC Calder (Kasimdzhanov) 7-3. Share Dimension Groningen (Ivanchuk, Tiviakov, Rublevsky and I.Sokolov) defeated ESGOO 7½ -2½. HSG leads with 10 match points, followed by Share Dimension Groningen on 9 match points. The clash of the favourites, Share Dimension Groningen vs HSG, will be next round (R6) on 3 March 2007 in Groningen. In this report we provide results, standings and photos (HSG-HMC Calder).
Harmen Jonkman - Globetrotter plays Home Tournament 02.02.2007 He has the looks of a proto-Dutchman and the heart of a cosmopolitan: the Dutch GM Harmen Jonkman (born in 1975). In Wijk aan Zee, not far from his residence Beverwijk, he participated in the Corus Chess 2007 Group C. He was the only player who could sleep at home, no need for a hotel. Harmen Jonkman was one of the totally 14 Dutch players in the A, B & C groups. His performance in Wijk aan Zee came shortly after a 4 months trip to Latin America where he stayed with his Peruvian girlfriend Lida meanwhile playing some tournaments in Peru, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. Harmen Jonkman has a great liking for exotic countries, and it was no surprise when he met Lida Carlota Ynza Benites in Moscow (Aeroflot 2005) that she made him fall in love. We provide you with a survey of Harmen’s Latin American tournaments and with some photos of Harmen in Wijk aan Zee.
Chess Eyes Quiz – Solutions and Winner 31.01.2007 In ChessVista’s End of Year Quiz 2006 we have challenged you to guess 16 chess players by recognizing their eyes. Well, the 32 eyes belong to: Elisabeth Paehtz, Ulf Andersson, Mark Paragua, Xie Jun, Mikheil Mchedlishvili, Gata Kamsky, Alexander Baburin, Vladimir Belov, Regina Pokorna, Yuriy Kuzubov, Loek Van Wely, Lilit Mkrtchian, Alexander Khalifman, Jolanta Zawadzka, Ali Frhat and Antoaneta Stefanova. The winner is Marlies Bensdorp of the Netherlands. She guessed 11 names correctly. The Chess Portraits Book 64 Schaakportretten (Frits Agterdenbos, 1984) was delivered to her during the Corus Chess Tournament. Congratulations, Marlies!
Corus Chess 2007 Closing Ceremony 30.01.2007 The Closing Ceremony of the 69th Corus Chess Tournament took place Sunday 28 January in the Chess Pavillion in Wijk aan Zee. Corus people, players, seconds, partners, organizers, journalists and guest of honour former world champion Anatoly Karpov… they all joined the party. Prizes were awarded to the winners of the Grandmaster Groups: Topalov, Aronian and Radjabov (A), Eljanov (B) and Krasenkow (C). In the meanwhile, maybe even more important, the 64th Pea Soup Dinner (the first dinner was in 1943) took place. The tournament is full of traditions. The 70th edition of the tournament will take place 11-27 January 2008. As Corus will probably be taken over within a few days, likely by Tata (India) or CSN (Brazil), the question is what the name of the tournament in 2008 will be.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 13 28.01.2007 The final round 13 was played on Sunday 28 January 11.30 PM (Group C) and 12.30 PM (Groups A+B). Group A was won by Topalov, Aronian and Radjabov on 8.5 points. Radjabov vs Topalov was drawn, while Aronian defeated Tiviakov. Kramnik follows on 8 points. Anand finished on 7.5 points. Group B was won by Eljanov on 9.0 points, Sargissian, Bu, Vachier-Lagrave and Jakovenko finished on 8.0 points. Group C was won by Krasenkow on 10.5 points. In the final round he defeated Peng, while Nepomniachtchi surprisingly lost to Nadezhda Kosintseva. Nepomniachtchi finished on 10.0 points. Berg finished on 8.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 0.0/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 3.5/7 in C = 5.5/14.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 12 27.01.2007 Round 12 was played on Saturday 26 January 01.30 PM. In group A the Big Fight Topalov vs Kramnik drawn. Radjabov defeated Motylev and Van Wely defeated Svidler. Topalov and Radjabov lead on 8.0 points, followed by Aronian on 7.5 points and Anand, Svidler and Kramnik on 7.0 points. In group B Eljanov leads on 8.0 points, followed by three players on 7.5 points: Sargissian, Bu and Vachier-Lagrave. In group C Nepomniachtchi vs Negi was drawn. Krasenkow defeated Van Haastert. Nepomniachtchi leads on 10.0 points, followed by Krasenkow on 9.5 points and Berg on 8.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 1.5/2 in A + 1.5/5 in B + 2.5/7 in C = 5.5/14. The final round will be played on Sunday. The C group starts 11.30 AM, the A & B groups start 12.30 AM.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 11 26.01.2007 Round 11 was played on Friday 24 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov sensationally lost to Svidler, and Aronian defeated Karjakin. The other games were drawn. Topalov leads on 7.5 points, followed by Aronian, Svidler and Radjabov on 7.0 points. In group B Eljanov, who defeated Vachier-Lagrave, leads on 7.5 points, followed by seven players on 6.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Brynell) won again. Krasenkow defeated Jonkman. Nepomniachtchi leads on 9.5 points, followed by Krasenkow on 8.5 points, Berg on 7.0 points and Hou Yifan on 6.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 1.0/2 in A + 3.5/5 in B + 2.5/7 in C = 7.0/14. Tomorrow the Big Fight is on: Topalov - Kramnik.
Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 3 25.01.2007 Today Thursday 25 January is the third rest day for the players in groups A, B & C. Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 January the final three rounds will be played. In tomorrow’s round 11 Topalov (group A), Bologan / Vachier-Lagrave / Eljanov (group B) and Nepomniachtchi (group C) will be defending their leading positions. In this report we provide you with the Standings Round 10, the Pairings Round 11, the Final Three Rounds Opponents of the Top 6 and a few photos.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 10 24.01.2007 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 24 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov increased the gap with Radjabov by defeating Carlsen, while Radjabov made a draw against Svidler. Anand won his second game in a row. The victim was Karjakin. Topalov leads on 7.5 points, followed by Radjabov on 6.5 points. Anand, Aronian, Svidler and Kramnik are on 6.0 points. In group B only one game was drawn. Vachier-Lagrave lost to Jakovenko, Bologan (vs Nijboer) and Eljanov (vs Smeets) both won. Bologan, Vachier-Lagrave and Eljanov lead on 6.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Spoelman) made his third draw. Hou Yifan lost to Willemze. Nepomniachtchi leads on 8.5 points, followed by Krasenkow on 7.5 points and Berg on 6.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 1.0/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 4.0/7 in C = 7.0/14. Today Manuel Bosboom (1963) turned 44. Tomorrow Thursday 25 January the players in groups A, B & C will be having a rest day.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 9 23.01.2007 Round 9 was played on Tuesday 23 January 01.30 PM. In group A Shirov defeated Navara, Ponomariov defeated Karjakin and Anand defeated Van Wely. The other games were drawn. Topalov is now on 6.5 points, Radjabov follows on 6.0 points. Aronian, Svidler and Kramnik are on 5.5 points. In group B Smeets vs Vachier-Lagrave was drawn, while L’Ami defeated Eljanov. Vachier-Lagrave leads on 6.5 points, followed by Bu, Bologan (who defeated Georgiev) and Eljanov, all on 5.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi vs Hou Yifan was drawn. Nepomniachtchi leads on 8.0 points, followed by Krasenkow on 6.5 points and Berg on 6.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 0.5/2 in A + 3.5/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 7.0/14.
Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 2 22.01.2007 Today Monday 22 January is the second rest day for the players in groups A, B & C. The agenda announces two playing days on Tuesday and Wednesday, one more rest day on Thursday 25 January, followed by the final three rounds. Sunday 28 January the event will end with the traditional big pea soup eating party. Today Round 4 of the nine-round events is being played. Players of all levels participate in groups 1A, 1B, 2A, … , 9C. The winners of 1A and 1B will be invited to Corus Chess 2008 group C. In tomorrow’s round 9 Topalov (group A), Vachier-Lagrave (group B) and Nepomniachtchi (group C) will be defending their leading positions.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 8 21.01.2007 Round 8 was played on Sunday 21 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov took over the lead after defeating Anand, while Radjabov lost to Aronian. Topalov leads on 6.0 points, followed by Radjabov on 5.5 points. Karjakin, Aronian, Svidler and Kramnik are on 5.0 points. In Group B Vachier-Lagrave defeated L’Ami, while Eljanov made a draw with Stellwagen. Vachier-Lagrave leads on 6.0 points, Eljanov follows on 5.5 points, Bu is third on 5.0 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Willemze) won again. Nepomniachtchi leads on 7.5 points. Berg (who defeated Nadezhda Kosintseva) follows on 6.0 points. Krasenkow is on 5.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored even: 1.0/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 4.0/7 in C = 7.0/14. Tomorrow Monday 22 January the players in groups A, B & C will be having a rest day.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 7 20.01.2007 Round 7 was played on Saturday 20 January 01.30 PM. In group A Topalov defeated Ponomariov. Anand vs Radjabov was drawn. Radjabov leads on 5.5 points, followed by Topalov on 5.0 points and Kramnik on 4.5 points. Next round 8 Topalov vs Anand, Radjabov vs Aronian and Kramnik vs Carlsen are scheduled. In Group B only one game was drawn: Bologan vs Eljanov. Vachier-Lagrave defeated Stellwagen. Vachier-Lagrave and Eljanov lead on 5 points, Bu follows on 4.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi keeps on winning. Today’s victim was Peng. Nepomniachtchi leads on 6.5 points. Krasenkow (vs Willemze) and Berg (vs Negi) both won, following on 5.0 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 0.5/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 5.5/14.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 6 19.01.2007 Round 6 was played on Friday 19 January 01.30 PM. In group A Kramnik won the top match against Anand. The unlucky Shirov (vs Karjakin) lost again. The Dutch top match Van Wely vs Tiviakov was drawn. Radjabov leads on 5.0 points, followed by Topalov and Kramnik on 4.0 points. Next round 7 it is Anand’s job to oppose Radjabov. In Group B Eljanov defeated L’Ami taking the lead position on 4.5 points. Smeets and Vachier-Lagrave are on 4.0 points. In group C the amazing Nepomniachtchi (vs Van Haastert) won again. He is on 5.5 points. Negi, Krasenkow, Berg and Hou are on 4.0 points. Next round 7 Peng will try to stop Nepomniachtchi. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 1.0/2 in A + 2.5/5 in B + 2.0/7 in C = 5.5/14.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 5 18.01.2007 Round 5 was played on Thursday 18 January 01.30 PM. In group A Radjabov (vs Navara) won again. Also Anand (vs Svidler) and Van Wely (vs Shirov) won their games. Radjabov is leader on 4.5 points, followed by Topalov and Anand on 3.5 points. Aronian and Kramnik are on 3.0 points. In Group B leader Smeets lost to Bologan. There are 4 players on 3.5 points: Bologan, Smeets, Eljanov and Jakovenko. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Jonkman) won again. He is on 4.5 points. Berg is second on 4 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 3: 1.5/2 in A + 1.0/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 5.5/14. Tomorrow Kramnik plays Anand. Also the best Dutch players will play: Van Wely vs Tiviakov.
Corus Chess 2007 in storm-swept Wijk aan Zee 18.01.2007 A severe storm (wind-force 10) raged on Thursday 18 January across the Netherlands causing extensive damage and disrupting traffic. The extreme weather conditions also hit Wijk aan Zee where the Corus Chess Organization Committee had to take safety measures. The white and red Corus Chess flags were damaged and had to be removed. The commentary session in the Corus Chess pavilion was cancelled, maybe for the first time in Corus Chess history. The Organization Committee feared the lighting equipment to fall down. Later on –initiated by Arlette Van Weersel, one of the best Dutch female players- a short commentary session was given in the Tournament hall’s Café. Arlette and good old Lex Jongsma animated a small audience, especially when Dutch GM Loek Van Wely was winning against Alexei Shirov.
Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 1 17.01.2007 Today Wednesday 17 January is the first rest day. The players in groups A, B & C are taking a break. There are two more rest days to come: Monday 22 January and Thursday 25 January. So the schedule is: 4 games, rest, 4 games, rest, 2 games, rest, 3 games. Your photographer took a day off, being happy he had not to carry his camera equipment for another day in a row. Though ChessVista provides you with a few stock photos and two links to interesting websites. You can go for a 360 degrees virtual tour through the Corus Chess complex. And you can enjoy Mikhail Golubev’s analyses of Radjabov's games versus Van Wely (R1) and Shirov (R3). Tomorrow round 5 will be played. Radjabov (A), Smeets (B) and Nepomniachtchi (C) will be defending their 3.5 points leading positions.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 4 16.01.2007 Round 4 was played on Tuesday 16 January 01.30 PM. In group A Radjabov (vs Tiviakov) and Topalov (vs Shirov) won their games. Radjabov is leader on 3.5 points, followed by Topalov on 3 points. Anand (vs Carlsen) and Kramnik (vs Navara) drew their games. In Group B Smeets leads (3.5 points) after defeating Werle, while Bu lost to Eljanov. 5 Players are on 2.5 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi (vs Bosboom) won again. He is on 3.5 points. The Kosintseva sisters both won their games. Tatiana defeated Sargissian in group B and Nadezhda defeated Negi in group C. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 2: 0.5/2 in A + 2.5/5 in B + 3.0/7 in C = 6.0/14.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 3 15.01.2007 Round 3 was played on Monday 15 January 01.30 PM. In group A Radjabov (2.5 points) took the lead.by defeating Shirov (and winning the expert prize), while the Big Three all drew their games: Kramnik vs Tiviakov, Topalov vs Karjakin, and Anand vs Aronian. In Group B only one game was drawn: Bologan vs Stellwagen. Bu and Smeets are on 2.5 points, followed by 3 players on 2 points. In group C Nepomniachtchi made his first draw. He shares the lead with Negi and Bosboom, all on 2.5 points. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 1: 1.0/2 in A + 3.5/5 in B + 2.0/7 in C = 6.5/14.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 2 14.01.2007 Round 2 was played on Sunday 14 January 01.30 PM. In group A the Big Three all won their games: Kramnik defeated Shirov, Topalov defeated Van Wely and Anand defeated Motylev. Only one game was drawn: Radjabov versus Karjakin. 7 Players are on 1.5 points. In Group B all games were drawn. Bu, Bologan, Smeets and Eljanov are on 1.5 points. In Group C Nadezhda Kosintseva lost her birthday game against Wouter Spoelman. Nepomniachtchi won his second game in a row. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 2: 0.0/2 in A + 2.5/5 in B + 3.5/7 in C = 6.0/14. Tomorrow 15 January Jan Werle (1984) will turn 23.
Corus Chess 2007 Round 1 13.01.2007 Round 1 was played on Saturday 13 January 01.30 PM. In group A Teimour Radjabov was the only one to win a game (against Loek Van Wely). The other games were drawn. In Group B Jan Smeets won the expert prize (EUR 250), awarded by commentator Ivan Sokolov, for gaining the victory over Gabriel Sargissian. In Group C Zhaoqin Peng missed a mate in three. John Van Der Wiel saved half a point. The two Chinese players did well today. Both Bu Xiangzhi and Hou Yifan won their games. The Dutch squadron (14 players) scored minus 4: 0.5/2 in A + 2.0/5 in B + 2.5/7 in C = 5.0/14. Tomorrow 14 January Nadezhda Kosintseva (1985) will turn 22.
Corus Chess 2007 Opening Ceremony 12.01.2007 The Opening Ceremony of the 69th Corus Chess Tournament took place on Friday 12 January in the Dudok House (by architect Willem Marinus Dudok, 1884 – 1974, known for his blocky brick buildings) in Velsen-Noord. The tournament will be held 13-28 January in Wijk aan Zee. Group A will show the Big Three (Topalov, Anand, Kramnik). The pairings in Group A, round 1 are: Topalov – Motylev, Van Wely – Radjabov, Karjakin – Kramnik, Shirov – Svidler, Tiviakov – Carlsen, Navara – Aronian, Ponomariov – Anand. Group A participant Sergey Karjakin turned 17 today. The average age in group A is 27.4 years, in group B 26.1 years and in group C 29.5 years. The Elo sum of Groups A,B, C is 109,279. Photo report of the Opening Ceremony.
25+2 Champions of EU Member States 09.01.2007 On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union. By now the EU has 27 Member States. The EU's population has increased from 463 million people to 493 million. The EU’s economy has grown to EUR 10.9 trillion (the biggest single market in the world). The enlargement will go on. Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have been granted the status of a candidate country.
This ChessVista report surveys the chess champions of all 25 EU Member States in 2006, plus the 2 champions of Bulgaria and Romania in 2006. The champions list includes Colin Pace, Paris Klerides, Francisco Vallejo Pons and one woman: Eva Moser.
ChessVista’s Most Viewed Photos and Reports 2006 07.01.2007 ChessVista.com was launched 16 May 2006, just a few days before the start of the Turin Chess Olympiad. Since then 57 reports and 7 photo albums have been published. The launching date was well chosen. Thanks to the Olympiad many chess fans from 127 countries (!) have found their way to ChessVista.com. Many of them have become regulars. In this report we provide some statistics on the most viewed reports, photo albums and photos. The reports on the Olympiad were clearly the most popular, and still do attract a lot of visitors. Also the item Photo of the Month is attracting a lot of viewers.
Happy New Year 01.01.2007 Happy New Year to all ChessVista.com’s frequenters. In the Netherlands it is a tradition to celebrate New Year’s Eve while eating doughnut balls. And then at midnight we are used to set off firework. In Caissa’s world some people do play the game around the turn of the year. Like in Hastings, L’Estartit, Stockholm, Reggio Emilia and Canberra where the tournaments did span the change of years. We would like to see the players to set fire to the chess pieces. Okay it is time to provide you with some free New Year Cards to email to your beloved ones.
Chess Eyes - End of Year Quiz 2006 31.12.2006 In ChessVista’s End of Year Quiz 2006 you are challenged to guess 16 chess eyes. Guess which chess players are on the photos, mail the answers to ChessVista and win the Chess Portraits Book 64 Schaakportretten (Frits Agterdenbos, 1984). There are only 1000 copies of this book in the world! The Chess Eyes End of Year Quiz 2006 is open to everyone. The winner is the person who submits the most correct answers. In case of a tie, a drawing of lots will decide. Only one entry is permitted per person and must be emailed to info@chessvista.com. Entrants must supply their first and last names and a valid email address as the winner will be contacted by email. The Quiz closes at 12 midday GMT on 15 january 2007. Solutions and declaration of the winner will be on 31 January 2007.
MonRoi International Women's Grand Prix 30.12.2006 MonRoi Inc. has announced the MonRoi International Women's Grand Prix to be organized in 2007. There will be 7 Grand-Prix Qualifiers (which are existing tournaments) in Gibraltar, Cannes, Zagreb, Dresden, Liechtenstein, St. Petersburg and Philadelphia. The Final will be held 21-28 July 2007 in Montreal, Canada. MonRoi Inc. is a Montreal-based company, founded by CEO Brana Malobabic-Giancristofaro, that creates chess products and services. Their technology is put together in the MonRoi System (Personal Chess Manager, Professional Tournament Manager, World Databank of Chess). The Personal Chess Manager (PCM) is an electronic scoresheet device.
Season’s Greetings from Heemstede 25.12.2006 Christmas… these days we hear a lot about peace on earth for all human beings regardless of religion, ideology, race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else. Like Christmas, chess is full of symbols and international language. ChessVista believes in the language of visualization, in the power of photos, because photography is an international language that makes people understand each other better. Chess brings people together. Today 25 Dec, there are tournaments in -amongst others- Pamplona (Spain) and Groningen (Netherlands). Tomorrow 26 Dec a lot of tournaments start. See for example the calendars of Harmen Jonkman, of the FIDE and of the USCF. In this report ChessVista sends you greetings from Heemstede (Netherlands), the residence of the photographer.
Ivanchuk wins Carlos Torre Memorial 2006 24.12.2006 Vassily Ivanchuk has won the Carlos Torre Repetto in Memoriam (Carlos Torre Memorial) 2006. The event took place 14-22 December 2006 in Mérida, Yucatán, México. In the final of the Wimbledon (Knock Out) Section the Ukrainian GM beat the Cuban GM Lázaro Bruzón who won the tournament in 2005. Ivanchuk won 88000 Mexican pesos, which is about EUR 6200, Bruzón won 49500 pesos (EUR 3500) and Jaan Ehlvest who was beaten by Bruzón in the semi finals won 24750 pesos (EUR 1750). The Magistral en Sistema Suizo (Swiss Section) was won by the Swiss GM Vadim Milov. GM Jesús Nogueiras from Cuba finished second.
Together we are strong: Kirsan & Kok 23.12.2006 An important breakthrough in the world of chess was announced by Bessel Kok by distributing an email dated 22 December 2006. FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and his challenger at the FIDE Elections in June 2006, Bessel Kok have signed a Memorandum of Understanding following a meeting in Prague on 21 December 2006. This is for sure a win-win situation for the two giants. A company called Global Chess will be launched to be located in Amsterdam. There is a five year business plan. An initial EUR 4.5 million plus an additional EUR 5.5 million will be invested in chess. Well we love that! Global Chess, headed by chairman Bessel Kok, will become responsible for marketing, development and promotion of all FIDE tournaments and matches related to the World championship cycles for Men, Women, Youths and Juniors.
Meanwhile in Khanty-Mansiysk 23.12.2006 When the 2005 World Chess Cup was announced to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk (West Siberia, Russia), journalists complained it was far and away. Moreover, it was much too cold to go there. Of course the qualified players did go to West Siberia since the 128 player knock out tournament was a qualifier for the Candidate Matches and there was a lot of money at stake. The mass event turned out to be a very well organized tournament. And yes indeed the temperature was minus a lot, but the cold was not unbearable. Half a year later in May 2006, in Turin, the 2010 Chess Olympiad was entrusted to Khanty-Mansiysk. The Khanty-Mansiysk bid included a promise to organize two World Chess Cups (2007, 2009) as well. By now the events are scheduled in the agenda. Meanwhile for the second time Khanty-Mansiysk hosted the Cup of the Governor 20 to 26 November 2006.
Corus A, B, C participants update 21.12.2006 The organizers of the Corus Chess Tournament 2007 have announced the replacement of two players in the Grandmaster Groups B and C. In Group B Alexandra Kosteniuk (who is ill) has been replaced by Viktor Bologan from Moldova, and in Group C Sipke Ernst (university obligations) has been replaced by Dutch woman champion Zhaoqin Peng. The categories remain the same. Group A is a category 19 event, B is category 14 and C is category 10. The Grandmaster Groups host 3 x 14 = 42 players of which 14 are from the Netherlands, 7 from Russia and 3 from Ukraine. Four female players will participate: Tatiana Kosintseva in Group B and Nadezhda Kosintseva, Hou Yifan and Zhaoqin Peng in Group C. The mega event will take place 13-28 January 2007 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands).
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R4 18.12.2006 The Dutch Club Competition Premier League Round 4 took place on 16 December on five different locations. HSG from Hilversum (last year’s runner-up) and Share Dimension Groningen (new ambitious sponsor) are the most likely candidates to win the title. The clash of the favourites will be in round 6 on 3 March 2007 in Groningen. In the run to this match LSG from Leiden is playing a key role. The round 3 match Share Dimension Groningen – LSG ended in an unexpected draw 5-5. In round 4 on 16 December HSG feared a new LSG trick, but the Hilversum team escaped with a close 5½-4½ victory. Share Dimension Groningen defeated HMC Calder, HSG’s next opponent in round 5 on 3 February 2007. In this report we provide results, standings and photos (LSG-HSG).
Corus A, B, C participants announced 02.12.2006 The Corus Chess Tournament 2007 will be held 13-28 January 2007 in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). The opening ceremony is on 12 January. In October and November the organizers announced the participants of the Grandmaster A and B Groups. Today the list with the Grandmaster C Group participants was released. In this report we provide you with the names of all the 3x14=42 players. The highest ranked is GM Veselin Topalov (world ranking 1, Elo 2813), the lowest is IM Manuel Bosboom (world ranking 2927, Elo 2375). The oldest participant is John Van Der Wiel (born 1959), the youngest is Yifan Hou (born 1994). All ratings and rankings are based on the FIDE Rating List of October 2006.
11th Cultural Village - Portraits 01.12.2006 The 11th Cultural Village Chess Tournament saw a field of experienced masters and IM norm hunters. Experienced masters: Romeo Sorin Milu (ROM, 2430, IM), David Smerdon (AUS, 2473, IM), Julius Armas (FRA, 2392, IM) and Yochanan Afek (ISR, 2372, IM). IM Norm hunters: Jan Willem De Jong (NED, 2435, FM), Bianca Muhren (NED, 2336, WIM), Robin Swinkels (NED, 2379), Michiel Abeln (NED, 2380, FM) and Dennis Ruijgrok (NED, 2278). Though the tournament was won by the young master Thomas Willemze (NED, 2384, IM). In this report we provide you with portraits of all the players, by photographer Frits Agterdenbos.
11th Cultural Village Wijk aan Zee 01.12.2006 The 11th Cultural Village Chess Tournament took place 20-29 November 2006 in city of Corus chess Wijk aan Zee (The Netherlands). Tournament set up: 10 player Round-Robin. Elo average: 2386. Basic intention: to offer (young) Dutch players the opportunity to achieve an IM norm. Time control: 100 minutes for the entire game plus 30 seconds a move.
The tournament was won by young Dutch IM Thomas Willemze, who won EUR 600 and an invitation to play in Corus-C 2007, next January. Making the tournament a Corus Qualifier is a brilliant move by organizers Bert Kisjes (Cultural Village) and Jeroen Van Den Berg (Corus Chess Tournament). From now on the Cultural Village Chess Tournament will be a lot more in focus of the international chess community.
Remco Heite Chess Tournament 2006 27.11.2006 Loek Van Wely showed superior strength in the Invitation Group of the Remco Heite Chess Tournament, a new tournament, which took place 24 – 26 November in Wolvega (Netherlands). Participants in the Invitation Group, a six player Round-Robin, were the Dutch Loek Van Wely, Jan Timman, Jan Werle and the Non-Dutch Artur Yusupov, Robert Hübner, Vlastimil Hort. Time control: 105 minutes for first 35 moves + 15 minutes to finish. Loek Van Wely exercised the winner’s call option buying a horse to take home. The Open Group (9 rounds, including 4 GMs and 3 IMs) was won by Erik Van Den Doel, scoring 8.5/9, performance rating 2824. Time control in this group: 45 minutes for the entire game. The Remco Heite Chess Tournament will be held two-yearly.
German Club Team Championship 2006-07 (Bundesliga) 23.11.2006 In the German Bundesliga (Premier League) 16 teams of 8 players each play for the Championship in a 15 rounds all-play-all. The German Bundesliga is seen as one of the strongest club team competitions of the world, don’t forget the Russian competition. Werder Bremen won the 2004-2005 championship after beating SG Porz in a play off. OSC Baden-Baden won the 2005-2006 championship. In 2006-2007 OSC Baden-Baden is favourite far out. Other likely candidates to win the title are SG Porz, SC Remagen, Bindlach-Aktionär and Werder Bremen. The 2006-2007 competition started 28 October 2006 and, in case no play off is needed, will finish 1 April 2007. In Round 3 (18 November 2006) the classic match SG Porz vs OSC Baden-Baden was played. SG Porz won 4½-3½.
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-2007, R3 13.11.2006 The Dutch Club Team competition scheme holds 10 teams with each 10 players playing nine rounds in the Meesterklasse (Premier league). R1 (23 September 2006) - R8 are on eight Saturdays on five different locations spread all over the country, and R9 (13 May 2007) is on a Sunday: a combined final round with all 100 players together. Contrary to 2005-2006, there will be no play-offs (top four playing for championship) in 2006-2007. The number one after R9 will be called Dutch Club Team Champion. The 2005-2006 winner U-Boat Worx (De Variant) withdrew from the championship. Groningen lost Hotels.nl as main sponsor but has attracted a new ambitious sponsor, Share Dimension, who does not only want to win the Dutch championship but also the European Club Cup (Kemer, TUR, October 2007). Frits Agterdenbos visited 11 November the R3 match Share Dimension Groningen – LSG to make a big photo report.
Hoogeveen – Essential People 08.11.2006 The 10th Essent Chess tournament was the strongest and most interesting in history. Mamedyarov, the 2005 World Junior Champion, won the Crown Group. The winners of 10 years Hoogeveen: Emil Sutovsky (1997), Judit Polgar (1998), Jan Timman, (1999), Alexander Khalifman (2000), Judit Polgar & Loek Van Wely (2001), Peter Acs (2002), Judit Polgar (2003), Ivan Sokolov (2004), Pentala Harikrishna (2005), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2006). The Essent Chess tournament has grown into one of the most important chess events on the current Dutch chess calendar. In this report we provide you with a lot of photos (by Frits Agterdenbos), mostly portraits of players in the Open Group.
Mamedyarov wins Hoogeveen 07.11.2006 The Essent 2006 Crown Group was won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) with 4.5/6 points. Second became Judit Polgar (HUN), also on 4.5 points. Former World Champion Veselin Topalov (BUL) scored 2.0/3 in the second half of the tournament finishing on 2.5 points. Ivan Sokolov (NED) disappointed scoring 0.5/6 points. The Open Group was won by Topalov’s second Ivan Cheparinov (BUL) with 7.0/9 points. Second became Jan Werle (NED), also on 7.0 points. Four players shared the third prize: Evgeny Postny (ISR), Michail Brodsky (UKR), Mikhail Gurevich (TUR) and Alexander Goloshchapov (UKR) on 6.5 points.
Hoogeveen - Essent Open 2006 26.10.2006 The 10th Essent Chess Tournament takes place 20-28 October in Hoogeveen (Netherlands). Just like last year there are several competitions: a Crown Group, a strong Essent Open (first prize EUR 3000), an Amateur Tournament, a pub tournament and an event for youth. The Essent Open has attracted 17 GMs including Mikhail Gurevich, Ivan Cheparinov, Evgeny Postny, Erwin L’Ami, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov, Michail Brodsky, Semen Dvoirys, Alexander Goloshchapov, Jan Werle, Rasul Ibrahimov, Ian Rogers, Jan Smeets, John Van Der Wiel, Vlastimil Hort and 13 IMs. After round 6 Brodsky, Goloshchapov and Rogers top the ranking with 5.0 points, followed by a group of 6 players (including Gurevich and Cheparinov) on 4.5 points.
Essent Chess 2006 Crown Group 25.10.2006 The city of Hoogeveen (Netherlands) is celebrating its 10th edition of the Essent Chess Tournament which takes place 20-28 October. The Crown Group, a four player double Round-Robin with Veselin Topalov, Judit Polgar, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Ivan Sokolov, started 22 October. Halfway the tournament we find an exhausted Topalov at the bottom of the table with only half a point after losing to Mamedyarov (round 1) and Polgar (round 2). 1-2 Mamedyarov, Polgar 2.5 points (out of 3), 3-4 Sokolov, Topalov 0.5 points. Topalov fans do believe the former world champion is warming up for a 3/3 finish. (photo report by Frits Agterdenbos)
Magnus Carlsen wins ticket to Monaco 12.09.2006 The NH Chess Tournament, also called the ‘Rising Star Chess Challenge’, took place 19 – 29 August in Hotel Krasnapolsky, in the centre of Amsterdam. It was a battle between an ‘Experience’ team (Ulf Andersson, Alexander Beliavsky, Artur Jussupow (Yusupov), Ljubomir Ljubojevic and John Nunn) and a 'Rising Stars' team (Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, Jan Smeets, Daniel Stellwagen en Wang Hao). The Rising Stars won the double-rounded Scheveningen, virtually five mini-matches, 28-22. The Rising Stars players won EUR 2000 each and the Experience players won EUR 1000 each. A special prize was won by Magnus Carlsen for being the best Rising Star. He will get an invitation to play in the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament in Monaco in 2007. Photo report of round 10 (29 August) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Kasparov’s Blitz Return in Zurich 12.09.2006 To mark the bank’s 150th anniversary, Credit Suisse invited the legendary Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Viktor Korchnoi and Judit Polgar to play a double round robin blitz (5 minutes + 3 seconds increment per move) tournament, and to take on 4 x 20 challengers in a simultaneous exhibition. Date: 22 August 2006. The scene of the act was “Lichthof”, the shopping arcade in the Credit Suisse building at the Paradeplatz, a square located at the expensive Bahnhofstrasse (high real estate prices, exclusive boutiques, department stores and street-side cafés) in Zurich, Switzerland. The media were excited about Kasparov’s blitz return, but it was no real surprise at all, since he had declared he would go on playing blitz and rapid chess occasionally, when on 10 March 2005 he announced his retirement from professional chess. Kasparov and Karpov shared first on 4.5/6 points. Polgar scored 2.5 points and Korchnoi finished on 0.5 points.
Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2006 13.08.2006 The 34th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2006 took place 29 July – 6 August in the Civic Theatre (Schauspielhaus) in the centre of the city. Final standings: 1 Vladimir Kramnik (2743 RUS 4,5 points); 2 Peter Svidler (2742 RUS 4,5); 3 Michael Adams (2732 ENG 4,0); 4 Peter Leko (2738 HUN 4,0); 5 Boris Gelfand (2729 ISR 4,0); 6 Arkadij Naiditsch (2664 GER 3,5); 7 Levon Aronian 2761 ARM 2,0) and 8 Baadur Jobava (2651 GEO 1,5).
The side event match Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) versus Irina Krush (USA) was won by the American lady 3,5 – 2,5.
Friso Nijboer wins Dutch Open Championship 04.08.2006 Friso Nijboer (NED) gained a well-deserved tournament victory (7.5 points) starting with 6 out 6 including a bizar win against Tiviakov (round 6), and finishing with 3 draws against Mchedlishvili (7), Greenfeld (8) and Ernst (9). The Dutch GM is on his way to a solid position in the FIDE Top 100, next October. Alon Greenfeld (ISR) finished second on 7 points. Mikheil Mchedlishvili (GEO), Sipke Ernst (NED), Willy Hendriks (NED) and Erik Van Den Doel (NED) shared the third place on 6.5 points. Elo favourite Sergey Tiviakov who came to Dieren to break the 2700 barrier spoiled a lot of Elo points scoring 5.5 points only. In the final round he lost to Erik Van Den Doel.
Dutch Open round 6 drama Tiviakov vs Nijboer 01.08.2006 The Dutch Open Championship 2006 Round 6 (31 July) encounter between Sergey Tiviakov playing white against Friso Nijboer was in fact Part 2 of a Championship Drama of which Part 1 took place 37 days ago when the same players clashed in Round 7 (24 June) of the Dutch Championship. Photographer Frits Agterdenbos was on the spot again because he felt there was fire to be expected.
Dutch Open Championship 2006 24 July – 3 August 01.08.2006 The Dutch Open Championship 2006 (9 rounds Swiss, first prize 2250 euro) has attracted 86 participants including 10 GMs: Sergey Tiviakov 2668, Friso Nijboer 2598, David Baramidze 2591, Vyacheslav Ikonnikov 2587, Sergey Erenburg 2585, Erik Van Den Doel 2577, Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2561, Alon Greenfeld 2551, Shilong Li 2540 and Dibyendu Barua 2453.
Round 6 was played on Monday 31 July. Playing against Friso Nijboer, Sergey Tiviakov lost dramatically in won position when –in unnoticed check- he made an illegal queen move and was forced to play a legal queen move at the cost of her majesty. Friso Nijboer is now the only player with a perfect score 6 out 6, followed by Alon Greenfeld and Mikheil Mchedlishvili on 5 points. Report with photos of round 6. Plus photos of all GMs.
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament: Sergey Tiviakov winner 26.07.2006 The Final Round 9 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Sunday 23 July 11.30 AM. The crucial games were: Sergey Tiviakov drew against Lubomir Ftacnik, Friso Nijboer defeated Stelios Halkias and Erwin L’Ami lost to Sergey Erenburg. The results brought three players (Tiviakov, Erenburg and Nijboer) on a shared first place. In accordance with the tiebreak system, as published in the Tournament Regulations, the Dutch champion Sergey Tiviakov officially won the tournament, although this was not mentioned at the closing ceremony. The prize money was divided equally, as it should. Photos of final round 9.
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Portraits of all GMs 22.07.2006 The 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament is taking place 15-23 July. In the group A 86 players are participating including 14 GMs. In this report ChessVista provides portraits of all the Grandmasters: Tiviakov, Nijboer, Timman, L’Ami, Erenburg, Ftacnik, Stellwagen, Al-Modiahki, Tukmakov, Halkias, Li, Parker, Van Der Weide and De Vreugt.
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 7 21.07.2006 Round 7 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Friday 21 July 01.00 PM. Sergey Tiviakov (NED), who defeated Frans Cuijpers, and Erwin L’Ami (NED), who defeated Karel Van Der Weide, stay on top of the rankings with 6.0/7. Friso Nijboer won his 5th game in a row making up his slow 0,5/2 start. Stelios Halkias (GRE), who defeated Jan Timman and Friso Nijboer (NED) are on 5,5 points. 5 Players are on 5 points: Lubomir Ftacnik (SVK), Mohamad Al-Modiahki (QAT), Sergey Erenburg (ISR), Arthur Van De Oudeweetering (NED) and Renier Vazquez Igarza (ESP). 12 Players follow on 4.5 points including Jan Timman (NED). Round 8 top encounters are: Sergey Tiviakov – Friso Nijboer and Stelios Halkias – Erwin L’Ami. Photos of round 7.
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 5 19.07.2006 Round 5 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Wednesday 19 July 01.00 PM. The Dutch heat wave which is frying the participants in the playing hall, like french fries in a pan, brought a show of shorts wearing, water drinking chess players. In the press room it was 36 degrees Celsius. Erwin L’Ami drew with Jan Timman, while Mohamad Al-Modiahki lost to Sergey Tiviakov. Karel Van Der Weide climbed to a top place in the table by beating Lubomir Ftacnik. Sergey Tiviakov (NED) and Erwin L’Ami (NED) top the rankings with 4.5/5, followed by five players on 4 points: Jan Timman (NED), Stelios Halkios (GRE), Jonathan Parker (ENG), Karel Van Der Weide (NED) and Sebastian Siebrecht (GER). 9 Players are on 3.5 points. Round 6 top encounters are: Sergey Tiviakov – Erwin L’Ami and Jan Timman - Jonathan Parker. Photos of round 5.
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 3 17.07.2006 Round 3 of the 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament was played on Monday 17 July 01.00 PM. In the A group three players have the maximum score of 3.0/3: Erwin L’Ami (NED), Lubomir Ftacnik (SVK) and Stelios Halkias (GRE). Eight players are on 2.5 points: Sergey Tiviakov, Jan Timman, Frank Holzke, Simon Ansell, Mohamad Al-Modiahki, Sipke Ernst, Sebastian Siebrecht and Matthew Tan. 19 Players are on 2 points. Round 4 will bring the first GM encounters of the event: Lubomir Ftacnik vs Erwin L’Ami and Sergey Tiviakov vs Stelios Halkias. Report with photos of round 3.
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament 15-23 July 2006 15.07.2006 The 3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament is taking place 15-23 July in the University Sport Centre in Amsterdam Buitenveldert. The 446 player Swiss tournament (9 rounds) is being held in 4 groups (A, B, C and D). The A group (Elo > 2225, first prize 3500 euro) has attracted 86 participants including 14 GMs and 22 IMs. The 2500+ players are: Tiviakov 2668, Nijboer 2598, Timman 2594, L’Ami 2586, Erenburg 2585, Ftacnik 2579, Stellwagen 2575, Al-Modiahki 2564, Tukmakov 2560, Halkias 2551, Li 2540, Vazquez Igarza 2517, Cuijpers 2510, Parker 2509 and Ernst 2504. Report with photos of round 1.
Four times Ivan Sokolov versus Sergey Tiviakov (July 05 – June 06) 13.07.2006 There are not so many chess events in which the Dutch Top 3 (in alphabetical order: Ivan Sokolov, Sergey Tiviakov and Loek Van Wely) do participate all together. During the past 12 months (July 05 – June 06) they played as part of the Dutch team in Göteborg (European Chess Team Championship 2005) and Turin (Chess Olympiad 2006), maybe missing a slight chance to be in Beer Sheva (World Chess Team Championship). On five other occasions the Top 3 were competitors: Warsaw/Zegrze-Poludniowe (European Individual Chess Championship 2005), Dutch Club Competition 2005-2006, Khanty-Mansiysk (World Chess Cup 2005), Wijk aan Zee (Corus 2006) and Dutch Championship 2006. ChessVista reports on the four games that Ivan Sokolov and Sergey Tiviakov played. Photos by Frits Agterdenbos.
Erwin L’Ami wins Weekend Tournament in Haarlem 11.07.2006 The ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament in Haarlem (Netherlands) took place 7-9 July 2006. Erwin L’Ami won the 1.350 Euro (first prize) event with 5.5/6 half a point clear of a group of 7 players (5 points). 176 Participants decided to spend the weekend in Haarlem (Friday night till Sunday late afternoon). Amongst them: 5 GMs (Mikhail Gurevich, 2005 winner Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Harmen Jonkman and Dennis De Vreugt) and 5 IMs (Yge Visser [GM Cond], Leonid Milov, Yuri Boidman, Leon Pliester and Piet Peelen). Text and photos (taken 9 July) by Frits Agterdenbos.
Karel The Great does Hilversum performing 2906 02.07.2006 The HSG Open was one of the many side events being organized during the Dutch Championships in Hilversum (the Netherlands). The event took place 19-29 June 2006 in television Studio 22, the same venue as the one where also the championships were being held. The Open was won by Dutch GM Karel Van Der Weide, who has chosen Karel The Great as a nickname, appropriate for his height and presumably for many other aspects of his personality. Karel Van Der Weide won all his 9 games, a performance rating of 2906. ‘A Kasparov performance’, he whispered from above.
Dutch Championships: Tiviakov and Peng champions 30.06.2006 Sergey Tiviakov is the new Dutch Champion with a fabulous score of 9/11. In the final round Thursday 29 June he defeated Erwin l’Ami, while only left competitor Ivan Sokolov lost to Friso Nijboer to finish second. Loek Van Wely had already been shaken off a round ago. The former champion (2000-2005) and Nijboer finished on third place. Jan Timman was in bad shape losing many Elo points.
In the women’s section Zhaoqin Peng again won the title. She made only one draw (against Tea Lanchava who finished third) and won all the other games. Bianca Muhren performed excellent, finishing second. She made a score of 7/9, enough to get the WGM title soon.
Dutch Championships: Tiviakov and Peng lead 28.06.2006 Tuesday 27 June round 9 of the Dutch Championship (12 player Round Robin) was played. Sergey Tiviakov defeated Loek Van Wely and Ivan Sokolov defeated Jan Werle. Sergey Tiviakov is on top of the standings with 7 points, followed by Ivan Sokolov on 6,5. Loek Van Wely is third on 5,5 points. With two more rounds to go sixfold titleholder Loek Van Wely should be considered being cut out for the championship. Next round Tiviakov plays Jan Timman, who is on a disappointing score of 3 points.
In the women’s section, a 10 player Round Robin, round 7 was played. Zhaoqin Peng is on 6,5 points. Bianca Muhren defeated Tea Lanchava to take over second place with 5,5 points.
Happy Birthday Ulf Andersson 27.06.2006 Today the Swedish Grandmaster Ulf Andersson turns 55. He was born on June 27th, 1951 in Vasteras, Sweden. He was awarded the IM title in 1970 and the GM title in 1972. He was in the world top in the 1970s and 1980s. His career highlights include frequent participation in WC qualifiers and tournament victories in Belgrade, Buenos Aires, Wijk aan Zee, Hastings, London, Turin and Rome. Ulf Andersson is famous for his rock solid positional play, bringing a high percentage of draws. His endgame technique is feared. Ulfie loves to squeeze his opponents out when almost no material is left on the board.
Dutch Championships: General and Women’s section 22.06.2006 The Dutch Chess Championship started 17 June. Thursday round 5 was played. The three Elo favourites are on top: Sergey Tiviakov leads with 4,0 points, followed by Ivan Sokolov and Loek Van Wely (3,5 points). Jan Timman is living in troubled times after losing two times and making three draws. In the Women's Championship, which started 19 June, 10 players are competing: the 4 players in the Dutch Olympiad women’s team, Zhaoqin Peng (GM, 2395), Tea Lanchava (IM, 2380), Petra Schuurman (FM, 2258) and Bianca Muhren (WIM, 2253), plus 6 other players: Linda Jap Tjoen San (WIM, 2191), Mariska De Mie (2153), Arlette Van Weersel (2148), Maartje De Jonge (2136), Pauline Van Nies (2107) and Biaina Geragousian (1992). After 3 rounds Bianca Muhren is on 3 points. Titleholder Zhaoqin Peng is on 2,5 points, followed by Tea Lanchava and Maartje De Jonge (2,0 points).
Dutch Championship 17-29 June 18.06.2006 The Dutch Chess Championship takes place 17 – 29 June in a big television studio (Studio 22) in Hilversum Media Park. First prize is EUR 12.000. It is a 12 player Round Robin with Ivan Sokolov, Sergey Tiviakov, Loek Van Wely, Jan Timman, Friso Nijboer, Erwin L’Ami, Daniel Stellwagen, Jan Smeets, Jan Werle, John Van Der Wiel, Yge Visser and Jeroen Bosch. Which means that it is the strongest manned championship of the century, so far. This photo report by Frits Agterdenbos shows portraits of the participants in Round 2. Monday 19 June the women (10 players) will start their championship.
Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands 16.06.2006 The Netherlands is known as a country with a good chess climate. First of all there is the Corus Chess Tournament (next edition is 13-28 January 2007). In the summer three other important tournaments are on the agenda: The Amsterdam Chess Tournament (15-23 July 2006), The Dutch Open Championship (24 July – 3 August 2006), and The Hogeschool Zeeland Chess Tournament (5 – 12 August 2006). When you have a lot of energy you can play 27 games in 29 days. You will have rest and travel days on 24 and 30 July and 4 August; on 6 August you will play 2 games. Don’t forget to come back 20-28 October to play the Essent Tournament in Hoogeveen. In this report we provide you a Survey of the Top 7 Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands: in Leiden, Zwolle, Bussum, Utrecht, Haarlem, Tilburg and Apeldoorn.
Chess Olympiad Final Round 13 & Awards Ceremony 05.06.2006 The final round 13 was played on Sunday 4 June 2006. Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian) won gold in the men’s section. China finished second and USA finished third.
In the women’s section Ukraine (Lahno, Yanovska-Gaponenko, Ushenina) won gold. Russia finished second and China finished third.
Chess Olympiad Round 12 04.06.2006 Round 12 was played on Saturday 3 June 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section the main results were France – Armenia 2-2 (all games draw), Czech Republic – China 1-3 (Zhang P and Wang won) and Russia – Cuba 3-1 (no draws, Kramnik won). Ukraine lost to Netherlands 1,5-2,5. Armenia is going for gold with 34,0 points. Second is China on 31,5 and Russia is back at the top on third place with 31,0 points. France and Hungary with 30,5 will try to win bronze. In the Women’s section the main results were Ukraine – India 2,5-0,5 (Zhukova and Lahno won), Russia – France 1,5-1,5 (all games draw) and USA – China 1,5-1,5. Ukraine with 28,0 points will win gold. Second is Russia with 26,0 points and clear third is China with 25,0 points. USA is fourth on 23,0 points. There is one final round to go. The players will have to get up early since Round 13 will start at 10.00 a.m.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov re-elected 03.06.2006 The FIDE President election took place on Friday 2 June at the General Assembly in the Torino Incontra Congress Centre in the centre of Turin, 4 kilometers from the Olympic playing hall. The General Assembly is part of The 77th FIDE Congress 27 May – 4 June. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was re-elected, scoring 96-54. Bessel Kok (together with Ali Nihat Yazici in The Right Move team) loss was an honourable defeat. He showed being a good loser. His attempt to take over the FIDE presidency was a very serious wake-up call for FIDE. After hearing the election result Bessel Kok seemed relieved. Together with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov the other (Chess Fidelity) team members will enter (again) the Presidential Board: Georgios Makropoulos, Lewis Ncube, Ignatius Leong, Nigel Freeman.
Chess Olympiad Round 11 02.06.2006 Round 11 was played on Friday 2 June 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section the main results were Armenia – Czech Republic 3-1, China – France 1,5-2,5 and USA – Russia 2,5-1,5. Armenia is clear leader with 32,0 points. Second are China and France with 28,5. Russia and USA are on 28,0 points.
In the Women’s section the main results were Bulgaria – Ukraine 0,5-2,5, Georgia – Russia 1-2 and China – Greece 3-0. Ukraine leads with 25,5 points, followed by Russia on 24,5. Third is China with 23,5 points. USA and India are on 21,5 points.
In the list of achieved norms so far three women have scored a general(!) GM norm: Zhao Xue, Hoang Thanh Trang and Tatiana Kosintseva. There are two more rounds to go.
Chess Olympiad Round 10 01.06.2006 Round 10 was played on Wednesday 31 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section number 1 Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian) boosted its position at the top defeating number 2 China (Bu, Zhang Z, Wang, Ni) 2,5-1,5. Akopian won, other games draw. Armenia is on 29 points, second is China with 27 points. Russia (Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Bareev) climbed to third place in the table with 26,5 points (together with Czech Republic) after beating Ukraine (Ivanchuk, Volokitin, Karjakin, Efimenko) 3-1. Svidler and Bareev won, other games draw. In the Women’s section Ukraine is leading with 23,0. Russia is on 22,5 and third is China with 20,5 points. The night brought the Barmuda party. Thursday 1 June is the second rest day. There are three more rounds to go.
Chess Olympiad Round 9 31.05.2006 Round 9 was played on Tuesday 30 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section leader Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian) defeated Ukraine (Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Elyanov, Moiseenko) 2,5-1,5. Armenia remains on top of the rank with 26,5 points. China (Bu, Zhang Z, Wang, Ni) jumped to second place (25,5) by crushing Georgia 4-0. Russia lost to France 1,5-2,5. Fressinet defeated Rublevsky. France (24 points) is third in the table. Russia, USA and Ukraine are on 23,5.
In the Women’s section China drew Russia. Ukraine is leading with 21,0. Russia is on 20,5 and third is Georgia with 19,0 points. China and Bulgaria are on 18,5.
Chess Olympiad Round 8 30.05.2006 Round 8 was played on Monday 29 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Armenia improved its leading position in the table beating Cuba 3-1, Akopian and Sargissian won their games. Czech Republic drew Russia (Navara defeated Svidler).
The playing hall is increasingly becoming the domain of the election campaigns of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (Chess FIDE Fidelity) and Bessel Kok (The Right Move). More and more one sees chess players showing support by wearing caps and shirts with electoral slogans. Today Kamsky and Nakamura expressed their preference for Bessel Kok and Ali Nihat Yazici. Battle? Although it is commonly thought that compared to what it once has been, this election battle is more a boy scout’s fight.
Chess Olympiad Round 7 29.05.2006 Round 7 was played on Sunday 28 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Armenia made a clear victory over Netherlands 3-1. Aronian crushed Sokolov in a 19 mover, a game Sokolov would like to forget. Sargissian defeated L’Ami. The other games (Akopian vs Tiviakov and Asrian vs Van Wely) ended in a draw. Other top encounters: Russia – Belarus 3-1, India – Ukraine 1,5-2,5, USA – Sweden 2-2. Armenia is now first ranked with 21 points, followed by Russia with 20,0 points. Third is Cuba with 19,5 points. Four countries are on 19,0 points: Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Georgia and Czech Republic. In the Women’s section Russia leads with 17,5 followed by Ukraine 16,5 and USA 15,5.
Chess Olympiad Round 6 28.05.2006 Round 6 was played on Saturday 27 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Netherlands defeated Russia 2,5-1,5. Friso Nijboer who turned 41 the day before got a late birthday present, it was Sergey Rublevsky’s scalp. The other games ended in a draw: Sokolov (white) vs Kramnik, Tiviakov (black) vs Svidler and Van Wely (white) vs Grischuk.
Armenia is now first ranked with 18 points, followed by Netherlands on 17,5. Russia and Belarus are on 17. India, Ukraine, USA and Sweden have 16,5 points. In the Women’s section Russia leads with 14,5, followed by Ukraine 14, Slovakia 13,5. Romena, USA, India and Bulgaria are on 13.
Chess Olympiad Round 5 26.05.2006 Round 5 was played on Thursday 25 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section the top 5 encounters ended in 2-2, like Russia (Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Morozevich) versus Armenia (Aronian, Akopian, Asrian, Sargissian), Uzbekistan (Kasimdzhanov, Gareyev, Iuldachev, Kayumov) versus Netherlands (Sokolov, Tiviakov, Van Wely, Van Den Doel), Spain versus Sweden, Ukraine versus Bulgaria and India versus China. So there is no real change at the top. Russia and Armenia are on 15,5 points. Netherlands is on 15,0 points. Uzbekistan is fourth on 14,5 points. In the Women’s section Ukraine defeated Russia 2-1 (Zhukova-Kosteniuk 1-0). The rank after round 5 is: 1.Russia 12,5 2.Ukraine 12,0 3.Hungary 11,5.
Chess Olympiad Round 4 25.05.2006 Round 4 was played on Wednesday 24 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Russia (Kramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Bareev) defeated China (Bu, Zhang, Zhang, Wang) 3-1. The two Zhangs lost. Uzbekistan – Ukraine ended in a draw 2-2. Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) defeated Ivanchuk (Ukraine). England lost to Turkey 1,5 – 2,5. Russia and Armenia are on 13,5 points. Clear third is Netherlands with 13,0 points. Uzebekistan is fourth on 12,5 points. Spain, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Sweden are on 12,0 points. In the Womens’ section Lithuania, the proud leader after round 3 with maximum score, was given the brush-off by Russia 0-3. Russia is clear leader with 11,5 points. Second is Ukraine with 10 points.
Chess Olympiad Round 3 24.05.2006 Round 3 was played on Tuesday 23 May at 03.00 p.m. Russia (Kramnik, Morozevich, Bareev, Rublevsky) defeated Germany (Naiditsch, Yusupov, Lutz, Graf) with 2,5-1,5. Fight of the Day was Kramnik-Naiditsch. It was Kramnik’s first game in in the chess arena after an absence of about half a year. Kramnik won. In the Men’s section Russia, China and Uzbekistan lead with 10,5 points, followd by Ukraine, Netherlands and Greece with 10 points. A group of 6 countries is on 9,5 points. In the Women’s section Lithuania (Cmilyte, Ciuksyte, Daulyte, Batyte) leads with the maximum score 9 points, followed by Russia and China who dropped half a point.
Chess Olympiad Round 2 23.05.2006 Round 2 was played on Monday 22 May at 03.00 p.m. In the Men’s section Russia (as in round 1 with Grischuk, Morozevich, Bareev and Rublevsky) defeated Latvia 4-0. Russia is on the maximum score with 8 game points. Runners-up are Poland, Greece, Serbia & Montenegro, and Germany with 7,5 game points, followed by a group of 9 countries (Netherlands, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Iceland, Turkey, Slovakia, Vietnam, China and Australia) with 7 game points. Hosting country Italy is represented with 3 teams. Italy A is on 5 games points, Italy B is on 4,5 and Italy C is on 4. Morozevich' victory over Miezis was called the Game of the Day by the Olympiad Bulletin Turin Moves.
Chess Olympiad Round 1 22.05.2006 Round 1 was played on Sunday 21 May at 03.00 p.m. in the Olympic Oval. In the Men’s section 146 teams are participating, while in the Women’s section there are 106 teams. Resulting from the usual pairings system the first round saw a lot of giants – dwarfs encounters, for the most part ending in a maximum win for the giants, meaning 4-0 in the men’s section and 3-0 in the women’s section. And it is no surprise, as in every Chess Olympiad, that in round 1 there are surprises. In the Men's section top seeded Russia (1st round with Grischuk, Morozevich, Bareev and Rublevsky) defeated Kazakhstan 4-0. Second seeded India lost to Morocco scoring only 1 point: 3-1. Ukraine dropped half a point because Ivanchuk was not able to beat IBCA world champion (blind people) Sergey Krylov. In the Women’s section top seeded Russia (1st round with Kosteniuk and the Kosintseva sisters) scored a 3-0 victory over Portugal, while second seeded Ukraine spoiled half a point.
Chess Olympiad Opening Ceremony and Captains’ Meeting 21.05.2006 The Opening Ceremony took place on Saturday 20 May at 09.00 p.m. in the Congress Centre just across the Olympic Oval. Most of the players attended the official festivity, during which FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the president of the Italian Chess Federation, Gianpietro Pagnoncelli declared the Olympiad being opened. At 11.00 p.m. the event was followed by the Captains’ Meeting in the Olympic Village. A remarkable decision concerning the pairings system was recalled.
Chess Olympiad Torino Accreditation 20.05.2006 The Chess Olympiad in Torino (Turin) is about to start. The first round will be on Sunday 21 May 3.00 PM. This photo report by Frits Agterdenbos shows the arrival and the accreditation of the people involved: players, captains, arbiters, organizers, journalists. And it shows the Olympic Village, where almost everybody will be accommodated. More than 2000 people will stay in the Village. Not all organizational matters are solved yet, but what is new? Warming-up time is always needed. Most people are optimistic. “We will survive this Olympiad.”
Dutch Club Team Championship 2005-2006 15.05.2006 The competition scheme holds 10 teams with each 10 players playing nine rounds in the Meesterklasse (Premier league). R1-R8 are on eight Saturdays on five different locations spread all over the country, and R9 is on a Sunday: a combined final round with all 100 players together. The top four ranked will go through to the play-offs in a conclusive weekend. On Saturday the semi finals are being held. The winners go on to the final on Sunday, while the losers play a consolation final for third and fourth place. The winner of the final will be called Dutch Club Team Champion. This year’s winner is U-Boat Worx, as usual. HSG lost again the final to finish second. SO Rotterdam (third) won the consolation final beating Hotels.nl (fourth).
Timman wins in Malmö 06.05.2006 Jan Timman won in Malmö (Sweden) the category 13 Sigeman & Co Chess tournament. The event took place 28th April – 6th May 2006. Timman scored 7/9, followed by Tiger Hillarp Persson and Suat Atalik with 6/9. Timman was invited for the 7th time in Malmö. Jan Timman will not be a member of the Dutch Olympiad team because of being in the Advisory Support team of Bessel Kok / Ali Nihat Yazici in Turin.
Yaroslav Zherebukh wins 8th BDO Chess Tournament
Korchnoi wins CEG versus Legendaries
Hungaski and Greenfeld win SPAchess Open in Amsterdam 103x126.jpg)
Ivanchuk wins ACP Golden Classic in Amsterdam
Ivan Sokolov’s just-in-time management
Dutch champions 2012: Anish Giri and Tea Lanchava
Hodge-podge chess in Science Park Amsterdam
Chess Tournaments in Science Park Amsterdam
Erwin l’Ami wins Nova College Weekend Tournament 2012
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Levon Aronian winner
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 12
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 11
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 10
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 9
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 8
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 7
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 6
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 5
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 4
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 3
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 2
Tata Steel Chess 2012, Round 1
Tata Steel Chess 2012 Wijk aan Zee Opening Ceremony
Dutch Club Team Competition 2011-2012, Round 5
Maxim Turov wins 7th BDO Chess Tournament
Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament
Sadler and Van Den Doel win Nova College 2011
Dutch Junior Championships 2011
Gerald Hertneck wins 3rd Batavia-Grolsch
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Hikaru Nakamura winner
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 12
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 11
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 9
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 8
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 7
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 6
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 5
Tata Steel Chess 2011, Round 3
Tata Steel Chess 2011 Wijk aan Zee Opening Ceremony 
Wijk aan Zee - Tata Steel Chess - Preview
Happy 2011 !!!
15th Cultural Village, Wijk aan Zee
Alexandra van der Mije (70) Blitz Chess
Matthew Sadler wins Nova College 2010
Lars Ootes is Dutch Junior Champ 2010
Dutch Junior Championships 2010
2nd Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament
Corus Chess 2010 Round 10
Corus Chess 2010 Round 8
Corus Chess 2010 Round 6
Corus Chess 2010 Round 5
Corus Chess 2010 Round 1
Corus Chess 2010 Opening Ceremony
Wijk aan Zee 2010 – the Day Before
Happy 2010 !!!
Daniel Fridman wins Intomart GfK Open 2009
ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2009
Friso Nijboer wins Utrecht Open Championship 2009
Hypercube Blitz 2009: Andrey Orlov wins
Daniël Noteboom Tournament 2009
Van Kampen and Manor win Batavia Amsterdam
Batavia Amsterdam Chess Tournament
Corus Chess 2009 Final standings
Corus Chess 2009 Round 12 Six players lead
Corus Chess 2009 Round 11 Four players lead
Corus Chess 2009 Round 9 Aronian, Karjakin and Dominguez lead
Corus Chess 2009 Round 7
Corus Chess 2009 Round 1 Smeets defeats Ivanchuk
Corus Chess 2009 Opening Ceremony
Happy 2009 !!!
Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands in 2008
Bloemendaal Chess Festival 2008
Leiden Chess Tournament 2008
First Saturday Budapest Chess Tournament July 2008
ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2008
Friso Nijboer wins Utrecht Open Championship 2008
Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R9
25th VBG/van Berkel-BSG Pinkstertoernooi 2008
European Champion Sergei Tiviakov’s Homecoming
37th Allshare Amsterdam Go Tournament 100x126.jpg)
Anish Giri (13) wins Intomart GfK Open 2008
Dutch Draughts Championship for the Visually Impaired
Dutch Champions 2008: Jan Smeets and Zhaoqin Peng
Draughts blind simul by Ton Sijbrands
Dutch Championship 2008, R9 + Women R7
Interview WGM Alexandra van der Mije-Nicolau
Dutch Championship 2008, R5 + Women R3
Dutch Championship 2008, R4 + Women R2
Dutch Championship 2008, R2
Dutch Championship 2008, R1
Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R8
Hypercube Blitz Chess Tournament 2008: Daniel Fridman wins
Ilmars Starostits wins Ichthus College Tournament
Dutch Championship 2008 Semi-Finals Round 3
Dutch Championship 2008 Semi-Finals Round 2
Ikonnikov wins Aalsmeer Open Championship 2008
Valentine poem for C
Dutch Club Team Championship 2007-08, R6
Leiden Chess Tournament 2008 announced
Welcome in the Year of the Rat
Daniël Noteboom Tournament 2008
Corus Chess 2008 - Hey, that's me! on ChessVista
Corus Chess 2008 Closing Ceremony
DGT and UEP in Interactive Chess TV
Corus Chess 2008 Round 13
Corus Chess 2008 Round 12
Corus Chess 2008 Round 11
Corus Chess 2008 Rest Day 3
Corus Chess 2008 Round 10
Corus Chess 2008 Round 9
Corus Chess 2008 Round 8 – Short vs Cheparinov replayed
Corus Chess 2008 Round 8
Corus Chess 2008 Round 7
Corus Chess 2008 Round 6
Corus Chess 2008 Round 5
Corus Chess 2008 Rest Day 1
Corus Chess 2008 Round 4
Corus Chess 2008 Round 3
13.01.2008 Round 2 was played on Sunday 13 January. It definitely was a good day for the white pieces (nine wins). In group A Levon Aronian defeated Boris Gelfand. Aronian said at the press conference his victory over Gelfand was the first time in his life. Magnus Carlsen defeated Pavel Eljanov. The other games ended in a draw. Aronian and Carlsen lead on 2.0 points. In Group B six players share the lead on 1.5 points. In group C only two games ended in a draw. Pontus Carlsson (fever 40.0) made a quick draw versus Zhaoqin Peng. Li, Caruana, Braun and Van Der Wiel lead on 2.0 points. The Dutch squadron (11 players) scored minus 4: 0.5/1 in A + 1.0/4 in B + 2.0/6 in C = 3.5/11. Photo report by Frits Agterdenbos.
Corus Chess 2008 Round 1
Corus Chess 2008 Opening Ceremony
Corus Chess 2008 Photo Preview – the Day Before
Happy 2008 !!!
Bloemendaal Chess Festival
ROC Nova College Weekend Tournament 2007
Dutch Championship 2007
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R9
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R7
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R6
Predrag Nikolic wins Daniël Noteboom Tournament
Welcome in the Year of the Pig
Chessvibes Blitz Tournament in Amsterdam
French Premier League - Top 16 2007 to start
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R5
Harmen Jonkman - Globetrotter plays Home Tournament
Chess Eyes Quiz – Solutions and Winner
Corus Chess 2007 Closing Ceremony
Corus Chess 2007 Round 13
Corus Chess 2007 Round 12
Corus Chess 2007 Round 11
Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 3
Corus Chess 2007 Round 10
Corus Chess 2007 Round 9
Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 2
Corus Chess 2007 Round 8
Corus Chess 2007 Round 7
Corus Chess 2007 Round 6
Corus Chess 2007 Round 5
Corus Chess 2007 in storm-swept Wijk aan Zee 84x126.jpg)
Corus Chess 2007 Rest Day 1 
Corus Chess 2007 Round 4
Corus Chess 2007 Round 3  108x126.jpg)
Corus Chess 2007 Round 2
Corus Chess 2007 Round 1
Corus Chess 2007 Opening Ceremony
25+2 Champions of EU Member States
ChessVista’s Most Viewed Photos and Reports 2006
Happy New Year
Chess Eyes - End of Year Quiz 2006 104x126.jpg)
MonRoi International Women's Grand Prix
Season’s Greetings from Heemstede 101x126.jpg)
Ivanchuk wins Carlos Torre Memorial 2006 99x126.jpg)
Together we are strong: Kirsan & Kok
Meanwhile in Khanty-Mansiysk 105x126.jpg)
Corus A, B, C participants update
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-07, R4 
Corus A, B, C participants announced v2 100x126.jpg)
11th Cultural Village - Portraits
11th Cultural Village Wijk aan Zee
Remco Heite Chess Tournament 2006
German Club Team Championship 2006-07 (Bundesliga)
Dutch Club Team Championship 2006-2007, R3 v2 92x126.jpg)
Hoogeveen – Essential People 101x126.jpg)
Mamedyarov wins Hoogeveen
Hoogeveen - Essent Open 2006
Essent Chess 2006 Crown Group 94x126.jpg)
Magnus Carlsen wins ticket to Monaco
Kasparov’s Blitz Return in Zurich
Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2006
Friso Nijboer wins Dutch Open Championship
Dutch Open round 6 drama Tiviakov vs Nijboer
Dutch Open Championship 2006 24 July – 3 August
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament: Sergey Tiviakov winner
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Portraits of all GMs
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 7
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 5
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament Round 3
3rd Amsterdam Chess Tournament 15-23 July 2006
Four times Ivan Sokolov versus Sergey Tiviakov (July 05 – June 06)
Erwin L’Ami wins Weekend Tournament in Haarlem
Karel The Great does Hilversum performing 2906
Dutch Championships: Tiviakov and Peng champions
Dutch Championships: Tiviakov and Peng lead
Happy Birthday Ulf Andersson
Dutch Championships: General and Women’s section
Dutch Championship 17-29 June
Weekend Tournaments in the Netherlands
Chess Olympiad Final Round 13 & Awards Ceremony
Chess Olympiad Round 12
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov re-elected
Chess Olympiad Round 11
Chess Olympiad Round 10
Chess Olympiad Round 9
Chess Olympiad Round 8
Chess Olympiad Round 7
Chess Olympiad Round 6
Chess Olympiad Round 5
Chess Olympiad Round 4
Chess Olympiad Round 3
Chess Olympiad Round 2
Chess Olympiad Round 1
Chess Olympiad Opening Ceremony and Captains’ Meeting
Chess Olympiad Torino Accreditation
