Hoogeveen 2016: Short, Sokolov and Gupta are the stars

by Priyadarshan Banjan
10/24/2016 – Abhijeet Gupta won the 2016 Hoogeveen Open after scoring a comfortable 7.5/9. Lalith Babu, who had been leading with Gupta after seven rounds suffered an unfortunate accident to end on the third spot. Sandipan Chanda jumped in with a strong finish to take the runners up position. Lucas van Foreest performed excellently and ended on the fifth spot. The matches saw vistories by both Short and Sokolov respectively. We have pictures, tactics, stories and much more – in our final report from the Hoogeveen Festival 2016.

ChessBase 18 - Mega package ChessBase 18 - Mega package

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

More...

Hoogeveen 2016: Short, Sokolov and Gupta are the stars

By Priyadarshan Banjan, photos by Lennart Ootes

Take a world map and draw a straight line from New Delhi to Hoogeveen. That line is about 6200 km long. It makes you wonder when a traditional Open in a quiet chess-loving town in Netherlands has 16 percent of its participants from India.

At the end of six rounds, GM Abhijeet Gupta and GM Lalith Babu were perched comfortably at the top with 5.5/6. Both of them had dominated the field throughout. In their mutual encounter, they had settled for a quick draw. The trend continued in the seventh round as well.

IM S. Nitin was playing Gupta in the seventh round with the white pieces. He played a daring exchange sacrifice after which both the players had to play very accurately to maintain the balance.

Gupta managed to do just that, but Nitin went wrong.
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 4 e6 0 2.d4 7 d5 0 3.Nc3 5 Nf6 0 4.Bg5 5 dxe4 0 5.Nxe4 4 Be7 5 This line has become quite popular. Many Indians are seen using it, most notably Harikrishna, Vidit and now Abhijeet. 6.Bxf6 6 gxf6 0 7.Nf3 6 f5 16 8.Nc3 5 a6 9 9.Qe2 5 Qd6 167 10.0-0-0 101 Nd7 18 11.g3 922 b5 156 12.d5 Nitin realizes that he is ahead in development and tries to open up the position. Bb7 205 13.Nd4 182 0-0-0 541 14.dxe6! 313 Not afraid of the rook hanging on h1. 14.Nxe6!? Rde8! Black should be alright. 14...Bxh1 359 15.exd7+ 126 Rxd7 27 16.Nxf5 219 Bg5+ 103 16...Qe6 17.Qxe6 fxe6 18.Nxe7+ Rxe7 19.Bxb5 axb5 20.Rxh1 c6= Should be around equal. 16...Qc5? 17.Bh3! Rxd1+ 18.Qxd1 Bg5+ 19.f4 Bxf4+ 20.gxf4 Bb7 21.Nd6+ Kb8 22.Nxb7 Kxb7 23.Bg2+ Kc8 24.Qf3+- 17.f4 99 Bxf4+ 898 18.Kb1! 706 18.gxf4 Qxf4+ 19.Ne3 19.Kb1 Qxf5-+ 19...Rxd1+ 20.Ncxd1= is a mess but with all the white pieces clumsily placed it shouldn't be such a huge issue. 18...Qe6 474 19.Rxd7 31 19.Nd4! Qxe2 20.Bxe2 Rxd4 21.Rxd4 Be5 22.Rd1 Bb7= 19...Qxd7 20 20.Bh3 56 Kb8 35 21.gxf4 736 Re8 48 22.Qd1?! 495 22.Qf2 keeping the queens was much better. 22...Qxd1+ 111 23.Nxd1 0 Re2 6 24.Nfe3 782 Rxh2 Black is clearly better and with his outside "h" passer he went onto win. 25.Bf1 15 Bf3 46 26.a4 201 bxa4 149 27.Bxa6 90 h5-+ 24 28.Bc4 104 f6 240 29.Bd5 155 Bxd1 258 30.Nxd1 5 Rd2 4 31.Bf3 73 h4 4 32.Kc1 226 Rd4 0 33.f5 32 Rf4 213 34.Bc6 16 Rxf5 90 35.Ne3 18 Rg5 179 36.Bd7 163 h3 193 37.Bxa4 214 Kb7 119 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nitin,S2410Gupta,A26260–12016C11Hoogeveen Open 20167.1

Meanwhile, Lalith also put it across Sipke Ernst with accurate calculations.
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
24...f4! 722 Black is opening up lines to attack by investing two pawns. 25.Nxe4 211 Rae8? 207 A bit too optimitic. 25...Bf5! is amust-play move. 26.f3 Bd4+ 27.Kh2 27.Kf1?? Bxe4 28.fxe4 f3 27...Rae8 28.Nxd6! Be3 29.Qb2 26.Nxd6!± 171 Re2 102 threatening ...Bd4. This wasBlack's plan. 27.Qd3 6 Bd4 73 28.Qf3! 56 But it turnsout White is just in time to liquidate into a won endgame. Bxf2+ 376 29.Kf1 10 Qxf3 110 30.Nxf3 4 Rxa2 4 31.Rb7 112 Ba4 23 32.R7b2 69 Rxb2 4 33.Rxb2 3 Be3 125 34.Ra2 10 Bb3 263 35.Rxa5± 5 A pawn ahead, with space and d5 passer. White won easily. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Lalith Babu M R2586Ernst,S25401–02016E91Hoogeveen Open 20167.2

Lucas Van Foreest (2350) vs. Lalith Babu (2585)

With victories in the seventh round, Lalith and Gupta reached 6.5/7. They had already played each other in the fifth round. Both the players would have been secretly hoping to see each other lose. The one who would last longer would win the tournament.

Lalith was facing the talented 15-year-old Lucas Van Foreest, rated more than 200 points below him. In spite of knowing how lopsided a favorite he was on paper, with experience and rating on his side, there was that nagging reality check: the young Dutchman was clearly playing at a much higher standard.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 0 Nc6 0 3.Bb5 3 a6 0 4.Ba4 0 Nf6 0 5.0-0 6 b5 409 6.Bb3 0 Bb7 27 7.d3 141 Be7 180 8.Re1 80 0-0 55 9.h3 146 d5 237 10.exd5 11 Nxd5 3 11.a4 102 Nd4 437 12.Nxd4 43 exd4 6 13.axb5 88 axb5 129 14.Rxa8 56 Bxa8 4 15.Na3 117 Bb4 132 16.Bd2 254 Bxd2 86 17.Qxd2 10 Qf6!? 831 17...Qd7 18.Qg5 h6 18...b4 19.Nc4 Qd8 20.Qg4 c5 19.Qe5± c5 20.Nxb5± 17...b4 18.Nc4 c5= 18.Nxb5 1191 Nf4 53 19.f3 0 Qh4 940 19...Qh6! or 20.Kh2 20.Qf2? Qg5 Double attack. 20...Qg6 21.Kh2 21.h4 Qxb5 22.Qxd4 Nd5 23.Re5 c6 White has to take a draw with 20.Kf1 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Qxh3+ 22.Kg1 Qg3+ 23.Kh1 Qh3+ 24.Kg1= 20...Bxf3 21.gxf3 Qxh3+ 22.Kg1 Qg3+ 23.Kh1= 19...Qg5? 20.Kf1 Nxh3 21.Qxg5 Nxg5 22.Nxc7+- 20.Nxd4 773 Qg3? 1093 20...Nxh3+ 21.gxh3 Qxd4+ 22.Kg2 Qf6!= 22...Qxb2? 23.Qf4 and now a blunder like c5?? 24.Qxf7+! Rxf7 25.Re8# 21.Kf1+- 596 Black is busted now. Lucas finishes off the game with perfection. 21.Kh1? Nxg2!-+ 21...Nxh3 22.Re2 Nf4 23.Nf5 Qg5 24.Re5± 21...c5 155 21...Qh2 22.Qf2+- 22.Nf5 168 Qh2 32 23.Qf2 38 Nh5 112 24.Qxc5 329 Bxf3 466 25.gxf3 232 Qxh3+ 35 26.Kg1 8 g6 51 27.Bxf7+! 24 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Van Foreest,L2350Lalith Babu M R25861–02016C78Hoogeveen Open 20168.2

While Lalith lost, Gupta settled for a draw with GM Sandipan Chanda.

 

In the final round, Chanda handed Lalith his second straight loss!

Chanda - Lalith (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.Nf3 0 e6 0 3.Bf4 5 Sandipan has been playing the London system quite regularly recently. c5 54 4.e3 9 d5 10 5.c3 22 Nc6 30 6.Nbd2 0 Bd6 7 This is the recommended way for Black to play. Simple and sound development. However, it seems as if White is coming out on top in many of the games. Let's see how Chanda plays here. 7.Bg3 0 0-0 9 8.Bd3 20 b6 23 9.Qe2 34 Bb7 1:12 10.0-0 17 Rc8 0 11.a3 1:52 Ne7 11:42 12.Bxd6 20 Qxd6 5 13.Ne5 8 The position is round about equal. The bishop on d3 seems better than the bishop on b7, but, soon we will soon see something quite paradoxical. Ne4 16:33 14.Nxe4 0 dxe4 8 15.Ba6 8 With the bishop exchange White hopes to exploit Black's queenside weaknesses. Bxa6 4:32 16.Qxa6 10 Qc7 11:53 17.f3 6:11 f6 0 18.Ng4 7 h5! 31 19.Nf2 7 exf3 6 20.gxf3 15 Nd5 54 With powerful moves Black has taken over the initiative. 20...c4!? was also pretty strong. 21.Qe2 7:44 e5?! 2:03 21...cxd4! 22.exd4 22.cxd4 Qc2 22...Nf4 22.c4! 2:30 Ne7 1:14 23.d5 32 White is now better because of the passer. Nf5 28 24.Ne4 2:12 Nd6 1:49 25.Kh1 4:41 Nxe4 13:42 26.fxe4 1:53 Suddenly the move h5 which was excellent when it was played, turns into a weakness. g6 2:03 27.Rf3 10:12 Qh7 28.Raf1 Kg7 1:50 29.h4 13:26 Rc7 37 30.Qf2 1:31 Rcf7 53 31.Qg3 Kh8 2:01 32.Kh2 4:35 Qh6 21 33.Qh3 3:18 Qg7 2:12 34.Qe6 0 Kh7 15 35.d6 1:09 a5 2:15 36.R1f2 7:23 Kh6 1:20 37.Kg1 3:31 g5? 1:43 completely impatient. Black was worse but this just hastens the end. 38.hxg5+ 6:14 Qxg5+ 10 39.Rg2 25 Qh4 10 40.d7 1:43 Qxe4 3:04 41.Qxf7 2:28 The London system didn't give White any advantage. In fact Lalith showed the best way for Black to play against it, but in the middlegame he went wrong and Chanda was pretty much ruthless. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Sandipan,C2593Lalith Babu M R25861–02016A46Hoogeveen Open 20169.2

Chanda thus leapfrogged Lalith and took the second spot with 7.0/9. Lalith had to content himself with third place for his 6.5/9.

But the battle for the top position was not over yet!

Lucas Van Foreest faced Gupta on the top board. The tiebreak rule meant that the result of the mutual game would decide the winner. If Lucas managed to beat Gupta, he would even become the champion, and also earn a GM norm. 

Now, that would have been something. But Lucas drew, and had to 'settle' for an IM norm, and a fifth place finish.

Thus, Gupta became the Hoogeveen Champion for 2016 with 7.5/9. He also won the event in 2015, making it twice in a row — for the first time in the tournament's 19-year-history.

GM Shyam Sundar M. scored 6.5/9 and was fourth on the tiebreak. 

64-year-old GM Oleg Romanishin had a slow start to the tournament but finished sixth with 6.5/9.

He showed his skills to the youngsters, never mind his age. Take, for example, his game against GM Jan Werle (2555) in the final round:

White to play

White is weaker than a broken heart on the a8-h1 diagonal. So you must be careful. There is only one continuation that wins.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.Nf3 0 e6 0 3.g3 0 c5 20 4.Bg2 2 cxd4 6 5.Nxd4 30 d5 11 6.0-0 13 e5 23 7.Nb3 3:27 Be6 1:05 8.Nc3 7:47 Be7 1:08 9.f4 5:05 exf4 53 10.gxf4 1:50 g6 41 11.Kh1 6:59 Nc6 50 12.Be3 23 0-0 1:40 13.Nd4 7:30 Qd7 2:48 14.Nxe6 55 fxe6 15 15.Bg1 7 Rad8 1:33 16.e3 11 Nh5 7:37 17.Qe2 20:25 Bf6 3:30 18.Rad1 9:01 Qe7 16:23 19.Na4 1:11 Bg7 6:42 20.Bf3 8:51 Nf6 4:27 21.c4 1:58 Kh8 12:54 22.Nc3 4:06 Qf7 4:52 23.cxd5 4:20 Nxd5 1:27 24.Ne4 24 Qe7 3:14 25.Rd2 2:12 Nb6 4:10 26.Rfd1 1:58 Rxd2 39 27.Rxd2 8 e5 1:03 28.Nd6 2:39 Nc8 2:36 29.Nxc8 1:19 Rxc8 41 30.Qc4 1:16 Rf8 1:25 31.Bxc6 2:58 bxc6 22 32.Qxc6 14 Qb4 3:37 33.Rd7 2:12 Qxb2 2:19 34.Rxa7 1:43 exf4 5:28 35.exf4 7 Rxf4 56
White is weaker than a broken heart on the a8-h1 diagonal. So youmust be careful. There is only one continuation that wins. Can you find it?
Show Solution
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Romanishin,O2456Werle,J25551–02016A46Hoogeveen Open 20169.3

IM Eesha Karavade (2421) played an interesting game against Romanishin.

Romanishin excitedly plonked his bishop on d5 assuming that he will now win the piece. Luckily for Eesha, there is one move that saves the game!

Romanishin could have sacrificed his queen, but instead chose 23.Bd5. Now, Black can save the position with...

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.Nf3 52 Nf6 17 2.g3 28 g6 32 3.Bg2 7 Bg7 5 4.c4 1:42 c6 1:17 5.d4 1:06 d5 2:36 6.cxd5 5:43 cxd5 8 7.Ne5 27 Ne4 2:13 8.Nd2 2:52 Nd7 3:19 9.0-0 42:36 Nxd2 4:16 10.Bxd2 3:37 Nxe5 6:49 11.dxe5 4 Bxe5 43 12.Bh6 9 Be6 5 13.e4 3:16 Qb6 10:01 14.exd5 3:25 Bd7 5 15.Re1 4:34 f6 17 16.d6 4:19 Be6 7:55 17.dxe7 6:30 Kxe7 2:37 18.Be3 24 Qb5 4:51 19.a4 45 Qb4 40 20.f4 4:03 Rhd8 3:23 21.Qe2 1:28 Bc7 2:25 22.Bf2 1:30 Rd6 1:33 23.Bd5?! 1:55 23.f5! gxf5 24.Qh5± would have been the best way for White to play.
Romanishinexcitedly plonked his bishop on d5 assuming that he will now win the piece.Luckily, Eesha has one move that saves the game for her! Can you find it?
Show Solution
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Romanishin,O2456Karavade,E2421½–½2016A05Hoogeveen Open 20167.4

 

Casper Schoppen (2304) scored 6.5/9 for his IM norm and also finished seventh in the prize list.

15-year-old Rakesh Kumar Jena (2247) scored his third IM norm and finished eighth with 6.0/9.

Final Standings

Rank Name Score Fed. Rating TPR
1 GM Gupta, Abhijeet 7.5 IND 2626 2697
2 GM Sandipan, Chanda 7.0 IND 2593 2600
3 GM Lalith Babu M R 6.5 IND 2586 2609
4 GM Shyam, Sundar M. 6.5 IND 2552 2540
5 Van Foreest, Lucas 6.5 NED 2350 2534
6 GM Romanishin, Oleg M 6.5 UKR 2456 2449
7 Schoppen, Casper 6.5 NED 2304 2461
8 FM Rakesh Kumar Jena 6.0 IND 2247 2531
9 GM Ernst, Sipke 6.0 NED 2540 2467
10 IM Nitin, S. 6.0 IND 2410 2445

Full standings here.

 

There was a chess art exhibition at the tournament by the artist Yvon Drummen, who also produced the prizes for the winners.

Short holds his prize — a sculpture that signifies that chess can get under your skin. Short beat Hou Yifan in their match.

Nigel managed to win 3.5-2.5 after losing the final round. But he did not lose any rating for his loss — according to the FIDE regulations, any games in a match played after a player has already won/taken an unsurmountable lead will not be rated.

To which Short replied...

 And thus he rests his case.

Ivan Sokolov beat Jorden Van Foreest 3.5-2.5 as well.

This funny exchange took place between Tournament Director Loek Van Wely and Sokolov at the prize-distribution:

‘For our PR it would have been better if Jorden had won,’ Van Wely joked. ‘But alas, my old comrade in battle beat him. Ivan, I’m still glad that you have kept the youth under your thumb for a little longer.’

‘I did my best to lose, especially with Black, but my opponent didn’t cooperate.’ Sokolov quipped.

The open winners with their prizes. 

Related:

  1. Hoogeveen Round 01-06 Report
  2. Chess Art Exhibit by Artist Yvon Drummen

Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Priyadarshan Banjan is a 23-year-old club player from India. He works as an editor for ChessBase News and ChessBase India. He is a chess fanatic and an avid fan of Vishy Anand. He also maintains a blog on a variety of topics.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.