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Groningen is located in the north of the Netherlands, not far from the German border. The 55th edition of the chess festival attracted 62 players including ten grandmasters to the top A-Open. But in Groningen, in addition to the A-Open, there were a dozen other tournaments, in which one could play, including shorter ones for those who preferred to spend Christmas at home. So there's something for everyone.
Benjamin Bok did not lose a single game in the A-Open, which is usually a prerequisite for winning an open tournament at all. The 22-year-old Dutch grandmaster managed this feat in Groningen with a strong 7.0 / 9 score. But it was close, as the runner-up Evgeny Postny from Israel, equalled his point tally. Bok narrowly took first place on tiebreak scores.
In the penultimate round, Bok scored a key win against GM Dmitry Kryakvin.
38.Rd1 was good enough for Bok, who went on to win in 58 moves, but 38.Nd5! would have ended the game in style. 38...exd5 loses the queen after 39.R1c6, and 38...Rg7 would be met by 39.Bxf6 crushing!
Chess Tactics are the art of combat command. When tactics dominate concrete action is required immediately in order to put a plan into practice or to grab an opportunity. However in complicated positions and with determined resistance basic tactics are often insufficient and intuition, imagination and precision are necessary.
GM Maxim Turov also remained undefeated, but the Russian made one more draw than the two winners.
Benjamin Bok (left) against IM Stefan Juipers in Round 9 has further Elo rating improvement in store for 2018 | Photo: Harry Gielen
Happy to end the year on a high note by winning the Groningen Chess Festival 2017 with 7/9!
— Benjamin Bok (@benjamin_bok) December 30, 2017
| Rank | Name | Score | Fed. | Rating | TPR | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Bok, Benjamin | 7.0 | NED | 2601 | 2687 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ |
| 2 | GM Postny, Evgeny | 7.0 | ISR | 2581 | 2656 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 3 | GM Turov, Maxim | 6.5 | RUS | 2618 | 2632 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 4 | GM Kislinsky, Alexey | 6.5 | CZE | 2513 | 2548 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 5 | IM Kuipers, Stefan | 6.5 | NED | 2440 | 2511 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ |
| 6 | GM Tiviakov, Sergei | 6.0 | NED | 2583 | 2593 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ |
| 7 | GM Plat, Vojtech | 6.0 | CZE | 2567 | 2611 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ |
| 8 | GM Pruijssers, Roeland | 6.0 | NED | 2543 | 2527 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 9 | IM Beerdsen, Thomas | 6.0 | NED | 2419 | 2450 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ |
| 10 | Rahul Srivatshav P | 5.5 | IND | 2331 | 2526 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ |
| 11 | GM Anurag, Mhamal | 5.5 | IND | 2488 | 2451 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ |
| 12 | GM Kryakvin, Dmitry | 5.5 | RUS | 2580 | 2483 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | GM Ernst, Sipke | 5.5 | NED | 2532 | 2474 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | FM Warmerdam, Max | 5.5 | NED | 2356 | 2396 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 15 | IM Schoppen, Casper | 5.5 | NED | 2395 | 2414 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 16 | FM Stoyanov, Tsvetan | 5.5 | FID | 2242 | 2393 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 |
| 17 | IM De Jong, Migchiel | 5.5 | NED | 2331 | 2375 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ |
| 18 | IM Van Foreest, Lucas | 5.5 | NED | 2481 | 2377 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 |
| 19 | IM Kathmale, Sameer | 5.5 | IND | 2264 | 2415 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | IM Zelbel, Patrick | 5.5 | GER | 2456 | 2277 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 |
... total 62 players.
A good mix of young and old | Photo: Harry Gielen
Boys and girls | Photo: Harry Gielen
Translation from German: Macauley Peterson
