Reinderman starts strong
Since 2009, a yearly ten-player chess tournament takes place at Café Batavia 1920, a comfy coffeehouse located close to Amsterdam's central station. The first ten editions were regular single round robins, while in 2019 the organizers decided to put forth an innovative format, with each round consisting of a classical game and a couple of blitz encounters (each match-up awarded a total of two points). This year the event has returned to its usual format, offering six Dutch players a chance to face international opposition from Germany, Poland, England and Indonesia.
Three grandmasters are in the mix — Dimitri Reinderman and Friso Nijboer from the Netherlands and Tomasz Warakomski from Poland — giving the remaining seven contestants a chance to get a GM norm. Besides Warakomski, Aljoscha Feuerstack (Germany), Lawrence Trent (England) and Irine Karisma Sukhandar (Indonesia) are the international representatives.
The rate of play is 40 moves in 90 minutes plus 30 minutes for all remaining moves, with 30 seconds per move added from the start.

A Hand & Brain tournament took place during the opening ceremony — Peter Doggers and Lawrence Trent teamed up for the competition | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Top seed Dimitri Reinderman kicked off the tournament with four straight wins. Coincidentally, his victories in rounds three and four were both scored after his rivals went all in for an attack with the white pieces. First, Manuel Bosboom gave up an exchange to open up the h-file and shortly after found himself looking for desperate measures to compensate for his material disadvantage:
The aim of these Dvd's is to build a repertoire after 1.c4 and 2.g3 for White. The first DVD includes the systems 1...e5, the Dutch and Indian setups. The second DVD includes the systems with 1...c5, 1...c6 and 1...e6.
White has a lost position and needs to do something quickly if the wants to somehow muddy the waters. Bosboom went for 27.♘e6, when after 27...fxe6 28.dxe6 ♚h8 29.♗xe4 ♛g7 30.♖xf3 Black has 30...♛g2+ (see diagram below) and Reinderman will soon be a whole rook up. Resignation came five moves later.
Similarly, in round four Irine Sukandar desperately sacrificed her rook on g7 as a last-ditch attempt to save the game against Reinderman, but to no avail. The Dutch grandmaster won his fourth in a row after merely 29 moves. Replay both games in the viewer below.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.c4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.h4 Nf6 5.a3N 5.b3 Nc6 6.Bb2 e5 7.g3 d6 8.Bg2 0-0 9.d3 h6 10.Qd2 Be6 11.e4 5...Nc6 6.b4 cxb4 7.axb4 Nxb4 8.Qb3 Nc6 9.Bb2 0-0 10.e3 d6 11.h5 11.Be2 11...Nxh5 12.Rxh5 12.Nd5 12...gxh5-+ 13.Be2 e5 14.Nd5 b6 15.g3 Ne7 16.d4 e4 17.Nh4 Nxd5 18.cxd5 Bf6 19.Ng2 Bg4 20.Bb5 h4 21.gxh4 Bf3 22.Nf4 Bxh4 23.Kd2 Bxf2 24.Ba3 Qf6 25.Rf1 Bh4 26.Bc6 Rad8 27.Ne6 fxe6 28.dxe6 Kh8 29.Bxe4 Qg7 30.Rxf3 Qg2+ 31.Kd3 Rxf3 32.Bxf3 Qxf3 33.d5 Bf6 34.Kd2 Qf2+ 35.Kd1 Rg8 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.
Bosboom,M | 2410 | Reinderman,D | 2582 | 0–1 | 2020 | | 12th Batavia Amsterdam 2020 | 3.4 |
Sukandar,I | 2408 | Reinderman,D | 2582 | 0–1 | 2020 | | 12th Batavia Amsterdam 2020 | 4.4 |
Please, wait...

Dimitri Reinderman | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Two players are sharing second place a full point behind Reinderman — Tomasz Warakonski and Nico Zwirs. Two of Warakomski's wins followed sharp tactical struggles. The Polish grandmaster needed 32 moves to defeat the ever-adventurous Bosboom in round one, while Edwin van Haastert failed to correctly assess the consequences of opening the h-file during round four:
The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.
Van Haastert vs. Warakomski
Van Haastert's decision to continue with 28.♗xh4 gave Black attacking chances along the h-file. There followed 28...♞xg4 29.♗xe7 ♛xe7 and the deciding mistake 30.♕g3:
There is no defence against Warakomski's 30...♜h1+. White tried 31.♔xh1 ♛h6+ 32.♕h3, but this fails against the simple fork 32...♞f2+. Resignation came after 33.♔g1 ♞xh3+.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 d5 5.e5 Qb6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 Nh6 8.0-0 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 Nf5 10.Ne2! h5 11.c3 11...e6N 11...Nd7 12.Ng3 Nxg3 13.hxg3 e6 14.Qc2 Bf8 15.Be3 c5 16.Rfc1 Rc8 17.Qf2 Nb8 12.Ng3 Nxg3 13.hxg3 Bf8 14.Qb3 Nd7 15.Be3 Qa6 16.Rfd1 Nb6 17.Qc2 Nc8 18.b3 Ne7 19.c4 Qb6 20.c5 Qd8 21.b4 Nf5 22.Bf2 g5 23.fxg5 Qxg5 24.Qd2 Qg7 25.Qe1 Be7 26.a4 26.b5! 26...h4 27.g4 Nh6! 28.Bxh4 28.Rd3= 28...Nxg4 29.Bxe7 29.Bg3 29...Kxe7 30.Qg3? 30.Ra3 30...Rh1+‼-+ 31.Kxh1 Qh6+ 32.Qh3 Nf2+ 33.Kg1 Nxh3+ 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.
Van Haastert,E | 2438 | Warakomski,T | 2501 | 0–1 | 2020 | | 12th Batavia Amsterdam 2020 | 4.5 |
Warakomski,T | 2501 | Bosboom,M | 2410 | 1–0 | 2020 | | 12th Batavia Amsterdam 2020 | 1.5 |
Please, wait...
Click or tap an entry on the list to switch between games

Tomasz Warakomski | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Much like Warakomski, Zwirs collected 3½ points after getting three wins, one loss and one draw, but the Dutchman's victories were rather technical efforts. For example, against Lawrence Trent in round four, Zwirs got the win from a materially balanced endgame. Trent's knight looked miserable on the corner though:
Rules of thumb are the key to everything when you are having to set the correct course in a complex endgame. In this final DVD of his series on the endgame, our endgame specialist introduces you to the most important of these rules of thumb.
Black played the natural-looking 37...♚d6, running to defend the backward b-pawn, when he needed to look for immediate counterplay on the kingside with 37...g5. After the text, the game continued 38.♔b5 ♚c7 39.♗e6 (controlling the kingside) ♚b7 40.c4 g5 41.♗f5 ♞f7 and White was ready for 42.c5:
Black went for 42...♞d8 and resigned after 43.cxb6, as a zugzwang position will soon emerge — for example, 43...a4 44.♗d7 and Black cannot move the knight due to 44.♗c6+ next. In the diagrammed position, after 42...bxc5 White has 43.♗g6, creating a passer on the other flank of the board.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 h6 5.0-0 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.a4 0-0 8.a5 a6 9.Re1 Nh7 10.Nbd2 Ng5 11.d4 Bf6 12.Nxg5N 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Nf3 Bg4 15.Be2 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Qd7 18.Qd3 12...Bxg5 13.Nb3 Kh8 14.Bd5 Bxc1 15.Rxc1 Ne7 15...Qg5= 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Bc4 Bd7 18.Nc5 Bc6 19.Qxd8 Raxd8 20.Rcd1 Rd6 21.Kf1 Rfd8 22.Ke2 Kg8 23.f3 Kf8 24.Nd3 Ng6! 25.g3 Bd7 26.h4 h5 27.Nc5 Bc8 28.Bd5 b6 29.axb6 cxb6 30.Nb7 30.Nd3 30...Bxb7!= 31.Bxb7 Rxd1 32.Rxd1 Rxd1 33.Kxd1 a5 34.Kc2 Ke7 34...Ne7= 35.Bd5 35.Kd3!± 35...Nh8 35...f6= 36.Kd3 f6 37.Kc4 Kd6? 37...g5!= 38.Kb5+- Kc7 39.Be6 Kb7? 39...g5± 40.c4 g5? 40...Kc7 41.Bg8 Ng6 41.Bf5 Nf7 42.c5 Nd8 43.cxb6 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.
Zwirs,N | 2443 | Trent,L | 2386 | 1–0 | 2020 | | 12th Batavia Amsterdam 2020 | 4.2 |
Please, wait...

Nico Zwirs | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Standings after Round 5
The most popular chess program offers you everything you will need as a dedicated chess enthusiast, with innovative training methods for amateurs and professionals alike.
All games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- 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.
Links