Eric Hansen leads in Wijk aan Zee

Wijk aan Zee: Cultural Village Chess Tournament

If chess fans hear the name "Wijk aan Zee" they usually think of the great international tournaments which have been played for decades in the small village, supported by the steel companies Hoogoven, Corus, and now Tata Steel. In January 2016 World Champion Magnus Carlsen and the world's best players will again meet in Wijk.

However, the great international tournament is not the only tournament with a remarkable tradition in the small Dutch village. The "Cultural Village" tournaments also have a long history which began in 1987 with a tournament in the "Hotel Sonnevanck". In recent years the tournament has been played every year but it moved to the "Café de Zon".

This year four Dutch players, one Canadian, two players from Georgia (one man, one woman), one player from Turkey, one from Azerbaijan, and a woman player from Iran take part. The winner of the tournament will be invited to the Challenger Tournament of the Tata Steel Festival 2016. After four rounds Eric Hansen from Canada leads with 3.5/4.

Café de Zon

The spacious tournament venue

The participants

Roeland Pruijssers - Eric Hansen

Eric Hansen

Robby Kevlishvili - Hing Ting Lai

Dorsa Derakhshani - Nino Khomeriki

Games

Photos: Tournament site

Previous winners of the Hotel Sonnevanck tournaments (1987-2000) and the Cultural Village tournaments (2003-2014)

Tournament page...