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Two tournaments, each famously gezellig (a great Dutch word!), are kicking off today in the Netherlands and Ireland. At Cafe Batavia 1920 in Amsterdam, the nine-player round-robin "dMP Batavia Chess Tournament" takes place from Thursday, February 22nd to Sunday, March 4th. And in the Irish village of Bunratty, we have a six-round super-weekender, featuring many of the United Kingdom's top players.
1st round @bataviachess started! Chess in a bar, like in 'good old days'. 3 minutes from Central Station Amsterdam. pic.twitter.com/mL4o6RAshl
— Jeroen Van Den Berg (@Jvdbergchess) February 23, 2018
Cafe Batavia is located a stone's throw from Amsterdam Central Station, and is a 10-player round-robin classical tournament with a rate of play of 40 moves in 90 minutes plus 30 minutes for all remaining moves with a 30 second bonus per move from move one.
Grandmaster and international master norms are possible, and last year there were two GM norms scored. The field is headed by GMs Ivan Sokolov and Alexander Fier, who is fresh off his win at the Brazilian Championship last week.
1. GM Ivan Sokolov 2567
2. GM Alexandr Fier (BRA) 2544
3. GM Friso Nijboer 2510
4. IM Miguel Santos Ruiz (SPA) 2505
5. IM Robby Kevlishvili 2469
6. IM Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) 2459
7. IM Anna Zatonskih (USA) 2447
8. IM Thomas Beerdsen 2445
9. FM Liam Vrolijk 2427
10. IM Manuel Bosboom 2403
Players are competing for a top prize of €750 euro. Fier has already pocketed the €200 first place prize in the blitz tournament, held yesterday, which he won despite losing the last two rounds! He started by "pulling a Caruana" — seven straight wins — and no one was able to catch up.
Dutch blitz legend IM Manuel Bosboom (right) was Fier's first victim | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Hey @bunrattychess1! Congrats on your #Bunratty25 anniversary! Greetz from our 10th edition of #bataviachess. #chessandbeer 🍻
— dMP Batavia Chess Tournament (@bataviachess) February 22, 2018
Bunratty is sometimes, affectionately, called "the drinking tournament", as the hard-core, repeat players, consider it almost obligatory to enjoy a pint even during their games. Over the years it's developed a reputation as a big party, but one where strong grandmasters from the UK and abroad routinely gather.
Every tournament should start like this... 🎉A massive thank you to Paul Carey for hosting one of the most special parties I have ever been to - what a night! 🤩#Bunratty25 starts later today and I might be playing @nigelshortchess on top board: https://t.co/V9NxBgfxQL pic.twitter.com/s6ShySBwAT
— Fiona Steil-Antoni (@fionchetta) February 23, 2018
For the 25th edition, the festival has turned out a who's-who of English chess, with names such as Nigel Short, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane, Jonathan Speelman, Mark Hebden and Simon "Ginger GM" Williams.
I'll be heading to Bunratty myself tomorrow (though not much of a beer fan), so we'll have some on-site details later in the weekend!
Correction: Bunratty is celebrating its 25th, anniversary, not 15th as we originally wrote!
