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The town of Hoogeveen (pronounced Hoch-A-Vain) is famous all over the world for, believe it or not, its chess tournament. How many towns can have a claim to fame due to the chess festival they organize? Wijk comes to mind, and even that is in the same country. The Dutchmen love their chess!
The Hoogeveen Chess Tournament consists of the Hoogeveen Matches, the Hoogeveen Open and two amateur tournaments. All tournaments take place in the attractive town hall of the Dutch city of Hoogeveen. In the chess café, well-known commentators will analyse the games with the audience. The games can also be followed live on Playchess and on the official website.
Hoogeveen Matches: Hou Yifan vs Nigel Short, Jorden van Foreest vs Ivan Sokolov.
Hoogeveen Open: Nine rounds will be played, with space for approximately 84 players who must have a minimal rating of 2000. The Hoogeveen Open is an international tournament, and consequently (grand-) master norms can be achieved. There is a total prize fund of €7,500 with a 1st prize of €3,000.
Amateur toernaments: Group I (= afternoon group): for players with a rating up to 2100. Group II (= morning group): also for players with a rating up to 2100. Each group can contain a maximum of 84 players. They play eight rounds. 1st prize for both groups is €250 each.
Rate of play: 40 moves in 90 minutes, 30 minutes extra time + an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.
The defending champion GM Abhijeet Gupta of India is on a roll this year as well, jointly leading with 6.5/7. Here's an interesting game from round three (remember: you can analyse with engine support on our replay board!)
[Event "Hoogeveen Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.17"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Beerdsen, Thomas"] [Black "Gupta, Abhijeet"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2404"] [BlackElo "2626"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 7. c3 b5 8. a4 c4 9. Bf1 Rb8 10. axb5 axb5 11. b3 cxb3 12. Qxb3 Bb7 13. Bxb5 Be7 14. d3 O-O 15. c4 d5 16. cxd5 exd5 17. e5 Bc6 18. Nd4 Bxb5 19. Nxb5 Nc5 20. Qc2 Rxb5 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Nc3 Rb8 23. Rb1 Rc8 24. Bb2 Qd7 25. Qd1 Qf5 26. Re3 d4 27. Rf3 { [%tqu "Black to move: How did Abhijeet finish off his 2402 rated opponent?","", "",Qxf3,"",10]} Qxf3 28. Qxf3 dxc3 29. Ba3 c2 30. Re1 Nb3 31. Qb7 c1=Q 32. Bxc1 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Nxc1 34. Qb1 Ne2+ 35. Kf1 Nf4 36. g3 Ra8 0-1
In the fourth round, Gupta's opponent was Dutch GM Jan Wele (2555). Werle played an overambitious continuation, and was rewarded with a nought.
[Event "Hoogeveen Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.18"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Gupta, Abhijeet"] [Black "Werle, Jan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2626"] [BlackElo "2555"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Bd7 8. Bd2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Bd6 10. h3 e5 11. O-O-O exd4 12. exd4 Nb4 13. Qb3 b5 14. Nxb5 Rb8 15. Bxb4 Bxb5 16. Bc3 c6 17. Ne5 Nd5 18. Bxd5 cxd5 19. Qxd5 Qc7 20. Rhe1 Ba3 $5 {763} 21. Qb3 {137} (21. Kd2 Bd6 22. Re4 $16) 21... Bxb2+ $2 {203 Werle goes all in.} ({Just accepting the problem and stepping back with} 21... Bd6 $1 22. Qc2 f6 23. Nf3 $11 {would have endure that Black is fine.}) 22. Qxb2 Ba4 {174} (22... f6 23. Nf3 Ba4 24. Qa3 Bxd1 25. Kxd1 Rfc8 26. Kd2 Qc4 27. Nh4 $1 $16) 23. Qa3 {274} Bxd1 24. Rxd1 {221} Rfc8 25. Kd2 $18 {90 Two pieces and a pawn for rook. White went on to win easily.} f6 26. Nd3 Qc4 27. Rc1 Qd5 28. Nf4 Qf5 29. Qd6 Kh8 30. g3 Qb5 31. Qd5 Qa6 32. Ne6 Re8 33. Re1 Qa3 34. Qc4 h6 35. f4 f5 36. g4 Rec8 37. Nc5 Rd8 38. gxf5 Rbc8 39. Kc2 1-0
Another Indian GM Lalith Babu (2585) is tied for the first place with Gupta on 6.5/7.
In the fifth round, both the leaders played each other. The game was a notorious draw and was over in 30 minutes. Each and every move of this Slav-Botvinnik has been seen before in a game between Boris Grachev and Ivan Popov from Delhi 2016!
[Event "Hoogeveen Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.19"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Lalith Babu M R"] [Black "Gupta, Abhijeet"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D44"] [WhiteElo "2586"] [BlackElo "2626"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] [WhiteClock "1:28:18"] [BlackClock "1:34:21"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 {66} dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Bb7 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. exf6 O-O-O 14. O-O c5 15. d5 {126} b4 {73 99} 16. Rb1 {159} Qa6 {153} 17. dxe6 {133 104} Bxg2 { 37 48 Believe it or not this position has already been reached 200 times!} 18. Re1 $5 {15 250 This was played by Krylov against Ivan Popov in 2012 and Popov had won. Popov also had this position against Boris Grachev in Delhi!} (18. e7 {has been played in 190 of those 200 games.}) 18... fxe6 {489} 19. Kxg2 {172} bxc3 20. bxc3 {67} (20. f7 {was played by Krylov.}) 20... Qc6+ $1 {179} 21. Kg1 Bh6 $1 22. Qg4 {139 173} Bxg5 {132} 23. Rxe6 $1 {11 28 There is no time to win back lost material.} Qd5 {40 67 Black is now two pieces up for a few pawns but White has some nasty tricks!} 24. Qf5 $5 {173} Qa8 {322} (24... Qxf5 25. Rc6# { is something that you wish for but never really happens in a game!}) 25. Rb5 { 119 173} Rxh2 $1 {118 92 The quickest way to draw the game. The threat of mate on h1 forces White to give a perpetual.} 26. Rxc5+ (26. Kxh2 $2 Rh8+ $19) 26... Nxc5 27. Qxc5+ Kb8 28. Qe5+ Kc8 29. Qc5+ Kb8 {2 This was an exact copy of a game played between Grachev and Popov in Delhi 2016!} 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hoogeveen Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.18"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Lalith Babu M R"] [Black "Rathnakaran, K."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "2586"] [BlackElo "2469"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:21:50"] [BlackClock "0:00:51"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. h3 Na6 7. Bg5 c6 8. Be2 e5 9. d5 h6 10. Be3 cxd5 11. cxd5 Nh5 12. Qd2 Kh7 13. O-O f5 14. exf5 gxf5 15. Ne1 Nf6 16. f4 Bd7 17. Nd3 Qe8 18. fxe5 dxe5 19. Rae1 Rg8 {[%tqu "Lalith found an elegant way to win a pawn here. Can you see how?","","",Nxe5,"407 winning a pawn",10]} 20. Nxe5 $1 {407 winning a pawn} Ne4 {719} ({The elegant point is that} 20... Qxe5 21. Bxa6 bxa6 $4 22. Bf4 {And the queen is trapped!}) 21. Nxe4 Bxe5 22. Nc3 {702} Qg6 {282} 23. Bd3 {101} Rae8 {373} 24. Kh1 {384} Qg3 {1399} 25. Bg1 Bf4 {506} 26. Qf2 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Qg5 28. h4 {135} Qg7 29. Re2 Bg3 {85} 30. Qd4 {92} Qf7 {78} 31. d6 Re8 {126} 32. Nd5 Rxe2 33. Bxe2 Qe6 {73} 34. Nf6+ Kg6 35. Bh5+ 1-0
India's GM Sandipan Chanda (2593) is on 5.5/7, following Gupta and Lalith Babu
[Event "Hoogeveen Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.19"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Van Osch, Mees"] [Black "Sandipan, Chanda"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2288"] [BlackElo "2593"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 O-O-O 6. c4 Qf5 7. Be3 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Nxd4 9. Bg4 Nc2+ 10. Qxc2 Qxg4 11. O-O e6 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. Qa4 Qh5 14. Qxa7 Ng4 15. Nf3 Nxe3 16. fxe3 c6 17. Rad1 Be7 18. Nd4 Qc5 19. Qa8+ Kc7 20. Qa4 e5 21. Nf5 Bf6 22. Kh1 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 e4 24. Nd6 Rd8 25. Nxe4 {[%tqu "The theme is famous: Black to play, what would you do?","","",Qb4,"",10]} Qb4 26. Qc2 Qxb2 27. Qb1 Qxa2 28. Nxf6 gxf6 29. h3 Rxd1+ 30. Qxd1 Qxc4 31. Qa1 b5 32. Qa7+ Kd6 33. Qb8+ Kd5 34. Qe8 b4 35. Qxf7+ Kc5 36. Qa7+ Kb5 37. Qb7+ Ka4 38. Qa7+ Kb3 39. Qxh7 Kb2 40. h4 b3 41. h5 Kc1 42. Qa7 b2 43. Qa3 Kc2 0-1
Lucas Van Foreest (2350), Jorden's younger brother, is the only non-Indian in the top six with 5.0/7.
Indian IM Eesha Karavade is also on 5.0/7
FM Rakesh Kumar Jena (2247) has caused the biggest surprise. He is tied for the third place on 5.0/7.
Dutch GM Jan Werle (2555) has been overambitious at times. He is stuck on 4.5/7.
On the same number of points is his country-mate GM Sipke Ernst (2540)
That was what IM S. Nitin was left doing after he misplayed a decent position against Abhijeet Gupta in round 7
IM K. Rathnakaran is not having an amazing tournament, but he is serving his usual fare of entertaining chess
[Event "Hoogeveen Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.17"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Rathnakaran, K."] [Black "Mager, Denis"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2469"] [BlackElo "2224"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. Qd2 Nc6 11. Nb3 b5 12. h4 gxh4 13. Bxh4 Nge5 14. Qe3 Nc4 15. Bxc4 bxc4 16. Nd2 Nd4 17. Rc1 Be6 18. f4 f5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Nd5 Kf7 21. Nxc4 Re8 22. O-O Be6 23. Qe4 Bf5 {[%tqu "White to play. Can you find a unique fork on the board?","","",Ne5+,"381",10]} 24. Ne5+ $1 {381} dxe5 {311} 25. fxe5 { 15 A unique fork, created with the help of a pin on the f file!} Ke6 {625} 26. Qxd4 {109} Qxd5 27. Qb6+ {115 is the point.} Kf7 {87} (27... Kxe5 28. Bg3+ Ke4 29. Rce1#) 28. Rxf5+ {12 White is two pawns ahead, and soon won.} Kg8 29. Qg6 Rf8 30. Rcf1 Rxf5 31. Rxf5 Rf8 32. Rxf8+ Kxf8 33. Bxe7+ Kxe7 34. Qxg7+ Kd8 35. Qf6+ Ke8 36. Qg6+ 1-0
A subtle way of announcing to the world that you are a chess player
Legendary GM Oleg Romanishin is also playing. He has scored 4.5/7.
| # | Name | Pts | Fed. | Rtng | TPR | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 1 | GM Gupta, Abhijeet | 6.5 | IND | 2626 | 2832 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | GM Lalith Babu M R | 6.5 | IND | 2586 | 2857 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | GM Sandipan, Chanda | 5.5 | IND | 2593 | 2545 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | IM Karavade, Eesha | 5.0 | IND | 2421 | 2415 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ |
| 5 | Van Foreest, Lucas | 5.0 | NED | 2350 | 2459 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 6 | FM Rakesh Kumar Jena | 5.0 | IND | 2247 | 2543 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | GM Werle, Jan | 4.5 | NED | 2555 | 2492 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | = | ½ |
| 8 | GM Shyam, Sundar M. | 4.5 | IND | 2552 | 2465 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | GM Ernst, Sipke | 4.5 | NED | 2540 | 2470 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | = | 0 |
| 10 | GM Debashis, Das | 4.5 | IND | 2478 | 2348 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ |
See full standings and pairings here
Two matches are being played between Nigel Short & Hou Yifan, and Ivan Sokolov & Jorden Van Foreest. More details will follow in a separate report.
Hou Yifan lost yet again to Nigel Short and has fallen way behind her rival in their match that is being held alongside the tournament.
All tournaments are taking place in the attractive town hall of Hoogeveen
All photos are by Lennart Ootes, a well-known chess photographer, known for bringing the artistic side of chess to the fore (as in the above image)
McDonalds, the fast-food giant, is also among the sponsors
Loek van Wely (2667) is the Tournament Director for the event! He also happens to be the highest rated player currently in Hoogeveen – but is not playing!
Chess in such a beautiful town can only be enchanting
In the chess café, well-known commentators are analyzing the games with the audience. Add to that, analysis by players and teachers like Ivan Sokolov, and you can have the chess-time of your life!
Related:
| Date | Matches | Hoogeveen Open | Amateur | Analysis |
| Sat. 15 Oct. | opening | Round 1 (14.00) | R1 (10.00/14.30) | |
| Sun. 16 Oct. | Round 1 (14.00) | Round 2 (14.00) | R2(9.30/14.00) | Jop Delemarre |
| Mon. 17 Oct. | Round 2 (14.00) | Rround 3 (14.00) | R3 (9.30/14.00) | Gert Ligterink |
| Tues. 18 Oct. | Round 3 (14.00) | Round 4 (14.00) | R4 (9.30/14.00) | Hans Bohm |
| Wed. 19 Oct. | Rest day | R5 (9.00) + R6 (15.00) | R5 (9.30/14.00) | |
| Thurs. 20 Oct. | Round 4 (14.00) | Round 7(14.00) | R6 (9.30/14.00) | Cor van Wijgerden |
| Fri. 21 Oct. | Round 5 (14.00) | Round 8 (14.00) | R7 (9.30/14.00) | Robert Ris |
| Sat. 22 Oct. | R6 (12.00), closing | Round 9 (12.00) | R8 (9.30/14.00) | Joris Brenninkmeijer |
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