
From Wednesday, August 22 to Saturday, September 1, the legendary Hotel Krasnapolsky
in the very heart of Amsterdam, is the venue of the NH Chess Tournament. It’s
a Scheveningen team tournament in which a team of five "Rising Stars"
crosses swords with a team of five "Experienced Grandmasters". The
best youngster will get an invitation to the 2008 Amber Rapid and Blindfold
spectacle.
First half report
1st round – Wednesday August 22nd |
Alexander Beliavsky |
½-½ |
Parimarjan Negi |
Pedrag Nikolic |
0-1 |
Jan Smeets |
Alexander Khalifman |
½-½ |
Daniel Stellwagen |
Artur Jussupow |
½-½ |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
|
2nd round – Thursday August 23rd |
Jan Smeets |
½-½ |
Alexander Beliavsky |
Daniel Stellwagen |
½-½ |
Pedrag Nikolic |
Ivan Cheparinov |
½-½ |
Alexander Khalifman |
Sergey Karjakin |
½-½ |
Artur Jussupow |
Parimarjan Negi |
½-½ |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
3rd round – Friday August 24th |
Alexander Beliavsky |
0-1 |
Daniel Stellwagen |
Pedrag Nikolic |
½-½ |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Alexander Khalifman |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Artur Jussupow |
1-0 |
Parimarjan Negi |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
0-1 |
Jan Smeets |
|
4th round – Saturday August 25th |
Ivan Cheparinov |
½-½ |
Alexander Beliavsky |
Sergey Karjakin |
1-0 |
Pedrag Nikolic |
Parimarjan Negi |
½-½ |
Alexander Khalifman |
Jan Smeets |
0-1 |
Artur Jussupow |
Daniel Stellwagen |
1-0 |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
5th round – Sunday August 26th |
Alexander Beliavsky |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Pedrag Nikolic |
1-0 |
Parimarjan Negi |
Alexander Khalifman |
½-½ |
Jan Smeets |
Artur Jussupow |
1-0 |
Daniel Stellwagen |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
½-½ |
Ivan Cheparinov |
|
Monday August 27th
Free day |
Round one: The 'Rising Stars' team took a one-point lead over
the 'Experience' team thanks to a fine win of Jan Smeets against Predrag Nikolic.
The other four games ended in a draw. Full
report.
Round two: The Rising Stars seemed to be in an ideal position
to increase their lead over the Experience team. After all they were White in
all their games. But at the end of the day all five games had ended in a draw.
After two rounds the Rising Stars are leading 5½-4½. In the individual
standings Dutch grandmaster Jan Smeets remains the only player with a positive
score. Full
report.
Round three: The Rising Stars increased their lead over the
Experience team to 8½-6½. The first result of the day was a short
fightless draw, but the rest of the afternoon was brimming with excitement and
tension and produced a rich harvest of hair-raising moments. In the individual
standings Dutch grandmaster Jan Smeets improved his chances to win the coveted
ticket to Monaco with a second win, this time at the expense of Ljubomir Ljubojevic.
Full report.
Round four: The Rising Stars again increased their lead over
the Experience team to a new total of 11½-8½. Dutch grandmaster
Daniel Stellwagen took the lead in the individual standings with a win over
Ljubomir Ljubojevic. Former leader Jan Smeets lost precious ground in the hunt
for the coveted Monaco ticket when he completely ruined a winning position against
Artur Jussupow. Full
report.
Round five: The Experience team has demonstrated that the
fight for victory is far from decided. One day before the rest day they posted
a dashing 3½-1½ win. Halfway through the event the Rising Stars
are leading with the smallest of margins, 13-12. In the individual standings
Artur Jussupow has taken the sole lead. In the fight for the ticket to Monaco,
three juniors are leading the pack, Sergey Karjakin, Jan Smeets and Daniel Stellwagen.
Full report.

The tournament setup, with Pedrag Nikolic (left) vs Daniel Stellwagen under
way
in round two. Jan Smeets (white shirt) and Alexander Khalifman look on

Alexander Beliavsky vs Sergey Karjakin in round five (draw)

Artur Jussupow vs Jan Smeets in round four (Jussupow won with black)

Youngest player in the field: Parimarjan Negi of India

Youngest GM in history (at 12): Sergey Karjakin, Ukraine

Family Silvio Danailov and client Ivan Cheparinov (green shirt) in Amsterdam

Chief Arbiter of the tournament Geurt Gijssen (left)

Artur Jussupow, leading with 4.5/5 and a 2847 performance so far
Full schedule and all results
1st round – Wednesday August 22nd |
Alexander Beliavsky |
½-½ |
Parimarjan Negi |
Pedrag Nikolic |
0-1 |
Jan Smeets |
Alexander Khalifman |
½-½ |
Daniel Stellwagen |
Artur Jussupow |
½-½ |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
|
2nd round – Thursday August 23rd |
Jan Smeets |
½-½ |
Alexander Beliavsky |
Daniel Stellwagen |
½-½ |
Pedrag Nikolic |
Ivan Cheparinov |
½-½ |
Alexander Khalifman |
Sergey Karjakin |
½-½ |
Artur Jussupow |
Parimarjan Negi |
½-½ |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
3rd round – Friday August 24th |
Alexander Beliavsky |
0-1 |
Daniel Stellwagen |
Pedrag Nikolic |
½-½ |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Alexander Khalifman |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Artur Jussupow |
1-0 |
Parimarjan Negi |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
0-1 |
Jan Smeets |
|
4th round – Saturday August 25th |
Ivan Cheparinov |
½-½ |
Alexander Beliavsky |
Sergey Karjakin |
1-0 |
Pedrag Nikolic |
Parimarjan Negi |
½-½ |
Alexander Khalifman |
Jan Smeets |
0-1 |
Artur Jussupow |
Daniel Stellwagen |
1-0 |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
5th round – Sunday August 26th |
Alexander Beliavsky |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Pedrag Nikolic |
1-0 |
Parimarjan Negi |
Alexander Khalifman |
½-½ |
Jan Smeets |
Artur Jussupow |
1-0 |
Daniel Stellwagen |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
½-½ |
Ivan Cheparinov |
|
6th round – Tuesday August 28th |
Parimarjan Negi |
|
Alexander Beliavsky |
Jan Smeets |
|
Pedrag Nikolic |
Daniel Stellwagen |
|
Alexander Khalifman |
Ivan Cheparinov |
|
Artur Jussupow |
Sergey Karjakin |
|
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
7th round – Wednesday August
29th |
Alexander Beliavsky |
|
Jan Smeets |
Pedrag Nikolic |
|
Daniel Stellwagen |
Alexander Khalifman |
|
Ivan Cheparinov |
Artur Jussupow |
|
Sergey Karjakin |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
Parimarjan Negi |
|
8th round – Thursday August 30th |
Daniel Stellwagen |
|
Alexander Beliavsky |
Ivan Cheparinov |
|
Pedrag Nikolic |
Sergey Karjakin |
|
Alexander Khalifman |
Parimarjan Negi |
|
Artur Jussupow |
Jan Smeets |
|
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
9th round – Friday August 31st |
Alexander Beliavsky |
|
Ivan Cheparinov |
Pedrag Nikolic |
|
Sergey Karjakin |
Alexander Khalifman |
|
Parimarjan Negi |
Artur Jussupow |
|
Jan Smeets |
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|
Daniel Stellwagen |
|
10th round – Saturday September
1st |
Sergey Karjakin |
|
Alexander Beliavsky |
Parimarjan Negi |
|
Pedrag Nikolic |
Jan Smeets |
|
Alexander Khalifman |
Daniel Stellwagen |
|
Artur Jussupow |
Ivan Cheparinov |
|
Ljubomir Ljubojevic |
|