Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
The Dutch Open at Dieren ran from July 23 to August 2. In our previous report, after five rounds, the lead was held by Dimitry Reinderrman, but he was defeated in round six by rating-favourite Erwin L'Ami, after which his challenge faded. L'Ami then battled out the lead with fellow Dutch GM, Erik Van den Doel, and Indian IM Deep Sengupta. The three eventually tied for first-third places on 7/9, ahead of a substantial group half a point behind.
| Place | Name | Rating | Nation | Pts | TPR |
| 1-3 | GM van den Doel, Erik | 2587 | NED | 7.0 | 2620 |
| 1-3 | GM L'Ami, Erwin | 2598 | NED | 7.0 | 2612 |
| 1-3 | IM Sengupta, Deep | 2435 | IND | 7.0 | 2493 |
| 4-10 | GM Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav | 2558 | RUS | 6.5 | 2569 |
| 4-10 | IM Brandenburg, Daan | 2434 | NED | 6.5 | 2628 |
| 4-10 | GM Gofstein, Zvulon | 2541 | ISR | 6.5 | 2575 |
| 4-10 | IM Siebrecht, Sebastian | 2439 | GER | 6.5 | 2439 |
| 4-10 | GM Barua, Dibyendu | 2462 | IND | 6.5 | 2524 |
| 4-10 | IM Saravanan, Venkatachalam | 2355 | IND | 6.5 | 2491 |
| 4-10 | GM Ernst, Sipke | 2555 | NED | 6.5 | 2482 |
L'Ami's shared first represented an impressive comeback from his shock first-round defeat against Christoph Kleijn, with the Grandmaster from Woerden notching six wins and two draws from his remaining eight games. Van den Doel, who nowadays plays most of his chess on the Dutch weekend circuit, was also impressive, winning six of his first seven games, before coasting in with two draws. The Indian IM, Deep Sengupta, played a weaker field than his two fellow winners (see the performance scores in the table above), but as a wise man once pointed out, you can only beat what is put in front of you, and Sengupta did that most efficiently.
Of the 4th-10th placed group, special mention must be made of Daan Brandenburg. The 20-year old IM made his first grandmaster norm, going through unbeaten, inflicting the only defeat on Van den Doel and gaining some 28 rating points in the process. It could have been even better, had he not missed a tactical trick against L'Ami in the final round, which would have won material and potentially given him outright first place, but he can be very well satisfied with his week's efforts. One must also mention the performance of Petra Schuurman, whose five points earned her the prize for the highest score by a lady, as well as a place in the 2008 Dutch Ladies' Championship.
The tournament winner (on tiebreak): GM Erik van den Doel
Erwin L'Ami, rating favourite in this tournament
GM Friso Nijboer, rated 2568, ended with 5.5 points on place 15
So what are you going to play, Friso?
WIM Marlies Bensdrop, 22, rated 2238, scored 5.0 points
Twin sister WMF Laura Bensdrop, 2119, scored 4.0 points
GM Ernst Sipke, 28, half a point behind the leaders
GM karel van der Weide, 2502, scored 6.0 points and ended 11th
Indian FM Srinath Narayanan, 14, rated 2218
Pauline van Nies, 18, rated 2162, scored 4.0 points
Chess in Dieren – the Dutch Open
Pondering a position
An unidentified participant of the Dutch Open
A young chess player at the start of a game
Youth and chess – captured in this lovely image
Links |
