Univé Tournament 2009 under way in Hoogeveen

by ChessBase
10/20/2009 – It used to be known as the Essent Tournament, but the 13th edition of this chess festival has a new sponsor, the Dutch insurance company Univé. There are a number of sections, including a strong international Open. Of greatest interest is the Crown Group, a four-player double round robin, with Vassily Ivanchuk, Sergei Tiviakov, Judit Polgar and 15-year-old Anish Giri. Round two report.
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The 13th Univé Tournament 2009 is taking place from October 16th to 24th in the town hall in the center of the Dutch town of Hoogeveen. It is played in a number of sections: the Crown Group with four players, the strong international Univé Open, two tournaments for amateurs and a youth event. The insurance company Univé is the new sponsor of the event, which was previously known as the Essent Tournament. The prize fund for the for the Crown Group is €10,000, the time control 40 moves in 1½ hours + 30 minutes to finish the game, with a 30 seconds increment from the start.

Participants of the Crown Group

Player Country
Rating
Vassily Ivanchuk Ukraine
2746
Sergei Tiviakov Netherlands
2697
Judit Polgar Hungary
2693
Anish Giri Netherlands
2517
  Average rating 2663 – Category: 17


Anish Giri, 14, grandmaster and Dutch Champion

All four games of the first two rounds in the Crown Group were drawn, which was mainly a success for 15-year-old GM Anish Giri, who was playing 161 points above his nominal 2552 rating. The second round had the more exciting games: a hard-fought 52-move draw between Giri and Sergei Tiviakov, and an exciting effort by Judit Polgar, who missed a good chance (46..Qd4!) with the black pieces against Vassily Ivanchuk, and then tried to eke out a win in a rook and minor piece ending. The game was drawn in 75 moves.


Hoogeveen: cascade in the Main Street [photo Willem Jan Kleppe]


The town hall, decorated with flags of the participant during the tournament


Top GM in the Crown Group: Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine


Judit Polgar, the strongest female player in the history of the game


Sergei Tiviakov, who won the Dutch Championship in 2006 and 2007


Anish Giri, of Russian-Nepalese descent, is the reigning Dutch Champion

Photos by Harry Gielen

Links

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