Unive Hoogeveen Starts

The small town of Hoogeveen is again a center of attention for the chess world. Both the Unive Crown Tournament and the Unive Open have started in Hoogeveen, sponsored by the Unive cooperative insurance company in the Netherlands.

The main attraction is of course the super grandmaster double round robin tournament that started today. These are the players:

Player	Country	Rating
Adams, Michael	ENG	2753
So, Wesley	PHI	2706
Van Wely, Loek	NED	2693
Van Kampen, Robin	NED	2607

With one of the top 10 players in the world, Michael Adams, the second junior in the world, Wesley So and two of the highest rated players in the Netherlands this tournament shapes up to be quite exciting.

In the open section many strong players are currently participating, including grandmasters Rodshtein, L'Ami, Moskalenko, Haslinger, Ernst, and Krasenkow among others.

Opening Ceremony

The chairman of the largest employers' organization in the Netherlands, VNO-NWC, Bernand Wientjes opens the tournament

The players picked one of Gerard van de Weerd's art pieces to determine their pairing number

Some of the works

At the opening ceremony. From left to right: Tara MacGowran (Adams' wife), Michael Adams, Loek Van Wely, Robin Van Kampen and Wesley So.

The tallest player in the Netherlands enjoys some humor during the ceremony

Round 1

The tournament started rather spectacularly as the young players took important victories. Robin van Kampen destroyed a weak showing by Michael Adams in an unusual French defense.

Taking advantage of his opponent's mistakes White won a piece and then consolidated it to win the game

In the other game, So held a slight edge through most of the game but it was really a blunder by Van Wely that allowed the Filipino to capitalize

Replay Games

Open section

The open section is currently being led by a pack of five people on 3.0/3: Moskalenko, Rodshtein, L'Ami, Krasenkow and Levin. The Open section started before the Crown Tournament since it has more rounds.

A familiar face: IM Tania Sachdev has 2.5 after drawing in the second round

WIM Lorena Zepeda, Van Wely's wife, is participating in the open section but only has 1.0/3

GM Yasser Seirawan (left) is not playing in either tournament, but he enjoys his time analyzing positions

The concurrent relay for the spectators is being done the old fashioned way

Explaining van Kampen's opening

Pictures by Johan Valk

Schedule

Round 1 – October 20
So, Wesley	2706	1-0	Van Wely, Loek	2693
Van Kampen, Robin	2607	1-0	Adams, Michael	2753
Round 2 – October 21
Van Kampen, Robin	2607		Van Wely, Loek	2693
Adams, Michael	2753		So, Wesley	2706
Round 3 – October 22
Van Wely, Loek	2693		Adams, Michael	2753
So, Wesley	2706		Van Kampen, Robin	2607
Round 4 – October 24
Van Wely, Loek	2693		So, Wesley	2706
Adams, Michael	2753		Van Kampen, Robin	2607
Round 5 – October 25
Adams, Michael	2753		Van Wely, Loek	2693
Van Kampen, Robin	2607		So, Wesley	2706
Round 6 – October 26
Van Wely, Loek	2693		Van Kampen, Robin	2607
So, Wesley	2706		Adams, Michael	2753

Links

The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.