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It has been a while since I played a nine-round open. In fact, last year's Quebec open was the last time I got a chance to play a real open (as in very nice and challenging). Being a PhD student can be very stressful, such as the qualifying exam, dissertation and research questions, etc. What should one do after two months of nerve-wrecking studying for the qualifying exam? If you are like me I suggest this: Take your fiancée on a nice trip to Europe and play some chess! Specifically in Vlissingen!
Why Vlissingen especially? On a personal note, after focusing my attention and energy mostly on my studies, and left waiting for the result of my qualifying exam, this summer I got a chance to participate in a one-game-a-day open tournament in Europe after a long time. You may wonder at that "one-game-a-day" comment, but suffice it to say I reside in the US now, where such things are virtually unheard of.
In fact this was my first open in Europe since 2011. I was excited to see how things had changed, and in return I received a pleasant surprise: Nothing has changed! It is still a wonderful experience for a chess enthusiast. European chess opens are still what I call "a celebration of chess culture", a fun environment, through which you experience more than just "a chess tournament".
Vlissingen is a lovely city placed in the southwest of Netherlands. HZ University of applied science as the main sponsor of the event has sponsored the prestigious HZ open in Vlissingen for 19 editions so far.
The man behind all of it, Hans Groffen announced that the event will keep going for at least
three more editions. A very kind person, Hans helped us personally on several occasions.
I wish him success and I hope he manages to organize many more editions of HZ open.
A view from the tournament hall
The event was a rich one. 240 players took part, among them eleven grandmasters and 26 masters from fifteen countries. The events entailed several upsets, surprises and an exciting finish.
Jordan Van Foreest, a talented young Dutch player with an impressive
2519 Elo at the age of 16, finished clear second with 7.5/9. Although his
result did not earn him a much desired GM norm, his meteoric ratings rise
may make him the highest rated IM in the world very soon!
Dutch veteran Loek Van Wely had an uneven event with 6.0/9 but had a
few moments top shine, such as a lesson he gave to Jordan Van Foreest
Top seed Baadur Jobava, whose flamboyant style has earned him several fans among chess
enthusiasts, won the event with an impressive 8.0/9
Norms!: Wan Younguo (left) and Mu Ke making GM and IM norms respectively. Wan Yunguo
completed his norms and became a GM at the end of the event (he had reached 2500 before)
I personally did not have a happy final memory in this event: after being in the driving seat for eight rounds, I ruined a better position against the eventual winner, and found myself having to content myself with a ninth place.
Throughout the event I wore my "thinking hat"...
...and though GM Sipke Ernst (above) tried it out, he did not enjoy the same success.
A bitter pill, but made easier to swallow thanks to the otherwise delightful experience in Vlissingen with its balmy weather, good food and kind and helpful organization. This has encouraged us, Sabina my fiancée and myself, to wish to return to Vilissingen next year!
Michal Krasenkow, a veteran grandmaster with vast experience, came in sixth
The unmistakeable sign you are in Holland: windmills!
Time to sail?!
A view close to our hotel, situated on a famous Boulevard where most of the nice cafes,
restaurants and bars are placed
The Guns of Navarone.... 17th century style
Sunbathing is not to be missed in Vlissingen
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Rk
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SNo
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Ti.
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Name
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FED
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Rtg
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Pts
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TB
|
Perf
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rtg+/-
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| 1 | 1 | GM | Jobava Baadur | GEO | 2664 | 8.0 | 41.5 | 2745 | 6.9 |
| 2 | 9 | IM | Van Foreest Jorden | NED | 2519 | 7.5 | 41.0 | 2607 | 10.6 |
| 3 | 11 | IM | Wan Yunguo | CHN | 2472 | 7.0 | 43.5 | 2618 | 18.2 |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Werle Jan | NED | 2525 | 7.0 | 43.0 | 2590 | 9.1 |
| 5 | 3 | GM | Landa Konstantin | RUS | 2624 | 7.0 | 42.5 | 2653 | 5.4 |
| 6 | 4 | GM | Krasenkow Michal | POL | 2616 | 7.0 | 42.5 | 2573 | -2.1 |
| 7 | 19 | FM | Ten Hertog Hugo | NED | 2383 | 7.0 | 42.0 | 2567 | 43.6 |
| 8 | 14 | IM | Prasanna Raghuram Rao | IND | 2424 | 7.0 | 40.0 | 2442 | 3.3 |
| 9 | 5 | GM | Moradiabadi Elshan | IRI | 2587 | 6.5 | 43.5 | 2592 | 3.3 |
| 10 | 26 | IM | Palit Somak | IND | 2345 | 6.5 | 42.0 | 2384 | 6.9 |
| 11 | 21 | Mu Ke | CHN | 2380 | 6.5 | 42.0 | 2507 | 17.2 | |
| 12 | 8 | GM | Ikonnikov Vyacheslav | RUS | 2519 | 6.5 | 41.5 | 2415 | -8.0 |
| 13 | 15 | IM | Leenhouts Koen | NED | 2422 | 6.5 | 41.0 | 2403 | 0.1 |
| 14 | 12 | GM | Ankit R. Rajpara | IND | 2460 | 6.5 | 41.0 | 2471 | 3.9 |
| 15 | 28 | IM | De Jong Migchiel | NED | 2319 | 6.5 | 39.5 | 2385 | 9.2 |
| 16 | 10 | IM | Das Arghyadip | IND | 2485 | 6.5 | 39.5 | 2408 | -5.7 |
| 17 | 45 | CM | Heltzel Joost | NED | 2216 | 6.5 | 39.0 | 2378 | 40.6 |
| 18 | 23 | FM | Erwich Frank | NED | 2358 | 6.5 | 39.0 | 2384 | 12.0 |
| 19 | 32 | FM | Dardha Arben | BEL | 2297 | 6.5 | 38.5 | 2419 | 33.4 |
| 20 | 31 | Brink Barry | NED | 2302 | 6.5 | 37.5 | 2377 | 20.6 | |
| 21 | 25 | FM | Timmermans Mark | NED | 2352 | 6.5 | 37.0 | 2378 | 13.2 |
| 22 | 2 | GM | Van Wely Loek | NED | 2654 | 6.0 | 44.5 | 2518 | -12.0 |
| 23 | 6 | GM | Ernst Sipke | NED | 2544 | 6.0 | 44.5 | 2492 | -3.7 |
| 24 | 17 | FM | Admiraal Miguoel | NED | 2414 | 6.0 | 41.0 | 2455 | 6.6 |
| 25 | 18 | IM | Van Delft Merijn | NED | 2410 | 6.0 | 39.5 | 2358 | -3.1 |
Photo courtesy: Ad Bruijns and IA Frans Peeters
LinksYou can use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com. |
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