With Christmas on the doorstep, we're left with just 1 leader in the tournament. Kryakvin picked an anti-theoretical d3-line to fight blacks Grünfeld, and he managed to get some play. Plat correctly estimated that sacrificing his b7 pawn would grant him enough play, and eventually whites queen. The position was more or less balanced with knight, rook and pawn for a queen, but blacks queen found some nice targets and eventually brought home the win for Vojtech. Other winners Pruijssers, Turov, Bok, Tiviakov and Postny are only halve a point behind, so no time to rest, except for tomorrow, since Christmas day is a rest day. 

Merry Christmas and we'll speak again on tuesday.

Photos Harry Gielen - Day 3

Maurice Ashley is an American. Maurice loves chess, women, dancing, and himself. Maurice also loves commentating on chess. But foremost Maurice loves money. If a grandmaster makes a great move, he calls it the ‘money move’. If the game is decided, Maurice shouts: ‘That’s money, baby!‘.

Maurice Ashley is an American. Maurice loves dollars. On the internet there’s a clip in which Maurice delivers a speech at an elementary school in one of America’s worst neighbourhoods. Maurice’s message: Passion is nice, but it’s primarily about the money. More than half of his story is about making money and about if one really wants to reach something, then that’s really possible if one tries hard enough, like Maurice. He reached the top and became rich, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of..

After 3 rounds of the Chessfestival Groningen almost everything is 'as it should be,' if we look at pre-tournament predictions. Grandmasters Vojtech Plat and Dmitry Kryakvin lead the tournament and play eachother in the fourth round. All other grandmasters follow on the next six boards, with 2 of the dutch favorites Sipke Ernst and Benjamin Bok playing eachother in round 4 and Groningers nr. 2 Tiviakov taking on Kuipers on board 4. We'll keep an eye on the biggest surprise of the tournament, former inhabitant of Assen, Elmar Hommes who beat 2 stronger opponents and held 1 to a draw. This round he faces his thoughest opponent yet, dutch grandmaster Roeland Pruijssers.

The chess player is a strange animal. You didn’t know that? Well, take a look around in the playing venue. Do you spot the guy in the sweater moving his head like a Tibetan monk? And there, a little further on, do you see that man with the gray moustache who is adjusting all his pieces after he moved one?

Everybody who plays chess at a certain level knows that al kind of tics, strange habits, and superstitions are regularly seen behind the board. Strange? Perhaps not, because there’s the prestige and rating points at stake. Adrenaline levels increase and at the same time players are expected to sit behind the board quietly.

Last year we had a first round with many upsets. This year the players followed dr. ELO more strictly, although we still had surprising results from Rahul vs Kislinsky and Weggen vs Lubbe. If you're looking for some rollercoaster games, you should definitely have a look at the games of Kryakvin and Ernst. Their opponents showed no fear whatsoever and proved that chess is a sport for spectators. Most of the top seeds managed to win their game, although Tiviakov might have lost some valuable energy in grinding his endgame with the double round of tomorrow ahead.

Photos Harry Gielen Day 1

Every year, as I walk into the tournament hall at the Chess Festival, the scene makes a strange impression on me. Playing chess below fluorescent lamps in a gym? Playing chess at a location where people normally run, scream, and sweat? Don’t chess tournaments belong in a club with oak-wooden tables, where serious men in three-piece suits ceremoniously play their moves while holding cigars?

‘Chess is everything: art, science, and sport,’ Anatoly Karpov said. Art, for sure. Every chess player who has won a game by a fierce mating attack, will consider his game a true piece of art, similar to a Jackson Pollock ‘action-painting’. The chess player who prefers to win a pawn in the middle game and eventually cash in in the late endgame will relate more to the 17th century Dutch masters. I can picture Karpov with a paintbrush in his hands, behind his easel. A little point here, a small stripe there…

GM Sipke Ernst (1979) divides his time about equally between playing chess and coaching. He moved to Groningen as a student, holds an MA degree in Dutch Language and Culture from the University of Groningen, and can definitely be called a ‘local hero’. The six-time Chess Festival winner plays for chess club Groninger Combinatie. Winning several tournaments around the world and playing in the German, Belgian, French, and Spanish league, he is, however, not just a local hero. This year he became second in the Dutch Championships, just missing the title after a hard-fought tie-break against Loek van Wely. As a chess coach Ernst is very active too, coaching – mostly young - players from a wide variety of countries such as India, South-Africa, the U.S., and Germany. With his experience and a rating of 2532 it’s fair to say that he might also be one of the favourites to win this year’s edition of the Chess Festival.

How would you describe your playing style? Has it changed during the course of years?
My playing style is 'jazzy'. When I was young I played like a bulldozer.

A chess game can be quite stressful. How do you cope with that?
I actually wish I experienced a bit more stress during a game…

During the last edition of the Chess Festival FM Nick Maatman (1995) beat rating favourite Krasenkow, scoring his second IM norm. This year Maatman is ready for some more major upsets. Maatman studies Finance & Control in Groningen and plays for chess club SISSA. His ambitions in ‘real life’ - as he calls it - are still to be discovered, but in chess it’s quit clear. With a rating of 2367, steadily growing, and one norm to go, the IM title seems to be a matter of time.

How would you describe your playing style?
I always feel that it is hard to describe your own style. I am not a very practical player, I will always try to find the best move which often leads to games where both players find themselves in time trouble. I am trying to become a bit more practical, I am currently trying to rely more on my intuition and speed up my game.

What is your favourite opening? And what is your favourite opening you never play?
The one opening that I have consistently played during my youth is the French. It is definitely not the best option available versus 1. e4, but it’s the opening that I have the best results with. As white I have almost always played 1. d4 and I don’t mind facing obscure openings like the Tarrasch, Budapest and Albin Countergambit.

The Banter Chess Championship match, presented and explained by Jan Joris Groenewold, between Sipke and Jorden was won by the young guy Jorden. In the first game white (Jorden) caused black some problems in a Scotch, but Sipke fought back and reached an equal ending. In the second game Sipke seemed on top, but when he sacrificed a piece, Jorden started to play very accurately and eventually managed to give back the piece for a better ending. The combination of position and a significant time advantage gave Jorden the win: 1.5 - 0.5. An important remark: The jury (spectators) also rewarded Jorden with the price of best trashtalker.The biggest winner of the evening was however, Chess Café Hooghoudt Proeflokaal. In this pub it's proven, day in day out, that Chess can be fun for all levels and in all forms. It therefore organizes, once again, an After Chess program during the Chess Festival:

24 Dec.: Fischer Random chess (Chess960).
25 Dec.: Christmas day, Hooghoudt Proeflokaal closed.
26 Dec.: Stratego Chess.
27 Dec.: SISSA Christmas Blitz.(www.jsvsissa.nl)
28 Dec.: Hands & Brains.
29 Dec.: Dutch Bughouse / Doorgeefschaak.

All activities will start at 20.30 hrs.
Chess Café Hooghoudt Proeflokaal:
Gedempte Zuiderdiep 61, 9711 HC Groningen.

Photos 2018

Harry Gielen

Jan van Os

Bart Beijer

The organization and arbiters have decided to merge the Open B and C group into 1 group. There will be prizes for different ratinggroups, so that the participants of the C group still have fair chances to fight for a priza.

Eelke de Boer (2003) is one of Groningen’s most talented young players. In a city with a lot of strong young players, that ought to tell us something. Eelke played his first real chess games at the youth tournament of our Chess Festival in 2009. He won second prize in his group and was awarded his first trophy by Robin van Kampen, who then played a match against Jan Timman that year (the first match-up between young and old on the festival). Later on, Eelke went on to become four times Dutch champion in his age group and last September he reached 5th place at the European Championship, just missing the title. He has already beaten some GMs and his rating has crossed the 2300 barrier. Now it’s Eelkes turn to represent the City of Talent in a match against GM Dennis de Vreugt.

How would you describe your playing style? Has it changed during the course of years?
In my first years of chess I was a very aggressive player and I still am, but my attacking skills are much more refined now. I think my style has changed in the sense that if I have the choice between a sharp, double-edged position and a position in which I have a small but stable edge, I would choose the latter.

What is your favourite opening? Is there also an opening you like but have never played?
My favourite opening is the King's Indian, when played well. I have always thought the Benko gambit would be quite fun to play.

The Chess Festival Groningen proudly presents Benno de Jongh as our daily columnist. De Jongh is a journalist and decent chess player, even though he has never reached a rating of 2000 - and probably never will. Despite that fact he is one of the world's leading experts on the Elephant Gambit and working on a book on the subject, (working title: The Elephant Gambit, A Rare Black Beast with a Proboscis on the Board, publication expected in 2032).

De Jongh will write columns on several chess-related topics, such as Alpha Zero, children in chess, eating behind the board, and Maurice Ashley. His columns will be straightforward, easy-to-read, sometimes sharp-edged, but will always end on a positive note. It's good to point out that De Jongh’s opinions on several chess- and non chess related items do not in any way reflect the policy of the organisation of the festival. The columns will be published daily at around 3 pm Central Groningen Time (CGT).

WGM Melanie Lubbe (1990) is no stranger to Groningen. She obtained her masters degree in Organizational Psychology from the University of Groningen and also regularly plays for the city’s chess club SISSA. She started working in human resources in Braunschweig, Germany, where she lives together with her husband Nikolas Lubbe (who by the way is also attending the Chess Festival). Besides her ‘real job’ she also presents several shows on Chess24. Her ambition off the board is to enjoy her job while still finding time for family and friends as well as sports and chess. With three IM norms already in the pocket, she hopes to improve her rating of 2345 to get her IM title.

What do you think of the city of Groningen?
Oh, I do love the city with its charming atmosphere, its cosy stores and cafes and hundreds of bicycles. When doing my masters degree here, I took Groningen to my heart.

How would you describe your playing style? Did it change during the course of years?
I prefer complicated positions with lots of tactical motives and opportunities. However, I am not afraid of queen exchanges anymore, like I used to be.

We're happy to announce that we'll have a match between Dennis de Vreugt and Eelke de Boer during this years edition of the Chess Festival Groningen. Dennis is a Grandmaster and a double European Youth Champion. Eelke is one of the many great chess talents from Groningen, who missed the European youth crown by a whisker this year. Surely he'll want to show that he can match Dennis. Two two will battle it out in 4 classical games from 27 - 30 December.

Maxim Turov (1979) is a Russian Grandmaster and, according to his answers, one of the more relaxed ones. Of course he takes chess seriously, as his rating suggests (2618), but at the same time the pleasure of the game seems at least as important to him. Among many other tournaments, he won the Dutch Open in Dieren in 2005 and 2011. Turov now primarily works as a coach. Since 2016 he and his family have been based in St. Petersburg and before that in Tromso, Norway. His students vary from the age of 8 till 88 and from beginners till national team members.

How would you describe your playing style?
In my opinion, the term ‘playing style’ has gone... Nowadays if one is not flexible and universal, one is not a chess player.

How do you cope with stress behind the board?
I think life could be way more stressful than any game of chess. Yes, it's a very nice and deep game, but we all are moving wooden pieces... Not a big deal if something went wrong.

The Groninger Student Chess Championship is meant for pub, home and internet chess players whom aren't subscribed at an official chess club. First prize of €150 is guaranteed and entry is free. 

Above the organizers Arjan and Koen and last years deserved winner Arno Holtrop with his price, worth 75 beers. The battle between associations was won by FMF and HCSA. Who'll beat them this year? All information can be viewed via 'Student Chess.'

Groningen Talking Chess Championship
Wednesday, December 13, 8pm
Two games, 15 min per person per game
Live Commentary

Proeflokaal Hooghoudt, Gedempte Zuiderdiep 61
Free entry and 1 free drink

Jorden van Foreest                                                          Sipke Ernst