exd5!

24.10.2009
– Certainly an unusual four-player double round robin. In this "Crown Group" all games but one were draw, so that the winner of that game, Dutch GM Sergei Tiviakov, came in first, and the loser, Judit Polgar, last. Vassily Ivanchuk and Anish Giri scored 50%. In the Univé Open English GM Steward Haslinger was first by a full point. Final report.

The 13th Univé Tournament 2009 took place from October 16th to 24th
in the town hall in the center of the Dutch town of Hoogeveen. It was 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 was the new sponsor of the event, which was previously
known as the Essent Tournament. The prize fund for the for the Crown Group was
€10,000, the time control 40 moves in 1½ hours + 30 minutes to finish
the game, with a 30 seconds increment from the start.

The winner of a single game and the event: Dutch GM Sergei Tiviakov

The only decisive game of the entire event came in round four, when Judit Polgar
slipped in her game against Dutch GM Sergei Tiviakov:

Tiviakov,S (2670) - Polgar,Ju (2687) [B46]
Unive Crown Hoogeveen NED (4), 22.10.2009
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 d6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.0-0
Nf6 9.Nxc6 Bxc6 10.a4 Be7 11.Be3 0-0 12.a5 Nd7 13.Qd2 Qc7 14.Rfe1 Rac8 15.Bd4
Ne5 16.b3 Be8 17.Re3 Nd7 18.Re2 Bf6 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 20.Na2 Bd7 21.c4 Rfd8 22.Nb4
e5 23.Kh1 Ra8 24.f4 Re8 25.Re3 b5 26.axb6 Qxb6 27.Rae1 a5 28.fxe5 Rxe5 29.Nd3

The world's strongest female player is doing okay, but now, with her rook under
attack, she resorts to tricks (at which she excels): 29...Qd4?! 30.R3e2
Rb8. Insisting on the opponent accepting the exchange. 31.Nxe5
Qxe5 32.Qd3 h5 33.Rd2 Rb6 34.Qd4 Rxb3 35.Qxd6 Qxd6 36.Rxd6 Be6 37.c5 Ng4 38.c6
Rc3 39.e5 a4 40.Kg1

41...a3? Judit, who is in trouble, seems to have pinned her
hopes on this passed pawn, but now Tiviakov has a trick of his own: 41.Rd8+
Kh7 42.Rd3! The rook is protected by the bishop fork on e4. 42...Rc5
43.Rxa3 Nxe5 44.Ra6 g6 45.c7 Bc8 46.Rd6 Ng4 47.Rc6 Ra5 48.h3 Ne5 49.Rd6 Rc5
50.Rd5 Rxd5. Hopeless, Black resigned. 1-0.

The longest (by far) game of the event came in round three and saw Vassily
Ivanchuk determined to grab a point in a theoretically drawn position. Ivanchuk
also played the second-longest game (75 moves against Judit Polgar in round
two) and the third longest (59 moves against Sergei Tiviakov in round five).
He also set the opposite record for the event, as you can see in our third example.

Tiviakov,S (2670) - Ivanchuk,V (2756) [B17]
Unive Crown Hoogeveen NED (3), 20.10.2009
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Bc4
Bf5 8.Qe2 e6 9.Bg5 Qa5+ 10.c3 Bg4 11.Qe5 Nd5 12.Nd2 f6 13.Qg3 h5 14.h3 Bf5 15.Be3
g5 16.Qf3 g4 17.Qe2 gxh3 18.gxh3 0-0-0 19.Nb3 Qa4 20.Bd3 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 c5 22.Qe2
cxd4 23.Nxd4 e5 24.Qc2 Qc4 25.Qe2 Nxe3 26.fxe3 Qxe2+ 27.Nxe2 Rd3 28.Rf1 Rxe3
29.Rxf6 Be7 30.Rf5 e4 31.Kd2 Rxh3 32.Re5 e3+ 33.Kd3 Bd6 34.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 35.Kxe3
h4 36.Rd1 Bc7 37.Ng1 Bb6+ 38.Kf4 Rf8+ 39.Ke4 Rf2 40.Nf3 Rxb2 41.Nxh4 Rxa2 42.Nf5
Kc7 43.Rh1 Bc5 44.Kd5 Ra5 45.Kc4 a6 46.Ng7 Bb6 47.Ne8+ Kb8 48.Nd6 Rc5+ 49.Kb3
Rc6 50.Rh8+ Kc7 51.Nc4 Bf2 52.Rh7+ Kb8 53.Rd7 Bg3 54.Ne3 Be5 55.Nd5 Rc5 56.c4
Rc8 57.Nb6 Rc6 58.Nd5 Bd6 59.Rd8+ Ka7 60.Rd7 Bf8 61.Rd8 Bc5 62.Rd7 Rh6 63.Rc7
Rh3+ 64.Kc2 Bd4 65.Re7 a5 66.Re4 Bh8 67.Re3 Rh2+ 68.Kb3 Bd4 69.Re8 Bc5 70.Ka4
b6 71.Rg8 Rb2 72.Rg7+ Ka6 73.Nc7+ Kb7 74.Nb5+ Kc8 75.Na7+ Kd8 76.Nc6+ Ke8 77.Rh7
Ra2+ 78.Kb3 Ra3+ 79.Kc2 Re3 80.Ra7 Re6 81.Nxa5 bxa5 82.Rxa5

On the last move White captured the last black pawn. It now takes Ivanchuk
27 moves to pick up the white pawn on d4. 82...Re5 83.Kd3 Kd7 84.Ra6
Kc7 85.Rg6 Re3+ 86.Kd2 Rh3 87.Rf6 Bb4+ 88.Ke2 Rc3 89.Rf3 Rc2+ 90.Kd3 Rd2+ 91.Ke4
Kc6 92.Rf5 Rd1 93.Rd5 Rc1 94.Kd3 Rc3+ 95.Kd4 Rh3 96.Rg5 Bc3+ 97.Ke4 Bb2 98.Rd5
Ba3 99.Rg5 Bd6 100.Rd5 Bc5 101.Re5 Re3+ 102.Kf5 Rc3 103.Re4 Bb4 104.Re6+ Kc5
105.Re4 Rd3 106.Kf4 Bd2+ 107.Kg4 Bc3 108.Kf4 Bd4 109.Re2 Kxc4

This ending is a theoretical draw, but the veteran Ukrainian GM prods and probes
for 36 move moves. Tiviakov, our tablebases tell us, never goes astray.
110.Ke4 Rh3 111.Rc2+ Bc3 112.Re2 Rh4+ 113.Ke3 Bd4+ 114.Kd2 Rh1 115.Kc2 Ra1 116.Kd2
Bc3+ 117.Ke3 Kd5 118.Kd3 Bd4 119.Kc2 Ra3 120.Re8 Kc4 121.Rc8+ Bc5 122.Rc7 Ra2+
123.Kc1 Rg2 124.Rc8 Kd4 125.Kb1 Kd5 126.Rc7 Be3 127.Rc2 Rg1+ 128.Ka2 Bd4 129.Rc8
Ke4 130.Kb3 Rb1+ 131.Ka4 Kd5 132.Ka3 Rb7 133.Rc2 Ke4 134.Ka4 Kd3 135.Rc8 Bc3
136.Rc5 Rb6 137.Rb5 Ra6+ 138.Kb3 Ra1 139.Rd5+ Bd4 140.Rb5 Rc1 141.Rb4 Bc5 142.Rb5
Rc3+ 143.Kb2 Ba3+ 144.Ka2 Kc4 145.Rb8 Bc5 146.Kb2 Rh3 draw.

That was clearly the longest game of the tournament. Here's the shortest, from
the final round:

Polgar,Ju (2687) - Ivanchuk,V (2756) [C42]
Unive Crown Hoogeveen NED (6), 24.10.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 0-0
8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0-0-0 Nc5 10.Nd4 Re8 11.f3 Ne6 12.Be3 Bg5 13.h4 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Nxd4
15.Qxd4 Qe7 16.Bc4 Qe3+ 17.Qxe3 Rxe3 draw.

Judit Polgar after completing six percent of her final game against
Ivanchuk

Vassily Ivanchuk after 4...Nxe4 and 24 percent of the game

Final standings

Univé Open

This strong international open was won by GM Stewart Haslinger, a full point
ahead of the field.

The winner of the Univé Open: Steward Haslinger of England

Three GMs and an IM followed in second to fifth.

#
Player
Nat.
Rtng
Pts
WWe
BH
SB
perf.

1
GM Haslinger, Stewart
ENG
2529
7.5
+1.91
49.0
40.75
2707

2
GM Brodsky, Michail
UKR
2530
6.5
+0.96
54.0
37.0
2605

3
GM Nijboer, Friso
NED
2540
6.5
+0.66
51.0
34.75
2585

4
GM Ulibin, Mikhail
RUS
2533
6.5
+0.26
47.0
33.75
2536

5
IM Caspi, Israel
ISR
2404
6.5
+1.57
46.5
30.75
2521

6
GM Kasparov, Sergey
BLR
2488
6.0
+0.55
50.5
32.5
2527

7
GM Friedel, Joshua E
USA
2555
6.0
-0.37
50.0
31.0
2511

8
GM Genov, Petar
BUL
2470
6.0
-0.04
46.5
30.0
2456

9
IM Willemze, Thomas
NED
2391
6.0
+1.06
46.0
27.25
2469

10
IM Riemersma, Li
NED
2431
6.0
-0.12
45.5
27.5
2410

11
GM Romanishin, Oleg
UKR
2515
5.5
-0.75
48.5
27.25
2440

12
GM Gruenfeld, Yehuda
ISR
2474
5.5
-0.22
48.5
27.25
2445

13
IM Slingerland, Fred
NED
2395
5.5
+0.48
46.5
26.25
2430

14
IM Van Delft, Merijn
NED
2374
5.5
-0.08
43.0
24.5
2361

15
Vedder, Henk
NED
2364
5.5
-0.02
41.5
23.75
2355

16
FM Van Kooten, Luuk
NED
2292
5.5
+0.80
40.5
22.75
2356

17
IM Van Oosterom, Chiel
NED
2386
5.0
+0.27
46.0
22.75
2406

18
IM Grooten, Herman
NED
2328
5.0
+0.33
45.5
23.5
2352

19
GM Kraai, Jesse
USA
2526
5.0
-1.69
45.0
23.0
2372

20
Hoffman, Ron
NED
2107
5.0
+2.86
43.0
25.0
2388

21
GM Vul, Arkadi
RUS
2309
5.0
+0.89
42.0
20.0
2386

22
Klein, David
NED
2248
5.0
+0.68
41.0
21.25
2307

23
Timmermans, Ivo
NED
2237
5.0
+0.60
39.5
17.5
2285

24
FM Bezemer, Arno
NED
2364
5.0
-1.17
38.0
19.5
2264

25
FM Heemskerk, Wim
NED
2236
5.0
+0.07
38.0
19.0
2244

26
IM Afek, Yochanan
ISR
2303
5.0
-0.44
36.5
17.25
2266

27
Lagrotteria, Salvatore
ITA
2221
5.0
-0.26
33.5
15.0
2203

Chess in the city, chess in the town hall of Hoogeveen

The sign next to the main entrance and the flags outside tell the story

Playing in front of monumental paintings on the wall

All eyes are focussed on Anna Maja Kazarian, nine years old

Anish Giri and Vassily Ivanchuk analysing in the press center

Photos by Frans van Amerongen

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN: Crown Group – Univé Open (zipped) The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!

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24.10.2009
– She is thirteen, rated 2132, and won the Asian U-14 title in Delhi last month. With her chess career she has made her country proud. But Saranya's childhood is anything but a bed of roses. Her father deserted the family five years ago, and her mother sells small items made of plastic and mud on the pavement of Thiruvottiyur (near Chennai) to eke out a living. Someone must help this girl.

Chess champ on city streets

Saranya at nine [photo Arvind Aaron]
 

By Julian Rodrigo

CHENNAI: Just a few years ago, J Saranya was like the girl next door. A resident
of Thiruvottiyur in north Chennai, she was a student of Corporation school.
Too small to understand things she just accompanied her elder sister for tuition
everyday.

When the classes were on, Saranya used to go to the first floor of the building,
where the Bloom Chess Academy was functioning. Initially she was just a spectator
but quickly learnt the nuances of the sport. Saranya’s journey in chess
started there.

She started winning tournaments in and around the city in quick succession.
She became a national champion in the U-13 category in 2008. Saranya went one
step ahead by winning the Asian U-14 crown in New Delhi last month.

Within a short span of time she has made the country proud. Saranya has the
potential to make it big one day. For the thirteen-year-old the passage to the
top has not been a bed of roses. Her childhood has been a difficult one. Saranya’s
father deserted the family about five years ago and his whereabouts are still
not known. Her mother Thangam sells small items made of plastic and mud on the
pavement in front of the Vadivudai Amman temple at Thiruvottiyur.

J Saranya at 13, Asian U-14 gold medalist and rated 2132,
helping her mother sell plastic on the streets of Chennai

“There are about 25 pavement sellers and I’ve got to depend on
the crowd that comes to the temple everyday," says the mother of the Asian
champion. "I sit there from 4 pm and there is a good number that turn up
for worship only on Fridays. Wednesday is a lean day. And I’m badly hit
on a rainy day.” The family lives in a ramshackle house and the money
earned from this pavement selling is just good enough for hand-to-mouth existence.

The game of chess needs a lot of exposure. Playing tournaments abroad and competing
against tougher players helps one in honing skills. But with such a plight how
difficult it would be for Saranya to go up the ladder? Moving over from Corporation
school to Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School has done a world of
good to this upcoming youngster. “The Velammal school management has given
free education to both my daughters. Saranya’s trips abroad are more often
taken care of by the school. Teachers give special coaching classes to Saranya
to compensate for the classes missed owing to tournaments.

As a good gesture many of her classmates from well-to-do families have pooled
in money to send her for other tournaments in the country,” says the mother.

Saranya was spotted by M A Velayutham, who runs the Bloom Chess Academy. She
has been under his tutelage right from the beginning. “Saranya is a dedicated
player and quick learner. Despite the financial crunch at home, Saranya has
not allowed her concentration to waver,” said the coach.

Saranya benefited from the onemonth stint in Spain where she played three tournaments
and made her first WIM norm. “My victory over Starostitsilmar of England
and Arosidhzelevan of Greece in the Spain tournament gave a big boost to my
confidence. I will become a WIM soon and then strive hard to go higher,”
says the softspoken Saranya.

Saranya rates her win over Priyanka Kumari of Jharkhand to lift the U-13 National
title as one of the best moments. Saranya, who is studying in 9th standard,
will be taking part in the National Women B, followed by the age-group Nationals
in Mumbai before taking off to Turkey for the World U-14 Championship from November
10 to 18. She has the potential to go places but the need of the hour is a sponsor.

With many reputed industrial establishments like Madras Refineries Limited
and Petro Chemicals Industries housed in Thiruvottiyur one hopes someone will
chip in to help this unassuming lass.

Source: Express
Buzz. We hope to meet this talented young lady at the World U-14 Championship
in Antalya, Turkey next month.

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24.10.2009
– GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia won it, but more relevantly this GM Open was staged in a luxurious five star hotel, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, with accommodation to the GMs provided in the hotel itself. And there was the free day pleasure trip to Kandy, a world famous tourist spot, where the players got to meet the Indian Ocean and a bevy of friendly elephants.

Ravana Challenge International, Colombo, Sri Lanka

By R. Anantharam – Chief Arbiter

It is rare that a GM open tournament is organized in a luxurious five star
hotel with accommodation to the GMs in the hotel itself. The Ravana Open in
Sri Lanka, with a prize fund of USD 20,000, is such a rarity. The tournament,
comprising twelve GMs and players from fifteen countries, was organized by the
Blue and Gold Chess Club from 12 to 19 September in the Ceylon Continental Hotel,
the first ever five star hotel in Sri Lanka. After the long war over many years
Sri Lanka is slowly on the rise, and chess is becoming popular here among the
die hard fans of cricket.

A view from a five-star hotel room

GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia was the top seed, followed by GM Alexander
Shabalov of USA. After defeating Shabalov, Elshan Moradiabadi, the grandmaster
from Iran, led with four points in as many rounds. In the sixth round, Mikheil
posted a win over Petr Kostenko of Kazakhsatan, Vadim Malakhatko of Belgium
defeated Krasimir Rusev of Bulgaria and Vladimir Georgiev of Macedonia overwhelmed
Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia to join Elshan at the top.

The playing hall, with Krasimir Rusev of Bulgaria battling it out with Sunil
Weeramantry,
step-father of the US champion Hikaru Nakamura

All the winners lien up for a group photo

The leaders drew among themselves, enabling Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan who
finished third in the famous Kolkata Open, his compatriot Anuar Ismagambetov
and Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia to catch them. In the eighth round Georgiev
emerged sole leader, defeating the Indian IM Dinesh Sharma. Mchedlishvili joined
him in the lead after the penultimate round, with a win over Vadim Malakhatko.
The summit clash between the two top seeds, Medlishvili and Shabalov, ended
in a fighting draw and a similar result between Georgiev and Merab Gagunashvili
of Georgia resulted in a tie between Mchedlishvili and Georgiev for the top
slot. The better tiebreak favored Mchedlishvili, who won the title and a cash
prize of 20,000 US dollars.

The winner of the tournament Mikheil Mchedlishvili

It is rare that a GM open tournament is organized in a luxurious five star
hotel with accommodation to the GMs in the hotel itself                                                                                

Final Ranking after ten rounds

Rk.	Title	Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	GM	Mchedlishvili Mikheil	GEO	2613	7.5	65.5	60.5	55.0
2	GM	Georgiev Vladimir	MKD	2537	7.5	60.0	56.0	51.5
3	GM	Shabalov Alexander	USA	2607	7.0	66.0	61.0	55.0
4	GM	Moradiabadi Elshan	IRI	2547	7.0	65.0	60.0	55.0
5	GM	Filippov Anton	UZB	2595	7.0	64.0	59.5	53.5
6	GM	Gagunashvili Merab	GEO	2564	7.0	64.0	59.0	53.5
7	GM	Malakhatko Vadim	BEL	2569	7.0	63.0	58.0	52.5
8	GM	Murshed Niaz	BAN	2398	7.0	60.0	55.0	50.0
9	GM	Ismagambetov Anuar	KAZ	2528	6.5	65.0	60.5	55.5
10	GM	Kotanjian Tigran	ARM	2553	6.5	61.0	56.5	51.0
11	GM	Kostenko Petr	KAZ	2491	6.5	60.5	56.0	51.0
12	IM	Toufighi Homayoon	IRI	2480	6.5	58.5	54.5	49.5
13	GM	Rusev Krasimir	BUL	2549	6.5	58.5	54.0	49.0
14	IM	Saptarshi Roy	IND	2389	6.5	55.5	51.5	47.0
15	FM	Maheswaran P	IND	2347	6.5	54.0	50.0	46.0
16	IM	Sharma Dinesh K	IND	2335	6.5	53.5	50.0	46.0
17	FM	Das Sayantan	IND	2235	6.0	59.5	55.0	50.0
18	IM	Zozulia Anna	BEL	2338	6.0	58.5	54.5	50.0
19	WGM	Soumya Swaminathan	IND	2297	6.0	58.0	54.0	49.5
20		Hapuarachchi H L M	SRI	1998	6.0	46.5	45.0	41.5
21		Fonseka C K D	SRI	1981	6.0	45.5	45.0	41.5

Picture Gallery

The legend says that Ravana was the king of Sri Lanka. According to some sources
(Forbes, History of Chess, 1860) the game was invented between four or five
thousand years ago, by the wife of King Ravana of Ceylon, when the capital was
besieged by Rama. The legends of Rama and Ravana is well known in India and
Sri Lanka and Ramas victory over Ravana is still celebrated in India.

Sri Lanka is a small tropical island at the bottom of India and is also known
as the pearl of the Indian Ocean due to the shape of the country. Sri Lanka
is known for its excellent beaches and quality tea and apparel. The tournament
in Ravana was a memorable one for most of the GMs, as they had a pleasure trip
to Kandy, a world famous tourist spot.

On the beach: IM Saptarshi Roy, IND, with GM Alex Shablov, USA

Hunks: GMs Merab Gagunashvili, GEO, and Vladimir Georgiev, MKD, after a swim

in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean

Free as a bird: GMs Tigran Kotanjian, ARM, and Vladimir Georgiev, MKD, enjoy
the breeze

GM Shablov with super-talent Under-12 World Champion Das Sayantan, IND

A Sri Lankan village which, Shablov said, reminded him of Latvia

GMs Vladimir Georgiev, MKD, and Rusev Krasimir, BUL, possibly seeking help from
a Hindu god

GM Malakhatco Vadim, BEL, IM Anna Zozulia, BEL, GM Alex Shabalov, USA, GM
Petr Kostenko, KAZ, GM Filippov Anton, UZB, GM Ismagambetov Anuar, KAZ, ready
to meet the elephants

Elephants taking a bath in the river

GMs Alex Shabolov, USA, and Peter Kostenko, KAZ, enjoying an elephant ride

Anna Zozulia on an elephant ride

Some players are satisfied with just befriending the elephants

GM Anuar Ismagamvetov, KAZ, getting a herbal massage

British Heitage: an old canon facing the sea near the hotel

R. Anantharam, Chief Arbiter

R. Anantharam is a retired professor of chemistry. He is a member of
Swiss pairings Programs Commission, FIDE, and has served as chief arbiter
in

• the World Schools Championship Singapore 2008
• the Asian Individual championship 2005
• the Asian Junior 2007,2008 and 2009
• the Asian Youth 2009 and deputy chief arbiter in World Youth Vietnam
  2008
• and as Technical Official – World Mind Sports, Beijing 2008

Links Official tournament site All available games in PGN (top 20 games) To read, replay and analyse the PGN games we adivse you to download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.

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