Started!!

The Scheldemond Chess Tournament, formerly known as the HZ University of Applied Sciences Chess Tournament, has now officially begun in Vlissingen.

The event got underway yesterday with a simultaneous exhibition. As already noted by "Zeeuw van Gisteren" René Tiggelman, yours truly was comprehensively swept off the board by an impressive Erwin L'Ami.

During the opening ceremony, welcoming speeches were delivered by, among others, Hans Groffen and the President of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation (KNSB), Dirk Hoogland. Eric Koopmans, Operations Manager of Scheldemond College, and Ocker Ghering, alderman of the municipality of Vlissingen, also addressed the audience.

Following the departure from HZ University of Applied Sciences, he immediately expressed great enthusiasm about hosting the tournament at Scheldemond College. Since the school places a strong emphasis on excellence in sport, the idea received broad support from the organization. It certainly promises a bright future for the tournament.

Alderman Mr. Ocker Ghering making the first move
(pict. Tina Rouwendal)

Then it was time for the real action.

Or perhaps not quite—for some of the participants, the real real action may still be a few rounds away. With the tournament being played as a single large group, the rating gaps in the opening rounds are considerable.

Top seed Raunak Sadhwani remarked that, under the new FIDE "anti-farming" regulations, he might gain virtually no rating points from defeating a much lower-rated opponent, while still risking rating points in the event of an upset. In his case, however, that may not actually apply: the rule only comes into effect for players rated above 2650, whereas his FIDE rating stood at 2643.

In any case, once his opponent allowed 16...b4, Sadhwani sliced through the position like a hot knife through butter after 17.Nb5.

Sadhwani-Albrecht  just before 17.Nb5!

And he was not the only one making quick work of his opponent on the top boards, producing some attractive positions, including in the games of Erwin L'Ami and Chandipan Sanda:

Jonkers-L'Ami after 29..Nf2#

Erwin L’Ami begon goed (picture:Tina Rouwendal)

Chanda-Frei after 22.Nf7#

Also a smothered mate created by Chanda Sandipan
(picture:Tina Rouwendal)

It is not often that two smothered mates occur almost simultaneously on boards separated by only two tables, but in the first round of the Scheldemond Chess Tournament, anything seemed possible.

Of course, not every game was straightforward. Some of the favourites had to work hard for their point, including Max Warmerdam against Paul van Rooijen. Back in 1994, shortly after Paul had been appointed an International Arbiter, tournament organiser Hans Groffen approached him to help organise a major international open tournament. The rest is history, with Paul serving as Chief Arbiter until 2007. Now, at the inaugural Scheldemond Chess Tournament, he is participating as a player for the first time. The tournament format—devised during countless car journeys between Zeeland and Ghent—has stood the test of time.

It made for a fascinating pairing, and Paul defended resourcefully, even enjoying a slight edge for a while.

In the position below, Black had to recapture on d6:

Warmerdam-Van Rooijen after 26.Nxd6

Paul chose to recapture with the queen. But what about the alternative 26...Rxd6? At first sight, this appears to fail to 27.Qxb7. However, Black has the surprising reply 27...Nh3+! After 28.Nxh3, 28...Qh4+ follows, and White is forced to play 29.Ke2 (29.Kg2? loses immediately to 29...Qxe1). Then comes the real bombshell: 29...Rxe3+!, shattering White's position.

Warmerdam-Van Rooijen analysis diagram after 29..Rxe3+!

Black now has at least a perpetual check. Fortunately for White, 27.Qxb7 is by no means forced. However, after any other reasonable continuation, Black can simply play ...Qe7, emerging with a slight advantage, and White still has a difficult task ahead to hold the position.

Warmerdam-Van Rooijen after 31.b5

Here Black was given one more opportunity. After 31...Rxf4! 32.exf4 Rxe1 33.Kxe1 Nxf3+ 34.Kf2 Nxd4, White would still have to prove the win in the following position:

Warmerdam-Van Rooijen analysis diagram after 34..Nxd4

Vyacheslav Ikonnikov also had to work hard for his point. Fortunately for him, his opponent chose exactly the wrong move order in a complicated position:

Regeling-Ikonnikov after 27..Bxb1

Here White played 28.Rf1, after which Black could respond with 28...Rxe5 29.Nf6+ Kg7 and, after 30.Rxb1, compensate for the exchange with 30...Kxf6.

However, if White reverses the move order and starts with 28.Nf6+!, then 28...Kg7 is impossible because of 29.Nxe8+. After 28...Kh8 29.Rf1, Rxe5 30. Rxb1 Txe3 31. Bb2, the knight remains on f6 and the result is a tense, roughly equal endgame.

Report by Jos van der Kaap