Groningen, Hastings, Stockholm
Three open tournaments with a long tradition have recently finished: events in Groningen, Hastings and Stockholm. Alexander Kovchan en Robert Hess finished shared first in the north-east of The Netherlands, already before the end of 2011. In Hastings, the longest running tournament in the world, Wang Yue ended clear first while Aleksandr Shimanov was the strongest in the Swedish capital.
Groningen
The 48th Groningen Chess Festival was held December 21-30 in hotel Hampshire Plaza in Groningen, The Netherlands. As always, lots of different tournaments were held before and after Christmas: a 9-round Swiss played over three different groups as well as shorter tournaments. There were also two short matches which started after Christmas, between 12-year-old talent Jorden van Foreest & GM Hans Ree, and between 11-year-old talent Anna-Maja Kazarian & Martine Middelveld.
The main group was won by Alexander Kovchan (Ukraine) who edged out Robert Hess (USA) on tie-break. Both players finished on 7/9, half a point clear of Sergei Tiviakov and Yaroslav Zherebukh.
Selection of games
Final standings (top 30)
| Rk | Name | Ti | FED | Rtg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pts | TPR |
| 1 | Kovchan, Alexander | GM | UKR | 2573 | = | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 7.0 | 2760 |
| 2 | Hess, Robert L | GM | USA | 2625 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 7.0 | 2702 |
| 3 | Tiviakov, Sergei | GM | NED | 2650 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.5 | 2675 |
| 4 | Zherebukh, Yaroslav | GM | UKR | 2594 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 6.5 | 2653 |
| 5 | Rapport, Richard | GM | HUN | 2534 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 6.0 | 2603 |
| 6 | Ruck, Robert | GM | HUN | 2579 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 6.0 | 2574 |
| 7 | Romanov, Evgeny | GM | RUS | 2627 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 6.0 | 2553 |
| 8 | Durarbeyli, Vasif | GM | AZE | 2539 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 6.0 | 2471 |
| 9 | Ernst, Sipke | GM | NED | 2593 | 1 | = | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 2530 |
| 10 | Poetsch, Hagen | IM | GER | 2408 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 5.5 | 2505 |
| 11 | Michalik, Peter | GM | SVK | 2509 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.5 | 2453 |
| 12 | Michiels, Bart | IM | BEL | 2492 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 2503 |
| 13 | Klein, David | FM | NED | 2378 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 2443 |
| 14 | Naroditsky, Daniel | IM | USA | 2472 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 5.5 | 2468 |
| 15 | Plat, Vojtech | IM | CZE | 2425 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 5.5 | 2464 |
| 16 | Bok, Benjamin | IM | NED | 2513 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.5 | 2437 |
| 17 | Hoffmann, Michael | GM | GER | 2499 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 2428 |
| 18 | Brandenburg, Daan | GM | NED | 2519 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 2363 |
| 19 | Pijpers, Arthur | NED | 2332 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 2377 | |
| 20 | Thesing, Matthias | IM | GER | 2409 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 2342 |
| 21 | Georgiadis, Nico | FM | SUI | 2316 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.0 | 2323 |
| 22 | Assendelft van, Floris | FM | NED | 2357 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 2347 |
| 23 | Ypma, Peter | NED | 2105 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 4.5 | 2398 | |
| 24 | Kuipers, Stefan | FM | NED | 2396 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.5 | 2400 |
| 25 | Overdam van, Julian | NED | 2244 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4.5 | 2332 | |
| 26 | Jong de, Migchiel | IM | NED | 2367 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.5 | 2307 |
| 27 | Galoyan, Levon | FM | ARM | 2231 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.5 | 2302 |
| 28 | Thakur, Akash | IND | 2324 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.5 | 2304 | |
| 29 | Firat, Burak | IM | TUR | 2393 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 4.5 | 2284 |
| 30 | Nuri, Kambez | FM | SUI | 2256 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.5 | 2306 |
Hastings
The 87th Hastings Chess Congress took place December 28, 2011 - January 5, 2012 at the Horntye Park Sports Complex in Hastings, England. Like in Groningen, there was a main group that played a 9-round Swiss but there were side events as well, such as Christmas Morning Tournaments, Christmas Afternoon Tournaments, Weekend Tournaments and New Year Tournaments.
Leading the field in the Masters Tournament was Chinese grandmaster Wang Yue. He reached No 11 in world rankings at his peak but is currently ranked 49th in the world. Still, he confirmed to be the strongest in Hastings, winning the event with 7.5/9, half a point clear of GM Andrei Istratescu (France) and IMs Babu Lalith & Sundar Shyam (both India).
Winner of the Hastings Masters Wang Yue, centre, with Amber Rudd MP and Cllr. Maureen Charlesworth
Selection of games
Final standings (top 30)
| Rk | Name | Ti | FED | Rtg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pts | TPR |
| 1 | Wang, Yue | GM | CHN | 2697 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 7.5 | 2774 |
| 2 | Istratescu, Andrei | GM | FRA | 2627 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 2672 |
| 3 | Lalith, Babu M.R. | IM | IND | 2484 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 7.0 | 2657 |
| 4 | Shyam, Sundar M. | IM | IND | 2462 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 7.0 | 2604 |
| 5 | Vovk, Yuri | GM | UKR | 2571 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6.5 | 2511 |
| 6 | Sengupta, Deep | GM | IND | 2562 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 6.5 | 2616 |
| 7 | Das, Arghyadip | IM | IND | 2470 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 6.5 | 2568 |
| 8 | Howell, David W L | GM | ENG | 2633 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 2547 |
| 9 | Edouard, Romain | GM | FRA | 2621 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 6.0 | 2528 |
| 10 | Pert, Nicholas | GM | ENG | 2563 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 6.0 | 2518 |
| 11 | Hebden, Mark L | GM | ENG | 2515 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 2490 |
| 12 | Williams, Simon K | GM | ENG | 2513 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 2516 |
| 13 | Holzke, Frank | GM | GER | 2506 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 6.0 | 2514 |
| 14 | Shyam, Nikil P. | IM | IND | 2482 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 6.0 | 2412 |
| 15 | Flear, Glenn C | GM | ENG | 2472 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 2372 |
| 16 | Simacek, Pavel | IM | CZE | 2448 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 6.0 | 2445 |
| 17 | Anwesh, Upadhyaya | IM | IND | 2413 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 6.0 | 2394 |
| 18 | Roy Chowdhury, Saptarshi | IM | IND | 2411 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 6.0 | 2360 |
| 19 | Padmini, Rout | WGM | IND | 2392 | = | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 6.0 | 2356 |
| 20 | Kjartansson, Gudmundur | IM | ISL | 2326 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 2499 |
| 21 | Vovk, Andrey | GM | UKR | 2551 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 | 2455 |
| 22 | Demuth, Adrien | IM | FRA | 2442 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 2309 |
| 23 | Vuilleumier, Alexandre | IM | SUI | 2356 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 2364 |
| 24 | Godard, Maxence | IM | FRA | 2333 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 5.5 | 2454 |
| 25 | Knott, Simon J B | IM | ENG | 2332 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 5.5 | 2366 |
| 26 | Haydon, David L | FM | ENG | 2296 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.5 | 2421 |
| 27 | MacQueen, Calum | SCO | 2219 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 2312 | |
| 28 | Olsarova, Karolina | WIM | CZE | 2167 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 2437 |
| 29 | Karthikeyan, Murali | IND | 2154 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 5.5 | 2359 | |
| 30 | Houska, Jovanka | IM | ENG | 2415 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 5.0 | 2336 |
Stockholm
The 41st Rilton Cup, held December 27, 2011 - January 5, 2012 at the Clarion Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden was be played in three groups: the Rilton Cup (Elo ≥ 2200 and/or national rating ≥ 2200), the Rilton Elo and the Rilton Open (only for nordic players with a national rating lower than 1800). The Rilton Cup and the Rilton Elo were 9 round Swisses.
The top players in the main group were Bartosz Socko, Dragan Solak, Sergey Volkov, Grzegorz Gajewski and Erwin L'Ami. The event was won by Aleksandr Shimanov (Russia) who finished on 7.5/9, a point clear of Slavko Cicak, Dragan Solak, Eduardas Rozentalis, Sergey Ivanov and Bartosz Socko. Alina l'Ami, the wife of Erwin, scored her third (regular) IM norm and only needs to get her rating over 2400 to get the title.
Selection of games
Final standings (top 30)
| # | Title | Name | Fed | Rating | Pts | TB1 | TB2 | TPR |
| 1 | GM | Shimanov Aleksandr | RUS | 2549 | 7.5 | 40.5 | 0.0 | 2793 |
| 2 | GM | Cicak Slavko | SWE | 2566 | 6.5 | 36.5 | 0.0 | 2669 |
| 3 | GM | Solak Dragan | TUR | 2629 | 6.5 | 34.0 | 0.0 | 2647 |
| 4 | GM | Rozentalis Eduardas | LTU | 2586 | 6.5 | 34.0 | 0.0 | 2589 |
| 5 | GM | Ivanov Sergey | RUS | 2537 | 6.5 | 34.0 | 0.0 | 2591 |
| 6 | GM | Socko Bartosz | POL | 2635 | 6.5 | 32.5 | 0.0 | 2591 |
| 7 | GM | Gajewski Grzegorz | POL | 2616 | 6.0 | 33.0 | 0.0 | 2582 |
| 8 | GM | Tikkanen Hans | SWE | 2586 | 6.0 | 32.5 | 0.0 | 2576 |
| 9 | GM | Brynell Stellan | SWE | 2486 | 6.0 | 32.0 | 0.0 | 2574 |
| 10 | GM | L'Ami Erwin | NED | 2594 | 6.0 | 31.5 | 0.0 | 2552 |
| 11 | GM | Bakre Tejas | IND | 2509 | 6.0 | 31.0 | 0.0 | 2536 |
| 12 | GM | Volkov Sergey | RUS | 2626 | 6.0 | 30.5 | 0.0 | 2511 |
| 13 | FM | Sipilä Vilka | FIN | 2316 | 6.0 | 30.0 | 0.0 | 2505 |
| 14 | IM | Nithander Victor | SWE | 2423 | 6.0 | 29.0 | 0.0 | 2483 |
| 15 | GM | Karlsson Lars | SWE | 2485 | 6.0 | 28.0 | 0.0 | 2471 |
| 16 | IM | Smith Axel | SWE | 2480 | 5.5 | 31.5 | 0.0 | 2531 |
| 17 | IM | Lindberg Bengt | SWE | 2415 | 5.5 | 30.0 | 0.0 | 2427 |
| 18 | GM | Socko Monica | POL | 2479 | 5.5 | 27.0 | 0.0 | 2403 |
| 19 | WGM | L'Ami Alina | ROU | 2364 | 5.5 | 26.0 | 0.0 | 2459 |
| 20 | IM | Nielsen Fries Jens Ove | DEN | 2387 | 5.5 | 25.5 | 0.0 | 2357 |
| 21 | GM | Berczes David | HUN | 2555 | 5.0 | 29.0 | 0.0 | 2414 |
| 22 | GM | Bellon Juan | ESP | 2419 | 5.0 | 28.5 | 0.0 | 2385 |
| 23 | Denisov Ivan | RUS | 2348 | 2348 | 28.0 | 0.0 | 2461 | |
| 24 | Johansson Linus | SWE | 2197 | 2197 | 28.0 | 0.0 | 2473 | |
| 25 | GM | Åkesson Ralf | SWE | 2421 | 5.0 | 27.5 | 0.0 | 2371 |
| 26 | IM | Semcesen Daniel | SWE | 2490 | 5.0 | 27.5 | 0.0 | 2376 |
| 27 | FM | Sagit Rauan | SWE | 2368 | 5.0 | 26.0 | 0.0 | 2409 |
| 28 | IM | Furhoff Johan | SWE | 2370 | 5.0 | 22.5 | 0.0 | 2310 |
| 29 | FM | Codenotti Marco | ITA | 2293 | 5.0 | 21.5 | 0.0 | 2276 |
| 30 | GM | Rasmussen Allan Stig | DEN | 2541 | 5.0 | 21.0 | 0.0 | 2294 |
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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