Hoogeveen Tournament 2009

A new sponsor, but a familiar event: the 13th Unive tournament (better known by the name of it's venue, Hoogeveens) is about to get underway in the Netherlands.

This year's edition has small but intriguing lineup in the 'crown' group event, headed by Vassily Ivanchuk (pictured).

Anish Giri (pictured) is a 15 year-old prodigy who achieved the Grandmaster title earlier this year in the Wijk Aan Zee 'C' Group. Anish was born in St.Petersburg, but now plays for the Netherlands, where he lives with his family.  He will be a firm underdog in this double round-robin tournament which runs from 16-24 October.

Good luck to all the players!