Round 7: three men in pursuit

Today, round 8 is on the schedule. Unless I’ve suddenly developed a severe case of dyscalculia, that means tomorrow is already the final round of the tournament. Perhaps a good moment to remind everyone that we intend to organize the 28th HZ Tournament next year. Keep that in mind when making vacation plans, because according to weather statistics, we’re not only the sunniest chess tournament in the Netherlands, but according to the experts also the most fun — and even the cheapest tournament in the country.

I discovered the latter yesterday when a suspicious investigative journalist started asking questions, suspecting that the board of the Stichting Schaak Walcheren was spending the other 51 weeks of the year on tropical islands, living off entry fees parked in Cayman Island accounts. I wish…

Start round 7

But first, let’s get back to the round 7 report. It was a relief to see that, unlike in round 6, there was actually fighting on all the top boards. Not my most admirable trait, but I secretly enjoyed watching Slava Ikonnikov, after his ultra-quick draw in round 6, having to struggle for nearly 5 hours to squeeze out the exact same result. Round 6 partner in crime, Daniel Hausrath, also had to work hard last night — though he likely won’t complain, as he managed to win his game against Jasel Lopez.

Jasel Lopez - Daniel Hausrath

Here Daniel figured out that sometimes it’s easier to win with one pawn up than two. 44...Rd7!? Instead of clinging to both extra pawns with, say, 44...Rc6, a grandmaster knows the resulting rook endgame is a piece of cake. 45. Rxb6 Rxc7 46. Rxf6 Ra7 – Rook behind the passed pawn. We’ve seen this theme in the reports of rounds 5 and 6 as well. 47. Rf3 a4 48. Ra3 Kg6 49. Kg3 Kf5 50. f3 Ra5 51. h4 Ke5 52. hxg5 hxg5 Among less experienced players, these kinds of endgames sometimes turn into a King + Rook vs. King + Pawn race that needs deep calculation. That’s why 50...Ra5 was a clever touch. After 53. Kg4 Kd4, the white king gets in and the rook simultaneously defends the g5 pawn. Jasel tries to stir some confusion, but to no avail: 53. f4+ gxf4+ 54. Kf3 Kd4 55. Ke2 Kc4 56. Kd2 Kb4 57. Rf3 Rd5+ 58. Kc2 Rd4 0-1

Arthur de Winter - Georg Seul

Arthur de Winter vented all his frustration over the missed draw in round 6 in one explosive blast — a miniature in just 16 moves! 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. e6 1-0
In the language of the Dutch youth: Lekker man! (Or am I already hopelessly behind on slang trends?)

Chess player, blog writer and teacher of contemporary Dutch Koen Leenhouts

On board 1, tournament leader Pavel Eljanov played against our Zeeland pride, Koen Leenhouts. Earlier this week, Koen thought he saw some weak spots in the Ukrainian grandmaster’s play, but after the game he had to admit Pavel was simply a class above. A report of that game, its buildup, and Koen’s reflections can be found on his personal blog (in Dutch).

Three chasers have managed to break away from the rest of the field. You’ve already seen the ending of Daniel Hausrath’s game above. Thomas Beerdsen also reached 6 points after beating Merijn van Delft in a long game that, from move 16 onwards, was nothing but pure calculation — tricks and counter-tricks all the way down. Number three is Erwin L’Ami, who seems to have flipped the switch after my round 5 report and is now playing like a man reborn. With Black, he was able to put Stefan Beukema under positional pressure very early on. The likable Belgian wasn’t in the mood for a long, precise defense and tried to turn it into a purely tactical battle — but Erwin came out on top there too. The guy’s got real skills; he just needs a little push now and then…

Michael Wunnink - Sharma Dushyant

As dessert for the round 7 report, a little diagram for fans of unsubtle sacrifice tactics: 31. Qc8 Rxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Rxf2+ 33. Kg1 Qg5+ 34. Kxf2 e3+ 0-1

IM Sharma Dushyant

Round 8 brings the clash of the highest-rated players: Erwin L’Ami with White against Pavel Eljanov. Follow the action live on the nearly always flawless platforms chess.com and Lichess.

Facing each other in round 8, the shoes reveal the color distribution.