17-25th October in Hoogeveen, Netherlands

The 12th edition of the Essent Chess Tournament takes place from October 17 up to and including 25 October 2008. The location is the city of Hoogeveen. Just like last year there are several competitions: a Crown Group, a strong Essent Open, an Amateur Tournament and an event for youth.

The Crown Group launches today in the traditional 4-player double round robin format. The participants are: GM Ivan Sokolov (Netherlands 2650), GM Jan Smeets (Netherlands 2604), 2007 World Junior Champion GM Ahmed Adly (Egypt 2586) and one of the most talented female players GM Marie Sebag (France 2533). Average rating of 2593 elo points makes the tournament to be ranked as 14th Category.

The Essent Open have already been played. Results and games bellow. More information on the official website.

Essent Open round 2 results:

IM Kaplan, Sasha ISR 2425 - GM Negi, Parimarjan IND 2597 ½-½

GM Kempinski, Robert POL 2595 - IM Spoelman, Wouter NED 2459 ½-½

IM Van Delft, Merijn NED 2402 - GM Fier, Alexandr BRA 2581 0-1

GM Gupta, Abhijeet IND 2580 - IM Brandenburg, Daan NED 2436 1-0

FM Slingerland, Fred NED 2373 - GM Ernst, Sipke NED 2576 ½-½

GM Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav RUS 2571 - IM Diamant, Andre BRA 2412 1-0

Vedder, Henk NED 2358 - GM Safarli, Eltaj AZE 2568 ½-½

GM Nijboer, Friso NED 2540 - IM Bykhovsky, Anatoly RUS 2364 1-0

IM Van De Oudeweetering, Arth NED 2350 - GM Romanishin, Oleg UKR 2532 0-1

GM Pavlovic, Milos SRB 2524 - GM Vul, Arkadi Eremeevich RUS 2351 ½-½

IM Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag BRA 2511 - FM Pel, Bonno NED 2324 1-0

Van Assendelft, Floris NED 2253 - GM Haslinger, Stewart G ENG 2506 0-1

Essent Open round 3 pairings:

GM Fier, Alexandr BRA 2581 - GM Hort, Vlastimil GER 2478

GM Haslinger, Stewart G ENG 2506 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet IND 2580

IM Di Berardino, Diego Rafael BRA 2502 - GM Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav RUS 2571

GM Agamaliev, Gamil AZE 2479 - GM Nijboer, Friso NED 2540

GM Romanishin, Oleg M UKR 2532 - IM Robson, Ray USA 2466

GM Neelotpal, Das IND 2477 - IM Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag BRA 2511

IM Spoelman, Wouter NED 2459 - GM L’Ami, Erwin NED 2610

GM Negi, Parimarjan IND 2597 - IM Pruijssers, Roeland NED 2458

IM Kaplan, Sasha ISR 2425 - GM Kempinski, Robert POL 2595

GM Ernst, Sipke NED 2576 - Vedder, Henk NED 2358