door Marc Ghannoum
We were invited to the Meesterklasse with a grin and a few eye rolls. The sympathetic pat on the back given to a condemned prisoner. We were shown the entrance to our own funeral and welcomed with lavish arsenic-laced cocktails.
We had heard the stories. No one spoke of them, but they were there—a damn boogeyman in plain sight. We had seen former First Division winners Haarlem and Sas van Gent earn a big fat donut in the Meesterklasse. The shameful walk home is never quite as glamorous as the red-carpet entrance.
I know our days are numbered, but I just wanted last year’s party to continue.
First up: a tense matchup with the battle-proven Stukkenjagers, who have been defying the odds year after year to stay afloat in the top Dutch division. Tilburg was the destination. The battleground had seen better days: the carpet was stained with blood, Verdi’s Requiem played in the background, and strangely miniature chessboards peppered the room.
Certainly not the silk and emeralds promised to us by the elders at VAS.
No time to dwell on the packaging. The first round was immediately crucial if we wanted to reduce our relegation anxiety. I wasn’t feeling great that day and expected the worst when I sat down. But then I turned around and saw Vic and Rafael devouring a raw sheep’s head while Daan performed his usual Dance of Fire. These were the brothers who would carry my ass that day.
And yes, we won—by the slightest of margins.
It started rather wobbly for us. Ramon blundered a piece from a very promising position and had to bow out (and did a marvelous job as impromptu captain). I glanced at Rafael’s game and expected the inevitable when I realized he was a pawn down with a passive position. Vic had somehow managed, yet again, to completely equalize with White by move five. Tex was squirming under a fast and furious attack that looked as though it had been brewed in some cunning home-prep laboratory. Raghav had a hesitant opening with White.
Fortunately, our fears were short-lived.
Li Riemersma launched a scintillating attack in his VAS1 debut and brought home the point. Rafael indeed accomplished the inevitable and turned vinegar into wine. Don’t ask how or why.
Daan played a confident game with Black and nearly got the full point. Yes, you heard that right: Daan played the Petrov Defence. Mr. Crazy Opening himself finally decided it was time to become an adult. How sad.
I played an interesting pawn sacrifice against Stefan Beukema. Not optimal play from either of us, but nervy and difficult throughout. A hard-fought draw in which both of us felt we had missed critical opportunities while simultaneously dodging bullets.
Pascal struggled early against a well-prepared opponent. He turned things around and was pushing until an imprecision forced him to settle for a draw. A small disappointment for the Canadian GM, who has yet to win a game with White in the Netherlands. I’m sure things will eventually improve for him.
That left four games. We needed two points to get the win.
Friso was a pawn up but couldn’t find a way to break down White’s defences in a queen endgame. Draw.
Then came Tex, who had survived the onslaught and reached what appeared to be a holdable position. That was soon confirmed when all the pieces disappeared from the board.
Two more to go.
Both Raghav and Vic had very promising positions and could easily play for a win. And that’s when VAS1 showed its true colours. Raghav took a very professional draw, and Vic settled for a perpetual in a +4 endgame position. These were our heroes of the day.
High fives and chest bumps could be seen from a mile away, while I added a feminine touch to the festivities by delivering teary hugs to the triumphant hordes.
A good day in Tilburg. Capped by good foods and palomas.
Take note, everyone: We ain’t dead yet!
Next stop: in our home in Amsterdam against the mighty Zuid Limburg…
Here are a few positions to wet your appetite.
Marc
We reached this position in relative time pressure. My opponent was only on increment. The a-pawn is quite strong but black is moving towards my king and just played Re7. I had played good prophylactic chess at this point, but missed the boat here. I played the hasty 31.a5?!, after which black played 31…e4 with enough counterplay. Instead, I should have simply played 31.Be4, limiting the counter-attack.
Tex
Luuk Baselmans and I played an interesting game. After the opening I thought I was under pressure, but according to the computer I was better. I made some errors in the middle game, reached an endgame with a pawn down and luckily managed to hold. I was even a pawn up at some point (see diagram) but my opponent Luuk Baselmans played Kxe2 and we agreed to a draw.
Daan
Black is better because of the bishop pair. 26..Ra5!? 27. Qd2?? defending f2, but walking into a pin. 27..Rd5! 28. Rd1 Rfd8 29. Qc3 White must go back. Now I thought almost anything would win, but not 29..Bf5?? (29..Kh8! we found in the analysis – White is in Zugzwang!) 30. Nxf5 Qxf2+ 31. Kh2 Rxd3 32. Rxd3 Qg1+ 33. Kg3 Qf2+ 34. Kh2 and a draw by repetition.
Victor
Black is better because of the bishop pair. 26..Ra5!? 27. Qd2?? defending f2, but walking into a pin. 27..Rd5! 28. Rd1 Rfd8 29. Qc3 White must go back. Now I thought almost anything would win, but not 29..Bf5?? (29..Kh8! we found in the analysis – White is in Zugzwang!) 30. Nxf5 Qxf2+ 31. Kh2 Rxd3 32. Rxd3 Qg1+ 33. Kg3 Qf2+ 34. Kh2 and a draw by repetition.
I manoeuvred well, got to nice position of +4, but towards time trouble I could only think of trading queens
Once I managed to do so, it turned out the position was equal again… After some manoeuvring I got back to +4, but my brain was fried. With the standings being 5-4 for us and new time troubles, I decided to take no chances and accepted a draw.
final position
Friso
I got some really good intel during our drive to Tilburg, and that resulted in 20 moves played, 5 minutes used and a comfortable position. Thanks driver !
I had high hopes that … Qc3 with total domination and preventing Qd3 would be winning, unfortunately white has the bold d6 and this pawn can not be won with checks. The d5 pawn is to annoying to win the game, so draw.
Li
The critical position in my game came early. White should have avoided 12.g4. There was no need for it and the piece sac is good for black. With perfect play white could have limited his disadvantage to about 0.3, but the critical line involves moves like Qh1 and completely opening the g-file, as my engine indicated just now. So, that didn’t happen, and already on move 16, I had a decisive advantage. So, arguably my opponent did not show his full strength. Even so, I am quite happy with this debut in VAS 1!
Pascal
Ramon
I blundered a piece in the opening and my opponent converted effortlessly