Echesspedia

The Dutch city of Hoogeveen was the venue of the annual Vam, Essent and Univé Chess festival between 1997 and 2010. The festival included several competitions: a (double) round robin, a strong Open (international) tournament, an amateur competition and an event for youth.

The winners of the top tournaments were: 1997 Emil Sutovsky; 1998 Judith Polgar; 1999 Jan Timman and Judit Polgar; 2000 Alexander Khalifman; 2001 Judit Polgar and Loek van Wely; 2002 Peter Acs; 2003 Judith Polgar; 2004 Ivan Sokolov; 2005 Pentalya Harikrishna;  2006 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov; 2007 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov; 2008 Sergei Tiviakov; 2010 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

Ponomariov, Andriasian, Mamedyarov and Van Wely in 2007.