11th Blitz "Death Match" Player Announcement!

Grandmaster Robin Van Kampen and International Master Benjamin Bok have confirmed their participation in Chess.com's 11th Blitz Death Match, to be held Saturday, February 2nd 2013 at 9am PST - 1PM EST. The two players will be competing for the $1,000 cash prize as well as all the pride and glory of becoming the first Dutch champion!

Van Kampen and Bok have enjoyed a long-standing rivalry since their earliest days as two of the Netherlands' most promising young chess stars. Though the slight "on paper" favorite may appear to be Van Kampen (FIDE Rating of 2570, compared to Bok's FIDE Rating of 2522) - their previous record might suggest otherwise...

A tough, quick loss for Van Kampen at the hands of Bok...

IM Bok has a lifetime plus record against Van Kampen, according to a recent database search. Van Kampen separated himself somewhat from Bok when he recently became the youngest ever Grandmaster for any Netherlands-born chess player, earning the GM Title in 2011 (at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 17 days).

Although these two are friendly, we expect an epic "viking-like" showdown in February, and we hope all of Chess.com will join us on www.chess.com/tv for live coverage!