Greatest Dutch Players Of All Time
The Netherlands.
What comes to your mind when you hear the name of this country located in northwestern Europe? Oh, maybe the rich channels of canals, tulip fields, and windmills? Or maybe its capital, Amsterdam, and the Van Gogh Museum? Or maybe the Dutch national football team and the UEFA EURO Qualifiers?
Yes, these are some of the many things this country is known for. But when it comes to chess, no one takes the name of this European nation that much, compared to Russia, America, or India. How much do you know about chess in the Netherlands? Did you know that chess once had a Dutch world champion? Be honest with yourself, the majority of you weren't aware of that fact, wasn't it?
And for that reason, here I am today, to present four of the best chess players this nation has ever produced, and of course, everyone will have their own opinions on the rankings, but these 4 are the legends of Dutch chess! Before any further adieu, let's get started!
#4: Loek Van Wely
Loek Van Wely, currently the #3 ranked chess player in the Netherlands with a FIDE classical rating of 2650 (as of May 2023), is unarguably one of the greatest Dutch chess players ever. With a peak FIDE rating of 2714, he was among the world's top ten players in 2001. Born on 7 October 1972 in a small village in the Netherlands, he began playing chess at the mere age of four and became one of the best talents in the country's history, and was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1993. He is an eight-time Dutch chess champion, having won the Dutch Chess Championship six consecutive times from 2000 through 2005 and again in 2014 and 2017.
Van Wely is usually known for his attacking and fierce playing style. In 2002, Wely played a four-game match against the computer program Rebel in Maastricht, Netherlands, finishing with a score of 2/4. He has a total of 25 appearances in Tata Steel, consecutively from 1995 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2017. However, his best result occurred in 2003, when he shared fourth place with some top-level GMs like Kramnik and Ivanchuk, with a score of 7/13. In 2005, he led his country in the European Team Championship.
Here's one of his best games:
Since 2019, Van Wely has been trying his hand at politics but still plays competitive chess up to this day.
#3: Anish Giri
Anish Kumar Giri is currently the #6 ranked chess player (as of May 2023) in the world, and the highest-rated Dutch chess player ever, with a peak FIDE rating of 2802 which he achieved in the year 2015. He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on 28 June 1994, but in 2002, he moved to Japan along with his parents and lived there until 2008. Since Feb 2008, he and his family have lived in the Netherlands. A chess prodigy, he began playing chess at the age of six, and by the time he was 11, he was already rated above 2100. He completed the requirements for the GM title in 2009 at age 14 years and 7 months and won his first Dutch Championship in the same year. A four-time Dutch Chess Champion, he aided Viswanathan Anand in preparation for the World Chess Championship in 2010.
Anish Giri during a Tata Steel Tournament.
Anish Giri has a flexible playing style. His tight and solid play makes him very difficult to defeat. In fact, in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, he drew all of his 14 games! He made an impressive debut at Tata Steel in 2011, finishing with a score of 6.5/13. In 2014, Giri shared second place with GM Sergey Karjakin at Tata Steel. In the following year, Giri shared first place with Carlsen at the 2015 London Chess Classic. Giri has represented the Netherlands at six Chess Olympiads, earning a total of three individual bronze medals.
After a solid but a bit controversial performance in the 2016 Candidates tournament, he won the Reykjavik Open in 2017. He again placed second in the 2019 Tata Steel and didn't fail to make a statement in the 2020-21 Candidates tournament. He had a score of 7.5/12 with two more rounds to go, but he lost his final two games and ended up tied for a third-fourth place alongside Caruana. In 2023, Anish finished a half-point ahead of GM Nodirbek to win Tata Steel for the first time.
Here's one of his best games:
Giri was appointed as a commentator for the World Chess Championship 2023. Even though he is in the mid of his career, his name will go down as one of the greatest Dutch chess players to ever occupy the chess board.
#2: Jan Timman
Jan Timman was born in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam on 14 December 1951. By the time he was born, he was already connected to this game of 64 squares, as his mother, Anneke Timman, was taught by GM Max Euwe when she was in grade school. His elder brother, Ton Timman, held the title of FIDE Master. He is unarguably one of Western Europe's best chess players, and during his peak in the early 1980s, he was considered to be the best non-Soviet chess player and was known as "The Best of the West". He attained the GM title in 1974, becoming only the Netherlands' third to ever do so. He is a nine-time Dutch Chess Champion and has a peak FIDE rating of 2680, which he achieved in the year of 1990.
Jan Timman (left) against Michael Stean, 1978.
Coming to Timman's playing style, he liked to challenge his opponents directly in the areas of their strengths. By 1982, he was placed 2nd in the FIDE world rankings, just behind the reigning world champion, Karpov. He has been a candidate for the World Championship several times. Timman reached the knockout stage in the 1987 candidates and was the only non-soviet player in the group. In the 1990 candidates, he made it to the finals but lost to GM Anatoly Karpov by 6.5-2.5. In the 1993 candidates, he suffered the same fate as he did in 1990. Timman also represented the Netherlands in 13 Chess Olympiads from 1972 to 2006. After his 1993 defeat in the candidates, he never came so close to the world title again.
Here's one of his best games:
Apart from being a great chess player, Timman is a productive chess author as well. Undoubtedly, he is one of the best players in chess history to never become a world champion.
#1: Max Euwe
LEGEND OF THE LEGENDS
Machgielis "Max" Euwe was born on 20th May 1901 in Amsterdam. He was the first chess grandmaster from the Netherlands and was the fifth world chess champion from 1935 until 1937. He began playing chess at a very early age, and played his first tournament at the age of 10, winning every game. Before becoming a full-time chess player, he studied mathematics at the University of Amsterdam and earned a Ph.D. by the time he graduated in 1926. In 1928, he became the world amateur chess champion and played in matches with some of the all-time greats like Alekhine and Capablanca. In 1931, Euwe lost a match to the former world champion Capablanca. Still, in 1932, Euwe drew a match with Salo Flohr 8-8 and was considered a serious challenger for the world championship of Alekhine, alongside Flohr.
Max Euwe (left) in the year 1950.
Euwe was known for his extremely logical and methodical play. He is a twelve-time Dutch Chess Champion, a record that stands to this day. He is also a four-time Tata Steel winner. In 1933, Alexander Alekhine accepted the world championship challenge by Euwe, and the match was set to take place in October 1935. Earlier that year, another chess great and the former world champion Capablanca predicted Euwe to win the match during an interview, describing his game as "clear and straightforward". Alekhine was thought to be unbeatable at the time, but Euwe registered his name in one of the most stunning upsets of World Championship matches history, by defeating the Soviet champion 15.5-14.5, after a colossal struggle of 30 games. One of the main reasons behind Alekhine's defeat was his alcoholism. However, he quit drinking and Euwe lost the re-match to Alekhine in 1937.
Max Euwe (right) against Alexander Alekhine.
Even after this loss, he continued to play at the highest level of the game and represented the Netherlands at seven Chess Olympiads. After Alekhine died in 1946, many believed that he had the right to the position of world champion. But Euwe agreed to participate in the five-player world championship in 1948 but finished last. He was significantly older than his opponents and wasn't at his best.
Here's one of the best games of this Dutch legend:
After retiring from professional chess, Euwe was appointed as the FIDE president in 1970, a position which he held until 1978. Euwe is the only person in chess history to be a FIDE world champion and a FIDE president.
Max Euwe is viewed as a national hero in the Netherlands. "Max Euweplein", an area completely dedicated to Max Euwe in Amsterdam, has a Max Euwe sculpture, Euwe museum, and many chess books.
Max Euwe Sculpture in Amsterdam.
He contributed to the game not only as a player, but also as a world champion, FIDE president, theoretician, and author. He is undoubtedly the greatest Dutch chess player ever!
CONCLUSION
Since the 1920s, the Soviets completely dominated every aspect of chess for several decades. Starting from Alexander Alekhine, the first Russian world chess champion, followed by Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, and many more, Russia has produced more than half of the total classical world champions in the history of chess.
The main aim of his post was to make the readers familiar with the chess culture in other countries as well, and I hope that I was successful in it, beginning with chess in the Netherlands. I am looking to write many posts like this in the future as well, so stay tuned!
Here are the sources used by me to write the blog: Wikipedia, Chess.com Top Players, and Chessgames.com.
This will be an end to this blog, thank you for reading this post, if you have got any questions, feel free to put them in the comments below! See you next time!
Regards,
@AstroTheoretical_Physics
