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Stay up-to-date with the Amsterdam Chess Open! On this page you will find all the news related to this tournament; background articles, new developments and reports about the tournament itself.


Rounds 5-6: Luis Engel Wins 3rd ACO Convincingly
With a resounding victory in the final round, Luis Engel won the third edition of the Amsterdam Chess Open. The 23-year-old grandmaster from Hamburg took home the €2,000 first prize. Winner Luis Engel (second right) between the winners of 2023 (Rick Lahaye) and 2024 (Tim Grutter) and Paul Hummel, one of the players who finished shared fourth, on the left. Engel, the 2019 European Under-18 Champion, was the only player with 4/4. He remained the sole leader after round five, wh
Oct 264 min read


Rounds 3-4: Luis Engel Sole Leader
The second day of the tournament began at ten o'clock in the morning with rain and wind again outside, making it perfect chess weather indoors. A full fourteen players were still at one hundred percent, and by the end of the day, only one remained. GM Luis Engel is on 4/4 and will have to prove himself tomorrow against his first opponent of the same strength: GM Alexander Bagrationi , who has 3.5 points. Due to the Swiss format, we saw few games between title holders and few
Oct 253 min read


Rounds 1-2: The longest day
We're underway! With nearly 650 participants, the third edition of the Amsterdam Chess Open kicked off on Friday morning. The day proved to be longer than anyone expected, as one game in Group A lasted a whopping 116 moves and nearly five and a half hours. At 8:35 PM, the last arbiters were finally able to start preparing the pairings for the next round. Unfortunately, only two of the four registered grandmasters showed up (Luis Engel and Alexander Bagrationi), although we st
Oct 244 min read


Amsterdam Chess Open: The Netherlands' Largest Weekend Chess Tournament
The Amsterdam Chess Open (ACO), taking place from October 24th to 26th at the Corry Tendeloohuis in Amsterdam Zuidoost, has become the largest weekend tournament in the Netherlands. With over 650 entries and a prize pool of over €11,000, the chess tournament is second only to the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. ACO's success is partly due to the enormous popularity of chess among young people. It's only the third edition, but the Amsterdam Chess Open has already surpassed many e
Oct 232 min read


A celebration of chess
In May, Peter Doggers published the excellent overview article "Two Decades of IBM Tournaments: The Heyday of Dutch Tournament Chess" on...
Oct 123 min read


Over 500 signups, including Anna-Maja Kazarian
More than a month before the start of the Amsterdam Chess Open (ACO), the field of participants has already surpassed five hundred. With...
Sep 173 min read


Tim Grutter: ‘I don't like total chaos’
Tim Grutter won the second edition of the Amsterdam Chess Open in 2024. The 21-year-old chess player from Amersfoort recently completed...
Aug 77 min read


Alexander Polak wins 2nd edition Sport Pride Amsterdam Chess Open
Alexander Polak (28) won the second edition of the Sport Pride Amsterdam Chess Open, a 10-round blitz chess tournament with special...
Jul 282 min read


Sunday 27 July: 2nd edition Sport Pride Amsterdam Chess Open
After a successful first edition in 2024, the Sport Pride Amsterdam Chess Open will be held again on Sunday, July 27, from 11:00 to 17:00...
Jul 162 min read


Registration 2025 is open
It is now possible to register for the third edition of the Amsterdam Chess Open! The dates are October 24-26, 2025, and the event will...
Jun 32 min read


Two decades of IBM tournament: the heyday of Dutch tournament chess
Twenty strong, annual chess tournaments in a row in Amsterdam, for two decades, made possible by a major sponsor of international fame....
May 1318 min read


Rounds 5-6: Six-way Tie For 1st In A Group ACO
No fewer than six players finished in a shared first place in the Amsterdam Chess Open's A group. Tournament leaders FMs Tim Grutter ...
Nov 3, 20244 min read


Rounds 3-4: FM Tim Grutter Sole Leader With 4/4
Not a GM, not an IM, but FM Tim Grutter is the leader of the Amsterdam Chess Open's A group after Round 4. The member of Kennemer Combinatie chess club is the only player still on a 100 percent score. Four players are half a point behind Grutter: IM Rao Sharan , FM Midas Ratsma , IM Khoi Pham and CM Christopher Brookes . Round 3 Because of his draw in the second round, top seed Van den Doel didn't play on the first board anymore. There, we saw the attractive game between Ra
Nov 2, 20243 min read


Rounds 1-2: early surprises
The A-group at the Amsterdam Chess Open saw several surprises right from the first two rounds. IM Dagur Radnarsson and CM Rogier van Arkel suffered unexpected defeats on Friday morning, followed by losses in the afternoon round for GM Alexander Bagrationi , FMs Vitali Braun , Albert Castillo , and Murad Abdulla . Top favourite GM Erik van den Doel already dropped half a point. Foto: Bas Beekhuizen The A-group at the Amsterdam Chess Open saw several surprises right from the
Nov 2, 20243 min read


South wins City Districts Tournament
District South emerged as the winner of the first-ever City Districts, held on 31 October at the Business Campus of the Amsterdam...
Nov 2, 20242 min read
Amsterdam Chess Open: two grandmasters, 37 titled players, and four streamers
The second edition of the Amsterdam Chess Open, November 1-3 at the Corry Tendeloohuis in Amsterdam Southeast, will feature two...
Oct 29, 20245 min read


New format for City District Tournament guarantees broader participation
The format of the City District Tournament, on October 31 in the Corry Tendeloohuis, has been adjusted to allow for broader...
Oct 18, 20242 min read


The AUAS and the Amsterdam Chess Open: a Natural Partnership
The second edition of the Amsterdam Chess Open will be bigger and better in many ways compared to 2023, and this is largely thanks to the...
Oct 18, 20248 min read
Amsterdam Chess Open fills up in record time
Marathons fill up in record time and it is no different for the Amsterdam Chess Open, a chess tournament that takes place from 1 to 3...
Oct 4, 20242 min read
Registration is now fully closed
Good news, we have managed to increase the capacity of the tournament to 250 participants! The first 50 people on the waiting list will...
Oct 4, 20231 min read
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