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 attention to inclusivity, held Sunday afternoon, July 27, in Boom Chicago. The Amsterdam chess player, a member of both LSG (Leiden) and Caïssa Amsterdam, scored 4.5/5 in the top group to finish ahead of favorite Zyon Kollen. Sem van Velzen won the B group.

During the five preliminary rounds, Polak narrowly qualified for the A group, despite two defeats. Once warmed up, he didn't lose a game in the following five rounds. Afterward, he admitted to being lucky with his seeding: "I was the second-highest-ranked player, and I happened to avoid the highest-ranked player, Zyon Kollen, all day. If it had been a six-round tournament, we would have faced each other, and he probably would have won."

Alexander Polak with the trophy, next to Zyon Kollen

A striking feature of the second Sport Pride Amsterdam Chess Open was the venue: Boom Chicago on Rozengracht in Amsterdam, normally the host of comedy shows. "It's a truly beautiful venue, very cozy and welcoming, actually, I was very happy with that," said co-organizer Marjolein Aarten of the Amsterdam Chess Open Foundation. "We received a lot of positive feedback about it, because it wasn't just a typical chess hall."

The tournament was part of the Sport Pride Festival of Pride Amsterdam 2025, and was once again organized by the Sport Pride Foundation (which provided the venue), the Amsterdam Chess Open Foundation, and De Queer Schaakclub. The queer participants agreed that there was absolutely reason to organize this tournament, and the tournament winner also agreed.

"It's great that it's being organized, a wonderful initiative," said Polak. "As a straight person, it's hard for me to judge, but I think other sports are less accessible. Chess is also a bit of a misfits' sport. If you don't quite fit in, then you do belong. But it's definitely good that this tournament exists."

After last year's first edition, with forty participants, this year saw a slight increase to 54 participants. While Instagram and personal contact have only been used so far, the intention is to start announcing the tournament on the chess calendars next year. That should allow for at least 150 participants.

"It was once again a very successful and wonderful edition, building on last year's," said Jan Timmerman of the Amsterdam Chess Open Foundation. "It took some getting used to for everyone back then, but you can see it's becoming more and more normal and natural. It might be a bit of a stretch, but we really do seem to be becoming a permanent fixture on the chess calendar."

Boom Chicago was the beautiful location for another "gezellig" tournament.