Who are we
And what do we want to achieve?
Chairman:
Jan Timmerman
Jan is a versatile personality with a passion for chess. He is chairman of the Amsterdam Chess Open and lecturer in Commercial Economics at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. As a board member of chess club Caïssa and participant in various competitions and tournaments, he has built up an extensive network in the Amsterdam chess world. Jan is known for his enthusiasm and his (often too) attacking playing style, such as his favorite opening the King's Gambit.
Treasurer & Chess Producer:
Marjolein Aarten
Treasurer & Chess Producer:
Marjolein Aarten
Marjolein started playing chess around the age of five. Although she temporarily put the game aside during high school, she found her way back to the chessboard later in life. She is treasurer and chess producer of the Amsterdam Chess Open and works as (Executive) Producer at production company KAOS Amsterdam.
Every Thursday is her regular chess volunteer day. You will find her as a curator at the Max Euwe Center, and in the evenings she is active as a youth leader at her club Amsterdam West. Marjolein also plays chess herself at two clubs: Amsterdam West and Zwart op Wit. She opens her games calmly, but then effortlessly switches to an aggressive playing style.
Secretary:
Jim van der Valk Bouman
Jim is responsible for the classifications and supports the arbiters for the Amsterdam Chess Open. With a background in mathematics and a lifelong fascination with competitive games, he has focused on chess in recent years. As co-founder of chess club Zwart op Wit, he is regularly involved in organizing the internal competition, in which consistently fair classifications are a spearhead. As a chess player, Jim is particularly strategic and cautious.
Sponsoring and Partnerships:
Hugo Sommer
Hugo has been a board member of the Amsterdam Chess Open since 2025 and focuses on fundraising, sponsoring and partnerships. He started playing chess in the summer of 2023 and quickly became enthusiastic about both the game and the chess community. In daily life, Hugo works in the financial sector. As a relative beginner, his playing style is still developing, but is mainly characterized by desperate attempts not to blunder pieces.
Brand Manager:
Joppe Bolderman
Joppe brings the organizational experience he gained during his student days into the world of chess. As a child, he learned how chess pieces moved, but it was only a few years ago when his roommate invited him to play a game of chess that he really became fascinated with the game. He is now a board member of chess club Zwart op Wit and works as a brand manager on the decoration and promotion of the event. His own chess game is mainly characterized by a tactical playing style and the tendency to get into enormous time trouble.
Personnel and logistics coordinator: Maurice Buzink
Maurice is the logistics organizer of the Amsterdam Open. As a child he played chess for a while, but stopped just before high school, but never really lost his passion for chess. Now, as co-founder and chairman of Zwart op Wit, he is a fanatic chess player again. Maurice's playing style is characterized by his preference to play with at least one piece behind.
