Who are we?
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.
Executive Producer and Treasurer:
Marjolein Aarten
Treasurer & Chess Producer:
Marjolein Aarten
Marjolein started playing chess around the age of five. Although she briefly stepped away from the game during secondary school, she found her way back to the chessboard later in life. She is executive producer and treasurer of the Amsterdam Chess Open Foundation and works as a freelance Executive Producer for various clients & brands in the film & photography industry. You can also find her as a curator at the Max Euwe Centre, and every Thursday evening she is active as a youth leader at her club Amsterdam West. In addition, Marjolein plays chess at two clubs: Amsterdam West and Zwart op Wit. She opens her games quietly, but effortlessly switches to an aggressive playing style.
Pairing Officer:
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.
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.
Media:
Yali Hendrix
Treasurer & Chess Producer:
Marjolein Aarten
Yali loves chess, techno, and soil science. You can find her at the university, in the club working as an awareness officer, behind the DJ booth, or at the chessboard. After learning to play chess on Valentine's Day in 2021, it was love at first sight. Since then, she has organized chess meetups, events, and tournaments. Despite her great love for chess, she sometimes gets a little sad when she's losing too many games—and that's perfectly okay!
Chief Arbiter:
Sernin van de Krol
Sernin van de Krol started playing chess at ten years old and has been active at chess clubs after his studies. In 2017 he started as arbiter and organiser has earned the title of International Arbiter since 2023. His day job is technical consultant/developer and in his free time he works on toernooiregistratie.nl, enjoys a nice craft beer with friends, plays chess or combines the last two.
Secretary:
Ti de Jong
Ti started late with chess, around her 30th year and she got the virus instantly. Meanwhile she has lots of time to play nice chess tournaments, often abroad, combining this with holidays. She answers the mails that are sent by the participants. In her own games she prefers to play open positions.
Chess training coordinator:
Gerton Sluis
Treasurer & Chess Producer:
Marjolein Aarten
Gerton Sluis started playing club level chess 5 years ago (at VAS) and since then the passion for chess only grew. Gerton works as IT-business consultant in daily life. Other hobbies are tennis, cycling and stamps. Gerton is responsible for the (updates of content) of the Amsterdam Chess Festival website.
Logistics and arbiter:
Theo Weijers
Theo is a serious chessplayer, organiser and material manager, but not *that* serious.
Logistics and arbiter:
Rinus van de Krol
My name is Rinus van de Krol and I am 64 years old, married, father of two kids and live in Hoorn. In daily life I work at Rijkswaterstaat in a control function, but primarily active for the workers council of the company. Next to being a chess arbiter, I spend time on my family, table tennis, reading, puzzlers and motor cycling.
Previous organisers
Since its inception in 2023, various people have been part of the Amsterdam Chess Open organizing team over the years. The organization is grateful to all these former members for their effort and contributions.
Maurice
Buzink
Coördinator
logistiek
2023 - 2025
Peter
Doggers
Perschef
2024 - 2026
Hugo
Sommer
Hugo
Sommer
Sponsor-
coördinator
2025
Martin
Blom
Penningmeester
2023 - 2025
Peter
Doggers
Chief Press
2024 - 2026
Maurice Buzink
Logistics Coordinator
2023 - 2025
Hugo Sommer