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The Second Amsterdam Chess Tournament (ACT) was held from July 16 to 24, 2005. It was won by Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov, who defeated Ivan Sokolov in the final round. A few days ago we brought you photographic impressions by Fred Lucas. Today another well-known Dutch photographer, Frits presents his works on the Amsterdam event.
Dutch GM and chess legend Jan Timman. In 1982 Timman held the second place
on the world ranking after Anatoly Karpov, which gave him the name “best
of the west”. In “64 Schaakportretten” I wrote: “Maybe
he lived too much the life of an artist life to become world champion”,
and that is still my view. Jan Timman was one of the first chess players
I photographed. It was in 1977, before I seriously entered the chess world
in 1979. At the ACT closing ceremony the organisers said that Timman was worth
50% of the media attention. Media attractor Timman slipped temporarily out
of the world top 100, but now with a July rating of 2625, and a shared 78 ranking,
he is on his way back to a fine position in the world chess elite.
Artyom Timofeev, 20-year-old GM from Russia, who is currently number four amongst
the best juniors in the world.
Ivan Cheparinov is 2005 Bulgarian champion and also the second of Topalov
Final round of the ACT: Vladimir Akopian vs Boris Avrukh, which ended in
a draw. The Gulf state of Qatar used the ACT as a kind of training tournament.
The ACT organisers happily saw the entry of Akopian, who is trainer of the
Qatari players.
Top seed Vladimir Akopian from Armenia, who constantly covers part of his
face, making him a difficult target for photographers. But one day I will show
the audience how photogenic he truly is.
The winner: Pavel Eljanov, Ukraine. Eljanov was a member of the golden
Ukrainian team which won the first prize at the Chess Olympiad 2004 in Calvia,
with a TPR of 2766
GM Andrei Kharlov from Russia
GM Sergey Erenburg, 22, originally Russia, now Israel. In Warsaw-Zegrze Poludniowe
he qualified for the next world championship race by winning a tie break.
GM Mohamad Al Modiahki, the best player from Qatar
Former world champion Zhu Chen (married to Al-Modiahki) and Dutch GM Peng Zhaoqin
Akopian watching Eljanov vs Sokolov in the final round
Dutch conference: Ivan Sokolov in a characteristic pose, coffee to drink and
Jan Timman to talk to. Sokolov and Timman are part of the Dutch team in Goteborg
ECTC.
Congratulations! IM Erwin L'Ami has beaten Mohamed Al-Modiahki to become Holland's
18th GM
The future of Dutch chess: GMs Erwin L'Ami (20 years), Jan Smeets (20) and
Daniel Stellwagen (18). The trio is often referred to as “Jong Oranje”
(in English literally “Young Orange”, the top Dutch Juniors). In
April 2005 they, together with Magnus Carlsen, played a double Round Robin
Rapid in Schagen. It was won by Smeets. Stellwagen recently beat compatriot
Loek van Wely in Maastricht in the second Complete
Chess match. In September 2005 the three will participate in the Dutch
championship, l’Ami because of his result in the championship of 2004,
Smeets and Stellwagen because of their results in the semi finals this year.
Erwin l’Ami and Jan Smeets are born on the exactly same day: 5th April
1985. It gives the feeling they are twins, also because they work together,
see for instance their contribution to the New in Chess Yearbook 75.
The new GM Erwin l'Ami, minutes after completing the norm. His family name
l’Ami is French for “the friend”, so who could dislike him?
Erwin l’Ami made his first GM norm in Amsterdam, ACT 2004, his second
in Gausdal 2004 and his third in ACT 2005. He is a succesful weekend tournament
player, recently winning Utrecht June 2005 and sharing first prize in Haarlem
July 2005.
I got my check! Eljanov at the end or the tournament
Frits
Agterdenbos, 45, lives in Heemstede, not far from Amsterdam, and was
one of the leading chess photographers in the eighties. From 1979–1991 his
pictures appeared in several magazins, including New in Chess, Schakend
Nederland, Inside Chess, BCM, Chess, Europe Echecs and Schach. In
1984 his Dutch book “64 Schaakportretten” (in English “64 Chess Portraits”)
was published. In 1991 he “retired” as a chess photographer to finish his studies
and in 1997 he received a diploma as an insurance mathematician (actuary).
Since 1998 he has been a self-employed, working under the company name “Acturix”,
which is his actuarial consultancy firm.
Now Frits is back as a chess photographer! In January 2005 he picked up his old passion, and publications show he still knows how to handle his camera. He combines his insurance job and chess photography with being a husband and a father of the beautiful Elena (almost three years old). You will find his photos on Chessbase.com, Schaakbond.nl, Schaaklog.nl and Schakers.info, and many more websites and magazines. You can contact him under f.agterdenbos(at)acturix.com (insert "@" at the appropriate place).
