Sergey’s name became known when in 2002, before he was twelve years old, and before he made his GM title, when Ponomariov appointed him as his second for the FIDE world championships match with Ivanchuk. His biggest ‘big league’ success was making it all the way to the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup, where Shirov eliminated him. Among his most noted result for 2008 was tying for third in Aerosvit (6/11). He also took part at both the FIDE Grand Prix events, scoring +1 in one, and –1 in the other.

Name: Krishnan Sasikiran
Date of birth: 07-01-1981
Country: India
Rating: 2711

Top seed in the ultra-strong GM B group is India’s second highest ranked player. A Grandmaster since 2000, Krishnan is a former Asian champion, who climbed through the ranks by placing high in strong events all over the world around the start of the Millennium. Recently the Grandmaster from Chennai played on board one for his country – substituting for his city-mate world champion Anand – and scoring a very respectable 6/10. ‘Sasi’ is a very solid player, and is well prepared in the openings. He learned how to play chess at the relatively late age of 9, and was initially coached by his dad. His quick progress brought him wins at the under age 18 championships of both India and the British Commonwealth. In 2002 he beat Anand at the World cup, in a strong showing. His most noted results this year were first place at the top group of the Mazovian tournament in Poland with 6.5/9, a tie for first at the strong Kolkata open with 8.5/10. Sasikiran is making his first appearance in Wijk aan Zee, and is surely one of the favorites to win his group.

Name: Erwin l'Ami
Date of birth: 05-04-1985
Country: the Netherlands
Rating: 2603

Erwin’s ‘connection to chess’ started at age five, with the encouragement of his father. He took to the game pretty quickly, and became a part of a talented group of youngsters who took part at national, and later world events. His first significant breakthrough was in 2004 when he achieved the IM title, following it quickly in 2005 when he fulfilled the requirements for Grandmaster. L’Ami’s rating rise was very impressive, climbing from the 2200’s to cross the 2600 mark in just a few years. The Dutchman is a very active player, averaging 30 rated ELO games per rating period. He mostly plays in Western European open and closed events, and in several leagues as well. In 2008 some of his noted results were a solid performance on board four for his national team at the Olympiad, scoring 6/9, and a tie for second place with a fantastic 8/11 finish at the European championships in Plovdiv. Erwin also scored a very respectable 7/11 in the next such event in Liverpool, and aside from a few mediocre results his only poor showing was 2.5/8 at the Bundesliga. At the M-Tel tournament earlier this year, L’Ami had his first experience as a second (to Bulgarian GM Cheparinov), a experience that was demanding and tiring, but also enriching and ‘inspiring’ for him. A regular at Corus, Erwi scored –1 in last year’s Corus B.