Youth Hall of Fame
In recent years the junior section of the Eindhoven Chess Club has produced a number of National junior champions. Here is a brief overview.
2026
At the National Juniors Day a new talent emerged: Palaksh Ingale won the H group and became champion in the under-7 category. Of his seven games he won six, conceding only one draw.
Elysia retained her title in girls A. It was somewhat harder than last year. After a slow start she secured the title only in the final round.
Ethan won the junior B title in 2026 with ease. He won his first five games, including in round three against last year’s champion Sascha. In the final two rounds he could afford to take it easy with two draws. Ethan finished with a one-and-a-half point lead over a group of six players including Sascha. Sascha did secure his place at the European Championship by finishing second in the play-off among those six.
2025
Elysia became champion in girls A in 2025. She drew in the first round and in the last round. In between she won all her games.
In the boys B, Sascha became champion. After a difficult start he worked his way up to shared first with three others. In the play-off he was untouchable with 2.5 out of 3.
2024
In the girls D, Thao Luong became champion in 2024 with a score of 8 out of 9.
Ethan Chua claimed the Dutch C open title in 2024. He finished a full point ahead of the competition.
Our D team claimed the national title. They won all their matches 3-1!
2023
In 2023 Niranjana became girls E champion. She drew twice, including against club-mate Melody, and won everything else.
2022
Our D team retained their title this year. Last year it was still a close call; this year all matches in the semi-finals and final were won by comfortable margins.
At the Junior Championship Day, Niranjana and Melody successfully defended their girls titles. Niranjana became girls champion in the F category and Melody in the G category. Tim Ma narrowly missed the open title in the H category with a score of 6.5 out of 7.
Luna returned to championship play after a brief absence and promptly became champion in the girls D category. It did not come easily — the title was only decided after a tie-break.
Elysia followed up last year’s Dutch C girls online chess title by also claiming the Dutch C girls over-the-board title. Whereas last year it came easily, this year the outcome was only decided in the final round.
2021
In 2021 our D team became champions again. Where last year they had to settle for second place, this time they finished one match point ahead of DD. Our E team retained the title they had won in 2019. In the meantime they had become Dutch online champions once, but that feels different.
On the first day that COVID restrictions were eased, the KNSB seized the opportunity to organise a large in-person national championship in Best. In a field of 52 D players, Gachatur was by far the strongest. He conceded only half a point — to his friend and club-mate Sascha — and became the first Dutch in-person D champion in a long time.
By 2021 we had grown somewhat accustomed to the pandemic. It already feels natural for championships to be played online. The lack of social atmosphere is partly offset by the absence of travel time — a junior national championship can therefore be completed in a single weekend. Elysia won all her games on the first day of the girls C national championship, meaning she could clinch the title at her leisure on the second day.
After two years our E team was able to retain the title they had won in 2019. The 2020 tournament had been cancelled; now there was an online edition. Our E team won all ten matches convincingly and became champions with 37 board points out of 40.
At the Junior Championship Day two young girls made their mark: Niranjana became girls champion in the G category and Melody in the H category.
2020
2020 was a strange year. It was the first year entirely dominated by a pandemic, resulting in almost all national championships being cancelled or postponed. This also gave rise to a number of new initiatives, such as the online E national championship. The first Dutch online junior champions came from our club. Tommy won the open group and Luna the girls group.
2019
2019 was the most successful year to date for our junior section. The D team became Dutch champions for the first time, winning all nine of their matches.
The E team also became Dutch champions — their third time. The last time was back in 2010. Since then we had come close several times but it had always just slipped away. This time Tommy, Gachatur, Luna and Sascha left the competition with no chance, winning five matches 4-0 and two matches 3-1.
Alongside the two team titles there were also four individual titles. Tommy Grooten claimed his second Junior Day title. He became champion in the F category. After six wins, a quick draw in the final round was enough to seal the title.
Wendy claimed two titles this year. First she became girls C champion and a month later she won the open D championship. In the girls C championship the gap to the runner-up was very large. In the open D championship she finished level with two boys in first place. She won the subsequent tie-break convincingly.
Luna won the girls E title in 2019 with ease. At eight years old she was the youngest in the field, yet only one of her opponents managed to score a draw against her.
2018
In 2018 Yichen Han successfully defended his British Championship Under 11 title and also added the Under 12 title. Across both tournaments combined he dropped only half a point.
Tommy Grooten succeeded Yichen as Dutch E champion. This title has been held by our club members every year since 2015.
Luna Huang, Wendy’s younger sister, made her first mark on the national stage by becoming Dutch H champion.
2017
In 2017 we began our conquest of the world. Yichen Han won the British Championship Under 11 with a 100% score and Alexander Rutten became junior champion of Georgia in the Under 14 category.
In addition, Yichen Han successfully defended his Dutch E title. He finished half a point ahead of Machteld van Foreest. Yichen now has six individual Dutch titles to his name.
Tommy Grooten became Dutch H champion. To quote Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”
2016
In 2016 Yichen Han took the E title from Alexander Rutten. Alexander finished second, at a respectable distance ahead of the rest of the field.
Yichen achieved a historic victory at the Junior Championship Day in 2016. By winning the F category he became the first Dutch player to hold four Junior Day titles.
Wendy narrowly missed the open title in the G category on tie-break points, but did claim the girls title.
2015
2015 was an exceptionally successful year for our junior section. In the E national championship both the girls and boys titles were decided in a three-way play-off. In both play-offs an Eindhoven Chess Club player came out on top. Janne Allaart won in the girls, avenging the previous year when she had lost the play-off to Machteld van Foreest. Alexander Rutten won in the boys. The Najdorf was a dangerous weapon of Alexander’s that many opponents struggled to handle.
The National Junior Championship Day was a complete celebration for the Eindhoven Chess Club. All three age categories were won by our players. Alexander Rutten added extra lustre to his E title by also becoming Dutch champion in the F category. Yichen Han claimed the G title, making him the sixth Dutch player to have won three Junior Day titles (F, G, H). His predecessors are: Jan Smeets, Mark Erwich, Maurice Schippers, Arthur Pijpers and Robby Kevlishvilli. Yichen still has a chance at a fourth title next year in the F category. Wendy Huang succeeded Yichen as Dutch champion in the H category, simultaneously becoming Dutch girls champion in the H category. Alexander, Yichen and Wendy collectively achieved almost a 100% score — only Alexander conceded a draw, in the final round. In the photo from left to right: Elysia Feng (fourth in the girls H), Alexander Rutten, Yichen Han and Wendy Huang.
2014
In 2014 Yichen retained his title in the H category. It was the first time anyone had won the Dutch H category title twice. In the photo Yichen is flanked by Janne Allaart, who finished third in the girls F category, and Wendy Huang, who finished fourth in the girls H category.
2013
In 2013 the five-year-old Yichen Han became Dutch champion in the H category. He lost in the second round, but won all his remaining games, ultimately finishing first on tie-break points.
2010
In 2010 the E team retained their title, making the Eindhoven Chess Club the first club to become Dutch E team champions two years in a row. This year it was considerably more straightforward — most matches were won with ease, and only one ended in a draw. The photo is from the NBSB championship. From left to right: Sourav Bhattacharjee, Luuk Baselmans, Ties Schalij and Kritin Motamarri.
2009
In 2009 our E team became Dutch champions in something of a surprise. We were fortunate that a strong team from Groningen — including Melchior Hillenkamp (Dutch Champion), Jorden van Foreest and Lucas van Foreest — withdrew at the last moment. We were perhaps not the strongest team, but a win in the final round suddenly put us at the top of the standings. The photo of the winning team, from left to right: Teun Rooijmans, Sourav Bhattacharjee, Ties Schalij, Ankit Majhi and Jaap Rooijmans. In the background stand team captain Frits Schalij and tournament director Ynte Visser. Ynte has just received a shirt from the champion team and is surprised to discover that it is actually his size.