Introducing Mr. Ron Bleeker who won our prize of 2 signed posters by the players of the London Grand Prix with his answer
“You have moved around a lot, problaby even more than me! I am a Dutchman living in Germany and moved 9 times.
What I have found where you lived is:
– Keighley, Skipton, Yorkshire (born 11-12-1987)
– Lucca, Italy (2001)
– Ennis, Ireland (2003-05)
– Enniskillen, Northern Ireland (2005-09)
– Melbourne, Australia (2009)
– Wellington, New Zealand (2009-10)
– Reading, England
– London, England
But I probably missed something…”
I asked him to write in a little about himself and here are his answers.
Can you tell me a bit about your relationship with chess?
I started playing chess in a club in 1970 (HCSV De Pion, Hilversum, Holland) when I was 14. I like playing but in 1976 I started as assistent-arbiter and I liked that even more. I became officially arbiter in 1979, national (Dutch) arbiter in 1986 and international arbiter in 2005. My highest Dutch-rating ever was 1777, so that’s another reason why I liked beeing an arbiter more. Now I am chief arbiter of the Dutch Team Competition, the Dutch Championship for Veterans (Oosterbeek) and the HSG-Open (Hilversum). Also I am one of the arbiters in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament (amateur groups, Wijk aan Zee), the Univé Chess Tournament (Hoogeveen) and the Dutch Open Championship (Dieren). In Germany, where I now live for almost five years, I am chairman of Schachclub Rotenburg, a small club in East Hessen, and a member of the Committee of Appeal of the Hessischer Schachverband. And also I am a member of the Ken Whyld Association, which is a club of collectors of chess literature. I collect mainly tournament books and books abbout the history of chess.
Is chess a hobby or a job?
Chess is a hobby out of control, although I do make some money as an arbiter, it’s not nearly enough to make a living.
Who is your favourite player?
Bobby Fischer
What is the best chess country in the world?
China, perhaps not yet but in the near future for sure.
Which chess event do you think is the best for spectators to go and visit?
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament, formerly known as Corus and Hoogovens, in Wijk aan Zee. The spectators can see the players live, go to the commentary in the very large tent and for the familymembers who are not interested in chess there is always the beach, the North Sea and sometimes a washed ashore ship.
Do you have any chess ambitions yourself?
I hope that our team of Rotenburg will be champion in the Bezirksoberliga in East Hessen, we have been second and third in the last years.
Can you show us your favourite chess game?
Kasparov – Topalov, 20-1-1999, the pearl of Wijk aan Zee, because of the long combination and many sacrifices.
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.f3 b5 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 Bb7 10.a3 e5 11.0-0-0 Qe7 12.Kb1 a6 13.Nc1 0-0-0 14.Nb3 exd4 15.Rxd4 c5 16.Rd1 Nb6 17.g3 Kb8 18.Na5 Ba8 19.Bh3 d5 20.Qf4+ Ka7 21.Rhe1 d4 22.Nd5 Nbxd5 23.exd5 Qd6 24.Rxd4! cxd4 25.Re7+!! Kb6 26.Qxd4+ Kxa5 27.b4+ Ka4 28.Qc3 Qxd5 29.Ra7 Bb7 30.Rxb7! Qc4 31.Qxf6 Kxa3 32.Qxa6+ Kxb4 33.c3+! Kxc3 34.Qa1+ Kd2 35.Qb2+ Kd1 36.Bf1! Rd2 37.Rd7! Rxd7 38.Bxc4 bxc4 39.Qxh8 Rd3 40.Qa8 c3 41.Qa4+ Ke1 42.f4 f5 43.Kc1 Rd2 44.Qa7 1-0-