Erwin l'Ami (born 5 April 1985) is a Dutch
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
grandmaster. He attained the title of grandmaster in 2005, and has reached a peak
rating
A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...).
Rating or rating system may also refer to:
Business and economics
* Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
of 2651. l'Ami has represented the Netherlands at seven
Chess Olympiads
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
(2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022) and won the
2015 Reykjavik Open.
Early years
l'Ami learned to play chess at the age of five, when his father introduced him to the moves and then took him to the local chess club.
Chess career
At
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segelstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...
in 2004, he won the tournament, ahead of
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
and despite being expected to finish no higher than mid-table. He soon fulfilled the requirements for an
International Master
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
(IM) title, awarded the same year. Becoming a full-time professional, the opportunities for travel continued to suit his lifestyle and in 2005, he complemented his training and dedication with a few good wins, gaining the necessary norms to be awarded the Grandmaster title. During this period, he finished second equal at the Essent tournament, was co-winner of the strong
Karabakh
Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...
'B' tournament and scored well at the
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee (; ) is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Corus chess tournament or the Hoogove ...
Corus 'C' tourney, earning an upgrade to the 'B' tournament in 2006.
At the
Turin 2006 Olympiad, he played a small but helpful role in the national team with a very respectable score of 3.5/5. By then, his
Elo rating
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor.
The Elo system wa ...
was reflecting the consistency in his performances and he passed the 2600 mark by the early part of 2007. Working with a new coach (GM
Vladimir Chuchelov) was perhaps another reason for his continued progress. At the
European Team Chess Championship
The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
at
Heraklion
Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...
in 2007, he contributed another plus score (4.5/8) to the Netherlands team total.
2008 was a rewarding year for l'Ami. He finished with a share of second place at the
European Individual Championship
The European Individual Chess Championship is a chess tournament organised by the European Chess Union. It was established in 2000 and has since then taken place on a yearly basis.
Apart from determining the European champions (open and women's), ...
in
Plovdiv
Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...
, missing out on the medals after an eight-way play-off. More recently, he took part in the
EU Individual Open Chess Championship
The EU Individual Open Championship was first contested in Cork, Ireland in 2005, under the auspices of organising body, the European Chess Union (ECU). The event is open to members of chess federations within the European Union. Exceptionally, at ...
at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, maintaining touch with the leading group throughout and finishing with a share of fifth place, alongside compatriots
Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov (; born 14 February 1973) is a Russian–Dutch chess grandmaster. He is a three-time Dutch Champion and was European Champion in 2008.
Chess career
Tiviakov won the World Under-18 Championship in 1990 in Singapore. He was awar ...
and Jan Smeets.
He took part in the
Chess World Cup 2009
The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2012. Boris ...
and was knocked out by
Krishnan Sasikiran
Krishnan Sasikiran (Tamil: கிருஷ்ணன் சசிகிரண்; born 7 January 1981) is an Indian chess grandmaster.
He was one of Viswanathan Anand's seconds in the World Chess Championship 2013.
Chess career
Born in Madra ...
in the first round.
In 2010, L'Ami helped
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
in his
World Championship match against
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, a two-time Chess World Cup Champion and a World Blitz Chess Cup Champion. ...
.
In 2014, L'Ami participated in a
chess.com
Chess.com is an internet chess server and social networking website. One of the largest chess platforms in the world, the site operates on a freemium model in which some features are available for free, and others are available via subscription ...
death match against
Jan Smeets
Jan Smeets (born 5 April 1985) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. He is a two-time Dutch Chess Champion.
Playing record
2004 was the year that his participation in senior tournaments began to yield encouraging results. He finished in second place i ...
, which he won.
In 2015, he won the
Reykjavik Open
The Reykjavik Open is an annual chess tournament that takes place in the capital city of Iceland. It was held every two years up to 2008, currently it runs annually. The first edition was held in 1964 and was won by Mikhail Tal with a score of 12. ...
scoring 8.5/10.
In 2022 he won the
Dutch Chess Championship.
Chess second
In 2008 l'Ami began working as a
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
to
Ivan Cheparinov
Ivan Cheparinov (; born November 26, 1986) is a Bulgarian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. He is a four-time Bulgarian Chess Championship, Bulgarian champion (2004, 2005, 2012, 2018). Cheparinov competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2005, 2007, ...
after the two had met at a tournament and became friends. Principally, he was engaged to assist Cheparinov at the elite
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
M-Tel Masters event and benefited not only from the theoretical work they undertook together, but also from the insight he gained into chess at that level. In an interview given after the event, he considered the experience to be "inspirational". Along with Cheparinov and
Francisco Vallejo Pons
Francisco Vallejo Pons (born 21 August 1982) is a Spanish chess grandmaster. He is a five-time Spanish Chess Champion.
He achieved the Grandmaster title at the age of 16 years and 9 months. He won the under-18 World Chess Youth Championship ...
, he served as a second for
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
in the
February 2009 Challengers Match against
Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky (; ; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion.
Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 at the age of 22, and reached a ranking of fourth in the world ...
. He has since served as second of
Anish Giri
Anish Kumar Giri (; ; born 28 June 1994) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on ...
.
Personal life
He is married to Romanian IM and Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
Alina l'Ami.
An hour with Alina l'Ami!
ChessBase
References
Corus biography 2006
Gausdal result
ChessVibes Interview
Olimpbase - Olympiads and other Team event information
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:L'Ami, Erwin
1985 births
Living people
Chess Grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Dutch chess players
Sportspeople from Woerden
21st-century Dutch people