Jan Werle
Encyclopedia
Jan Werle is a Dutch chess player with the title Grandmaster.
s at Kallithea
in 2000 and 2001, where respectively, he took bronze in the Under-16 and silver in the Under-18.
Asked about his chess style, he comments that he regards himself primarily as a positional player, but one that can cope well with tactical complications. His fighting spirit has also been a strength, but his opening play
was for many years a weakness. Recently, he has worked with Dutch number one Ivan Sokolov
to improve the opening phase of his game and with club-mate Sergei Tiviakov
, has analyzed some of the games of the old masters, such as Botvinnik, Smyslov and Petrosian. He laments the passing of a time when such creative geniuses could fashion themselves an original playing style; regrettably, the advent of the computer era has, above all else, placed a strong focus on precise analysis.
His tournament record is so far impressive; runner-up at Groningen 2005 and at the Corus 'C' Group (Wijk aan Zee
) 2006, winner of the Essent Open 2006 and winner at Lodi in 2007. At Liverpool
in 2008, he made only a last minute decision to enter the EU Individual Open Chess Championship
and surprised everyone by winning the event, ahead of many of Europe's leading players, including Michael Adams, Nigel Short
, Étienne Bacrot
and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
.
, he plays for SG Aljechin Solingen, alongside compatriots Daniel Stellwagen
, Jan Smeets
and Sipke Ernst.
He also plays league chess in the Netherlands and speaks highly of his experiences in England, where he has represented the Bristol team in the 4NCL
.
Although he is yet to play for the national team in formal competition, he has been a regular participant of the Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament
in London (which occasionally doubles as an informal England vs Netherlands match).
Regarding the future, his aspirations as a professional chess player are quite modest and he thinks it more likely that his long-term future will be as a practitioner of civil law
.
Junior success
He learned the moves at the age of five, after watching his father play with a friend. Rapid progress brought him much junior success across the various age groups of both national and regional championships. There were medal-winning performances at the European Youth Chess ChampionshipEuropean Youth Chess Championship
Since 1991, the European chess union organises the European Youth Chess Championship in the groups under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 year. Until 2002, there was also a tournament for the under 20, see European Junior Chess Championship.-Boys winners:...
s at Kallithea
Kallithea
Kallithea is the 8th largest municipality in Greece and the 4th biggest in the Athens urban area...
in 2000 and 2001, where respectively, he took bronze in the Under-16 and silver in the Under-18.
Further chess activity
Werle continued to develop quickly over the next few years, by combining a structured coaching regime with frequent tournament practice. He became an International Master in 2001 and a grandmaster five years later.Asked about his chess style, he comments that he regards himself primarily as a positional player, but one that can cope well with tactical complications. His fighting spirit has also been a strength, but his opening play
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
was for many years a weakness. Recently, he has worked with Dutch number one Ivan Sokolov
Ivan Sokolov
Ivan Sokolov is a chess grandmaster born in Jajce, SFR Yugoslavia, who currently resides in the Netherlands. Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship....
to improve the opening phase of his game and with club-mate Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov
Sergei Tiviakov is a naturalised Dutch chess Grandmaster.Tiviakov won the Dutch Chess Championship in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, in Plovdiv, he won the European Individual Chess Championship with 8.5/11....
, has analyzed some of the games of the old masters, such as Botvinnik, Smyslov and Petrosian. He laments the passing of a time when such creative geniuses could fashion themselves an original playing style; regrettably, the advent of the computer era has, above all else, placed a strong focus on precise analysis.
His tournament record is so far impressive; runner-up at Groningen 2005 and at the Corus 'C' Group (Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
) 2006, winner of the Essent Open 2006 and winner at Lodi in 2007. At Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in 2008, he made only a last minute decision to enter the EU Individual Open Chess Championship
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 . The event is open to members of chess federations within the European Union...
and surprised everyone by winning the event, ahead of many of Europe's leading players, including Michael Adams, Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
, Étienne Bacrot
Étienne Bacrot
Étienne Bacrot is a French chess grandmaster and currently ranked number one in France.He started playing at 4; by 10 young Bacrot was already winning junior competitions and in 1996, at 13 years of age, he won against Vasily Smyslov...
and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is a French chess Grandmaster and the 2009 World Junior Chess Champion.-Grandmaster norms:He completed his final grandmaster norm at age 14 years, 4 months, in 2005....
.
Team events
In the German BundesligaChess Bundesliga
The term Chess Bundesliga , normally refers to the premier league of team chess in Germany. It is arguably the strongest and longest running league of its kind, attracting many top grandmasters from Europe and beyond....
, he plays for SG Aljechin Solingen, alongside compatriots Daniel Stellwagen
Daniël Stellwagen
Daniël Stellwagen is a Dutch chess Grandmaster.In 1999 he won the Dutch Junior Championship and won silver both at the World Junior Championship and the European Junior Championship . In 2003 he won the endgame study solving contest at the De Feijter Festival in Deventer with an unprecedented 100%...
, Jan Smeets
Jan Smeets
Jan Smeets is a Dutch chess player with the title Grandmaster. He was the Netherlands' national champion in 2008. In 2009 he did not take part, but in 2010 he successfully reclaimed the championship.-Competitive beginnings:...
and Sipke Ernst.
He also plays league chess in the Netherlands and speaks highly of his experiences in England, where he has represented the Bristol team in the 4NCL
4NCL
4NCL is an acronym, standing for Four Nations Chess League; the four nations being England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The league is however truly international, with players from as many as 27 different countries taking part....
.
Although he is yet to play for the national team in formal competition, he has been a regular participant of the Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament
Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament
The Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in honour of the English chess player Howard Staunton .The first edition was played in 2003 in Simpson's-in-the-Strand, London, England to mark its 175th birthday; subsequent editions have also been held there...
in London (which occasionally doubles as an informal England vs Netherlands match).
Other interests
Werle has studied law at Groningen University while continuing to improve his chess. He admits that he finds the mental rigours of two such analytical and memory-intensive disciplines extremely demanding and can see the benefits of combining academic study with a more physical sport. His favourite sporting pastimes are football, tennis and rowing.Regarding the future, his aspirations as a professional chess player are quite modest and he thinks it more likely that his long-term future will be as a practitioner of civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
.
Notable chess games
- Jan Werle v Daniel Fridman - played at the 7th round of the EU championships in Liverpool 2008.
- Jan Werle v Peter Wells - played at the Staunton Memorial, London 2008.