KNSB: Repeat after me: M-A-S-T-E-R-K-L-A-S-S

door Marc Ghannoum

That story was begging to be written. For those loyal fans at VAS, these were 43 long years spent on the sidelines. Playing for glory in the lower divisions but away from the Masterklass spotlight. Away from the big boys’ pissing pot. And despite what some of you think, you can’t fully thrive as a chess club if you’re constantly absent from the main stage.

We set the bar in September: promotion or death. These ambitions were backed by a motivated bunch of immature, yet skillful, renegades. Bringing in Friso Nijboer, who has competed at the highest level against legends, was a big first step to provide experience and match preparation.

All went well. Pretty well. Aside from a dispirited performance against Amstelveen, we remained on course all year. The decisive clash occurred against Caissa Eenhoorn, who refused to back down. A narrow, topsy-turvy 5.5–4.5 victory, sealed by Tex’s last-minute win, secured the crucial result. Subsequent wins kept us ahead of the chasing Eenhoorn pack. One match remained. Against our long-time nemesis.

I was told of the historic rivalry between Caissa and VAS—mostly about bitter defeats. About how Arno Bezemer always manages to beat us. Caissa Amsterdam also has personal meaning for me. My journey at VAS began four years ago, as a clueless Canadian with no idea that the Dutch club scene was thriving. I emailed the two clubs I found on Google. VAS (aka that Niels guy) responded first, so Wibautstraat became my home. “Cosmic serendipity” has a better soundbite than “whoever replied first.”

Back to the match. Supported by an excited gang of teammates (thank you for the support guys!), we sat down with gold in our sights. I kept telling anyone willing to listen (sometimes twice) that 5.5 points would be enough, as we expected Eenhoorn to score heavily against Purmerend. But it didn’t start well for us. I was immediately suspicious of the positions Take and Anton got, but cautiously optimistic about Daan and Hilke’s prospects. Rafael, Ramon, Tex, Friso, and Pascal had ok-ish positions. Did I mention that I was a pack of nerves?!

Fortunately, good news started to roll in: Take received a generous draw offer, Anton turned things around (as usual), Daan channeled Petrosian, Tex was doing his thing (Chinese torture chamber symphony), Friso was quietly accumulating engine decimal points, and Rafael was pulling off a Goudriaan.

Daan and Hilke confidently converted their near-flawless games. Rafael got Rafael’ed in a winning position (playing too quickly) and had to settle for a draw. Ramon faced tough resistance from Bonno Pel and eventually went under. Pascal kept playing strong moves until his opponent collapsed. After Anton’s win and Take’s draw, that already made 5 points.

I was facing Robert Rikkert again (we had an eventful draw last year). After being neutralized in the opening, I slowly built up an advantage, which led—under Robert’s time pressure—to a winning endgame. True to my word, after confirming twice with Victor that a draw would secure the crucial 5.5, I vociferously shouted: “I OFFER A DRAW!” for all to hear. Being a pawn down, Robert accepted immediately, which triggered a roaring celebration, followed by some kind of questionable tribal dance from yours truly (to the visible dismay of the chief arbiter and to those with artistic taste). To make it even more dramatic, my last move before offering the draw was actually a major blunder:

White can win with the following maneuver: 43.Bf6 Kf5 44.Be5! instead I played 43.Bg3???? forgetting that black can reply 43…Rxe7! 44.Rxe7 Bxe7 45,b5! Bxa3 46,Bb8 =. But this sealed victory,

Friso converted, leaving a final suspense to this dramatic day: De Wit vs Afek, with Tex needing a win for his norm. A replay of two years ago, when Afek denied Ramon in similar fashion. Tex played true to his style, gradually building microscopic advantages, while Afek defended confidently. The position simplified into an equal endgame. Tex lost a pawn, and hopes began to fade. But the Man wasn’t done. He found incredible counterplay and nearly turned the game around under extreme time pressure. It was gripping—everyone glued to the board, then running off to analyze together. In the end, the balance held by a miracle move. Afek denied us again. This small tragedy was softened later over drinks at dinner and at our usual bar, where we laughed, hugged and performed the same ritual dance of fire mentioned above. Disappointment for Tex, but surely only a temporary setback for someone who has been excelling since joining three years ago.

From the other players:

Friso:

 Pascal: 

Ramon: “I declined an early draw offer and got completely outplayed afterwards”

Daan:
“I had a very comfortable game and just when he thought he was out of the woods, Bezemer erred with 24.c3?”

(redaction note: as a typical masterclass player, Daan is not giving you the solution).

Anton: “I had Black and chose a somewhat dubious opening: 1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Bg4!?. Out of the opening, I ended up in a cramped position. My opponent sacrificed a pawn and dangerously exposed my king, but I managed to hold the position and trade pieces. At one point, my opponent had the option of repeating the position, but instead decided to play for a win. As a result, he lost another pawn and drifted into an inferior position. In mutual time trouble, he then blundered a rook, which decided the game.”

Tex: “On top of our team’s goal, I had a personal mission yesterday. I had to beat IM Yochanan Afek to score an IM-norm. The game was an emotional roller coaster. I had a slight edge, was pushing, then suddenly dropped a pawn, had to fight for equality, reached equality, found out that the team already secured the victory (thanks team mates!), so I started pushing again. I avoided some forced draw variations (wrong colored bishop), and I got really far:

In this position I found the winning 1.g4! After 1…hxg4 I played 2.f5 (messed up the win, 2.Kb4 was better) 2…Nc4+ (2…gxf5 was better) 3.Kb4! Ne5

Here, down to just increment, I blundered with 4.Be4?. Instead 4.Bb7 would have been winning. The white a-pawn is quicker than the black g-pawn. Painful conclusion: I was one move away from my third IM-norm. Disappointed about my result, but so proud of our wonderful team. VAS is returning to the Meesterklasse. I can’t wait.”

No doubt, the pendulum has now swung between Caissa and us. We joke a lot about our neighbors, but every great Epic needs a great rival. Ali had Frazier; Ajax has Feyenoord (or is it the other way around?). At the end of the day, we are brothers in arms, our fates intertwined. Caissa, fighting relegation, still gave us the perfect matchup for Tex’s norm chances—an unselfish and classy gesture. Special thanks to Enrico and Yochanan for that sporting display. Merci. Now we can go back to pretending we hate each other.

These have been four incredible years. In 2023, led by Sierk, Vic, and Hilke, we won 2C. That was followed by two rollercoaster seasons flirting with relegation until the final round. And now this. We are heading into nine rounds of blood, sweat, and likely tears against seasoned professionals. That’s for tomorrow.

Today, we celebrate with our supporters, our many volunteers who made this day possible, our foes, our past and future VAS members—and set our sights on more silverware in the KSNB Beker, the SGA Beker, and the SGA league.