Dear all,

Welcome to a new series on my blog called "Duel Of Nations". First of all, let me briefly explain what this will be. This series will consist of three episodes in which I will directly compare two nations regarding chess strength. The matches will have four categories so that the final result can be a draw. They will be:

PAST

PRESENT

FUTURE

WOMEN

The aim is to increase your knowledge of chess in countries that are not extremely traditional, but which certainly have their value in world chess history. Other basic rules are:

A) The duels will not include any countries that I have already discussed in my series "Chess Where I Lived" (New Zealand, Germany, Brazil, Spain, and the USA).

B) I will choose opponents of at least a similar level, so don’t expect anything like India vs. Kiribati, with all due respect.

C) Duels involving political conflicts beyond the game will be avoided. Examples: Russia vs. Ukraine, Iran vs. Israel, or Armenia vs. Azerbaijan. Although they might be interesting from a chess point of view, they could trigger unnecessary discussions that I prefer not to deal with.

So, for the first episode, I bring two countries that have had great importance in chess history and are still relevant today, although not at the top of the elite. Argentina and the Netherlands also have a healthy rivalry in football, having played a World Cup Final match in 1978, which ended with the South Americans winning 3-1.

Other memorable encounters include 1998, when the Netherlands won 2-1, and the most recent matches in 2014 and 2022, which went to penalties. Argentina came out on top both times. But while “La Albiceleste” has the advantage in football, will it be the same in chess? Let us find the answer soon.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Past

2. Present

3. Future

4. Women

5. Conclusion

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PAST

Argentina will be represented by Miguel Najdorf, one of the most famous players in history thanks to the Sicilian defense line that bears his name.

Born on April 15, 1910, in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland, Najdorf was one of the strongest chess Grandmasters in the 1940s. Despite being Polish by birth, he moved to Argentina immediately after the start of the Second World War in 1939, which broke out just as he was playing the 8th Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires.

Being Jewish, he decided to stay there and was granted Argentine citizenship in 1944. Tragically, his wife, daughter, parents, and siblings were all murdered in the Holocaust.

Although not a full-time chess professional, having also worked in the insurance business, Najdorf was a strong contender for the world title at his peak. He was ranked second in the world from mid-1947 to mid-1949, behind only Mikhail Botvinnik. This led to speculation that he might be invited to the 1948 World Championship tournament, but in the end, it didn't happen.

Not satisfied with this decision, he stated in an interview:

I believe that I am not inferior to any of the players who are going to play in the next World Championship. Botvinnik, Fine, Reshevsky, Keres, Euwe... None of them has a better record than me. I have played much less than them, but I am satisfied with my results.

Najdorf died in Málaga, Spain, on July 4, 1997, at the age of 87. Find out more: The Mirthful Miguel Najdorf.

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The Netherlands is represented by Max Euwe, a mathematician, former president of FIDE, and World Chess Champion between 1935 and 1937.

Machgielis "Max" Euwe was born in Amsterdam on May 20, 1901. Besides being a great chess player, he was also a mathematician, author, and chess administrator. Between 1935 and 1937, he was the official World Chess Champion, the fifth player to hold this title. After his retirement, he also served as President of FIDE from 1970 to 1978.

Euwe won every Dutch chess championship he entered from 1921 to 1952. His 12 titles during this period are still a national record. In 1928, he became the amateur world chess champion with a score of 12/15.

In 1933, he challenged Alexander Alekhine to a World Championship Match, which began in October 1935. Asked for his views on the forthcoming match, former world champion José Raúl Capablanca told Dutch journalist Han Hollander:

Dr. Alekhine's game is 20% bluff. Dr. Euwe's game is clear and straightforward. Dr. Euwe's game — not so strong as Alekhine's in some respects — is more evenly balanced.

It was on December 15, 1935, after 30 games in 13 different cities in the Netherlands, that Euwe defeated Alekhine 15.5 - 14.5 (9 - 13 - 8) to become the World Chess Champion. This title gave a huge boost to chess in the Netherlands and left a huge legacy. Alekhine regained the crown two years later, but that doesn’t diminish his achievement. 

Max Euwe died in Amsterdam on November 26, 1981, at the age of 80.

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ROUND 1

But who wins this category?

Although Miguel Najdorf deserves respect for his enormous contribution to chess, this is not enough to give him a victory over a man who defeated Alexander Alekhine and was crowned World Champion without even dedicating his career to professional chess.

Despite being perhaps less famous than Najdorf and not as recognized as he deserves, Max Euwe is a giant and has written his name in the Hall of Fame with some of the greatest players in history. So, the first round goes to the Netherlands.

Other names to mention are Oscar Panno, one of the greatest legends of Argentinian chess, and Jan Timman, a Dutchman who was among the best in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. If you want to read more about chess in the Netherlands, have a look at this blog written by Top Blogger @AstroTheoretical_Physics: Greatest Dutch Players Of All Time.

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PRESENT

On the Argentinian side, we have Sandro Mareco, who currently has the highest ELO in the country and has represented Argentina in four Chess Olympiads.

Born on May 13, 1987, in Haedo, Buenos Aires Province, Sandro Fabio Mareco is an Argentine Chess grandmaster. He won the South American U20 Championship in 2007 and later took part in five FIDE World Cups between 2011 and 2021. However, he has never progressed beyond the second round.

Mareco played for the Argentine national team in all the Chess Olympiads between 2012 and 2018, having been assigned to board 1 in the last two. In May 2015, he won the 10th American Continental Championship, held in Montevideo. In the following month, he won his only Argentine Championship title. In 2017, Mareco finished with a perfect score of 9/9 points in the Marcel Duchamp Cup, also held in Montevideo.

Three years later, in 2020, he was honored with the Konex Platinum Award for the best Argentine chess player of the last decade, despite having won the national championship only once. His main rival during this period was Diego Flores, who won five national championships but was usually behind him in terms of rating and international performance.

Sandro Mareco is a player with an attacking style and a great ability to calculate in complicated positions. His peak rating was 2666, reached in March 2019, when he was ranked 78th in the world. Although he is no longer as active, he is still the highest-rated player in Argentina.

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To represent the Netherlands, the choice was obvious. None other than Anish Giri, the best Dutch of the last decade and a two-time Candidates Tournament player.

Anish Kumar Giri was born on June 28, 1994, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. However, although Russian by birth, he moved with his family to the Dutch town of Rijswijk in February 2008 and has been representing the Netherlands ever since, having changed his federation in 2009. He has been a Grandmaster for 15 years, having earned the title at the tender age of 14.

Giri has already played for the Netherlands in seven Chess Olympiads between 2010 and 2024, most of them on board 1, and is by far the highest-ranked player in the team. He is a five-time Dutch Champion (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2023) and has also won many major international tournaments, including Reggio Emilia 2012, London Chess Classic 2015, Reykjavik Open 2017, and Tata Steel Chess 2023.

His name has been, and still is, regularly seen at virtually every elite chess tournament over the last decade. His peak rating was 2798, reached in October 2015, which gives him the unofficial title of Super Grandmaster, as those who have crossed the 2700 barrier are usually called. At the time he was the 3rd best player in the world.

Giri has also played in two Candidates Tournaments, in 2016 and 2020/2021. In his first participation, he ended up with 14 draws in 14 matches, which earned him some unfair fame.

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ROUND 2

Well, I think the winner of this category is obvious, don't you? Anish Giri scores another point for the Netherlands. He has been firmly established as one of the best players in the world for at least 10 years, and with a little more luck, he could have played in the 2021 World Championship. Despite the jokes about his solid style and the number of draws, there is no denying that he is an exceptional player.

Sandro Mareco was a worthy opponent, who has made great contributions to chess in Argentina and South America, but is not on such a high level. The Netherlands now leads 2-0.

And of course, there are other Dutch players who could be mentioned here to confirm this victory even more, such as Jorden van Foreest and Max Warmerdam, both with an ELO very close to 2700 and who often appear in elite tournaments.

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FUTURE

In this category, Argentina will be represented by Faustino Oro, also known as the Messi of Chess, one of the world's most promising prodigies and the youngest International Master in history.

Faustino Oro was born on October 14, 2013, in San Cristóbal and is considered one of the most promising chess prodigies in the world. In 2023, when he was only nine years old, he already had a FIDE classical rating of 2300, making him the youngest chess player to become a FIDE Master. In June 2024, at the age of 10, he also became the youngest player to win the title of International Master, breaking the record held by Abhimanyu Mishra.

Faustino Oro started playing chess during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, he studied the game autodidactically, later passing through the hands of various masters and teachers. He has by far topped the world chess rankings in the U8, U10, U11, and U12 categories. Due to all his exceptional achievements, the chess community began to call him the "Messi of Chess".

In May 2024, Faustino defeated five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen and world number three Hikaru Nakamura in a weekly Bullet tournament hosted by Chess.com. He has consistently performed impressively against the world's best chess players and has an online blitz rating of over 3100 on this platform.

Oro currently resides with his parents in the region of Barcelona, Spain, where he is seeking the best opportunities for his current and future chess career. However, he still plays tournaments representing Argentina.

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The Netherlands is represented here by young prospect Arthur De Winter, an International Master since 2023 and the country's top-ranked U18 player.

Arthur De Winter was born on January 23, 2008, in Amsterdam. He is currently the best junior player and 35th overall among active players in the Netherlands, with a FIDE Classical rating of 2438, as of November 2024. He was awarded the title of FIDE Master in 2022 and became an International Master a year later, in 2023. Considering his age and his recent progress, I would not be surprised if he also achieves his GM title soon.

Arthur started learning chess in September 2016, when he was eight years old. Some of his most notable results include being runner-up at the Dutch Championships U10 and U12 categories, and winner in the U14 (2x) and U18 categories, consolidating him as one of the best young prospects for the future of chess in the Netherlands.

In January 2023, he participated in the Qualifiers Division of the Tata Steel Chess, finishing 6th with 5/9 points. In August of the same year, he represented his country in the FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad, finishing with a great score of 8/9 and the 6th best performance rating of the competition.

He also won the Dutch Open 2024, finishing ahead of 3 Grandmasters with a score of 7.5/9, which can be considered one of the best results in his short career so far. I will try to follow him closely from now on.

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ROUND 3

Argentina get their first point! Faustino Oro is one of the most impressive prodigies to emerge in recent years. He is likely to be a top player in the future and a serious contender for the World Championship crown. His results at such a young age, after only a few years of playing, are truly extraordinary.

Arthur De Winter is also a very promising young talent, who can become a GM and an elite player in the next years, but if we analyze both from today, I think Faustino seems to be ahead in terms of future career projections.

The honorable mention goes to Ilan Schnaider, a 15-year-old Argentinian who is an International Master and has a good chance of becoming a high-level player soon. Unfortunately, Ilan is overshadowed in his country by Faustino Oro, but he is also a brilliant player.

*Thanks @IM_ArthurDW08 for helping me with your part, truly appreciated!

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WOMEN

To represent Argentina, I chose Candela Belén Francisco Guecamburu, who is only 18 years old and already holds the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM).

Candela was born in Buenos Aires on August 14, 2006. She started playing chess at the age of six after her parents bought her a chess set for Christmas. Today she is the second highest ranked player in Argentina and the reigning Continental Women's Chess Champion of the Americas.

Another notable achievement of her career was winning the World Junior Girls' Chess Championship (U20) in 2023, where she scored 8.5/11 points and finished ahead of the famous American player Carissa Yip. Candela was the first World Junior Girls' Champion from Argentina and the second from South America, only after the Peruvian Deysi Cori. If we also consider the boys’ tournament, Candela is the fourth U20 World Champion from Argentina, after Oscar Panno, Carlos Bielicki, and Pablo Zarnick.

She is one of the strongest female players in her country, having won the Argentine Girls Youth Championship in the U12 division in 2017, the U14 division in 2019, and the U16 division in 2021. She was also runner-up to Maria Florencia Fernández in the Argentine Women's Chess Championship in 2022.

Even though she may not yet be the leading player in Argentine women's chess, I chose her because I am pretty sure it won't be long before she is. It would not be surprising to see her among the elite of women's chess in a few years.

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Competing against her for the Netherlands will be Eline Roebers, also 18, an International Master (IM) and the strongest female Dutch player.

Born in Amsterdam on May 22, 2006, Eline Roebers is the reigning Dutch Women's Champion and was the 2022 Dutch Youth Champion in the Open Division. She was also the 2020 Online World Youth Champion in the U14 Girls division, becoming the first Dutch player to win a World Youth Championship in any category.

Roebers started playing chess at the age of seven. In 2021, she won an individual bronze medal on the second board at the European Women's Team Championship. She also played board 1 for the Dutch women at the Chess Olympiads in 2022, where she scored 7.5/10 and won an individual silver medal with a performance rating of 2532. Two months ago, she played again for the Netherlands on board 1 at the Chess Olympiad 2024.

In 2023, Eline participated in the Tata Steel Challengers tournament, entering as the lowest-rated player. In one of the best games of her career, she defeated GM Erwin l'Ami in the 2nd round. Later that year, she participated in the Women's Chess World Cup, where she reached the fourth round.

Roebers was the highest-rated U18 female on the FIDE rating list in August 2023, with an ELO of 2407. In 2024 she again participated in the Tata Steel Challengers, again as the lowest-rated player. In this tournament she defeated the top two seeds Hans Niemann and Mustafa Yilmaz.

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ROUND 4

This was hard to decide, but the last point of this duel goes to the Netherlands! Eline Roebers has already beaten many strong players and can become one of the elite women in the future. She has shown a lot of potential in her games and just needs to be more consistent to reach even higher levels.

The same can be said of Candela Francisco, but trying to make a neutral comparison, I think her opponent is a few steps ahead of her today. However, they are both young, so she may prove me wrong in a few years.

I could have chosen many other great players, such as Maria Jose Campos or Maria Florencia Fernández for Argentina. For the Netherlands, Zhaoqin Peng or Machteld Van Foreest would also be great choices, but I preferred to compare two young talents of the same age for a more intense clash.

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CONCLUSION

So, after analyzing all the categories, we can conclude that the Netherlands won 3-1 in chess! Coincidence or not, this is the same score by which Argentina won the World Cup against them in 1978! I am sure that every Dutchman is now celebrating euphorically, feeling fully avenged. Can you imagine the huge party going on in Amsterdam right now that they are reading this blog? Oh, I wish I was there to see it!

Anyway, jokes aside, I hope you enjoyed the first episode of this series, and above all, that you learned more about chess in such important countries that have contributed so much to the game. The main intention here is not to decide on a final score, but to tell you more about their remarkable players, thus increasing your knowledge. The most important thing is that you have discovered something new.

The Dutch chess fans are celebrating wildly after this convincing victory!

And I hope you are curious about the next episodes. Unfortunately, I can't say for sure when they will be released, as my topic list is a bit of a mess lately and I'm having trouble deciding which blogs to write, but hopefully the second in this series will still be in 2024. However, I prefer to keep the next planned match-ups a secret.

Please let me know what you think in the comments section! You can also use it to add anything else you think is important about these two countries that I could have mentioned here. See you on the 30th of November!