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Generation game: How the Van Foreests became the first family of chess

If there's one family that springs to mind when it comes to chess being passed down the generations, it’s the Van Foreests.

The theme of the upcoming Julius Baer Generation Cup, which features three generations of players and starts on Sunday, is right at the heart of Van Foreest family history.

In fact, their rich chess heritage is such that arguably this Dutch dynasty of aristocratic chess players can even stake a claim to being the first family of chess. How so?

Jorden at Wijk ann Zee in 2021 | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Jorden at Wijk aan Zee in 2021 | photo: Alina l'Ami

First and foremost, the Van Foreests have passed the chess baton down through a remarkable six generations of family members. But the Van Foreests haven't just produced average players — they've produced champions.

The most notable, for the moment, is 2691-rated Super Grandmaster Jorden, ranked 45 in the world.

The 23-year-old, from Groningen, is a real talent. He became the Netherlands' youngest grandmaster in 2016 and became Dutch Champion the same year.

Jorden van Foreest and Max Warmerdam play a blitz game for Dutch national television | Photo: New In Chess

Jorden van Foreest and Max Warmerdam play a blitz game for Dutch national television | photo: New In Chess

In 2021 he won Wijk aan Zee, the so-called “Wimbledon of chess�.

Jorden is not the only member of his generation making waves in the game and all of them stand on the shoulders of a series of ancestors interested in chess.

In its February 2021 edition, reporting on Jorden's win at Wijk aan Zee, New in Chess magazine told the story of the Van Foreest family's chess roots.

Jorden's great-great-grandfather Arnold van Foreest (b.1863) was a three-time Dutch champion, and so was his older brother Dirk van Foreest (b.1862).

Great-great-grandfather Arnold van Foreest (1863-1954)

Great-great-grandfather Arnold van Foreest (1863-1954)

Dirk, who is believed to have been the stronger player, had a shorter career, because he gave up competitive chess after completing his medical studies.

He continued to play correspondence chess, however. Both were prominent promoters of the game in the early years of the Dutch Chess Federation (founded in 1873) and both held the presidency.

Great-great-grand-uncle Dirk van Foreest (1862-1956)

Great-great-grand-uncle Dirk van Foreest (1862-1956)

And both remained attached to the game till the end of their long lives, Dirk passing away at the age of 93 and Arnold at 90. Just like his ancestors, Jorden is a jonkheer, the lowest Dutch noble title, comparable to ‘squire’.

Between them, Dirk and Arnold won the Dutch Championship 6 times in 17 years.

YearVenueWinner
1885The HagueDirk van Foreest
1886UtrechtDirk van Foreest
1887AmsterdamDirk van Foreest
1889GoudaArnold van Foreest
1893GroningenArnold van Foreest/Rudolf Loman
1902RotterdamArnold van Foreest

Perhaps Jorden's most famous ancestor was Petrus van Foreest (1521-1597), whose father’s name was Jorden(!).

Petrus was known as ‘the Dutch Hippocrates’ and served as a physician to the forefather of the royal family of the Netherlands, William of Orange (1533-1584), ‘the Father of the Fatherland’.

While chess always remained a cherished pastime in the Van Foreest family, competitive successes only returned with the latest generation.

Jorden and his five siblings all play chess. They learned the game while their parents home-schooled them, believing that the regular education system is not challenging enough.

During a chess tournament in Lille in 2015: Lucas, Machteld, Nanne, Pieter, Jorden and Tristan.

During a chess tournament in Lille in 2015: Lucas, Machteld, Nanne, Pieter, Jorden and Tristan.

Still, the choice was (and is) up to the children, and they could attend school if they chose to. In 2017, the Van Foreest family and their passion for chess was the subject of a documentary on Dutch television.

Jorden (1999) is the oldest and most successful chess player of the family, but he is not the only one with exceptional results.

Lucas (2001) became a GM at 17 and became Dutch champion after defeating Jorden (!) in the tiebreak of the 2019 Championship.

Machteld (2007) is the only girl and is seen by some as the most talented chess player of the family. In 2018 she was the highest-rated U12 girl in the world.

She was only 11 years old when she finished third in the Dutch women’s championship in 2019, while today she finished in a 3-way tie for 1st place in the World U16 Girls Championship.

A still from the 2017 documentary. Machteld shows Jorden one of her games | Photo: New In Chess

A still from the 2017 documentary. Machteld shows Jorden one of her games | photo: New in Chess

Amazingly, Jorden does not put his success down to his family roots — despite being introduced to chess by his father.

"I wouldn't say so," he told The Late Knight Show podcast. "At least for me it was a pure coincidence. I didn't really know they played chess when I picked up chess. My grandfather and my father, they didn't play chess."

“My father knows the rules but he's a very weak amateur, like a club player at best. My father just taught me the rules of chess and somehow I enjoyed playing.

“But it's very weird that my ancestors played chess in the beginning of the 20th century, late 19th century, they were very good. I think some of them played games against [5th World Chess Champion Max] Euwe."

In fact, Arnold managed a draw against Euwe in November 1923.

Here's a position from a game between Arnold van Foreest and Max Euwe in Ultrecht in 1926. Foreest has just has just played 25.Qxe7, ignoring Black's back-rank mating threat. Why doesn't the e3-bishop keep him safe?

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2

1

a

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f

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h

“They lost all of the games, of course, but they played some big names. I'm not sure if they played Lasker, but might be so."

Three games appear on chess24's database.

“Definitely, they were good players. If I would estimate their strength now it would be maybe 2200, but at that time it was very, very strong. But I didn't know they were playing at such a high level until I became interested in chess as well."

Is there a sibling rivalry between Jorden, Lucas and Machteld, or do the Van Foreests work as a team and push themselves to improve?

"There's no rivalry at all, there's never been. I lost to Lucas once in a play-off for the Dutch Championship title, so that was a little bit rough, but it's fine.

"Actually, we had a training camp just before so Lucas and me we tried to improve together and we've never really competed actually.

"There's never been, at least not from my side, and I don't think from his either. It's always just been helping each other out and taking it as a team. Basically, that's how we do it."

When it comes to the question of who the first family of chess are, the Polgars, of course, may have other ideas.

Sofia, Judit and Susan Polgar

Sofia, Judit and Susan Polgar in New York Central Park in 1988 | photo: R. Cottrell, Wikipedia

Sisters Judit, Susan, and Sofia were taught chess by their father and went on to be remarkably successful. All three recorded world-class results.

But if there's one family in chess that shows how knowledge and skills can be passed down the generations, it's the Van Foreests.

Watch the Julius Baer Generation Cup, with Vasyl Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa and 13 more top players from 18:00 CEST on Sunday September 18th!

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