The FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad in Eindhoven is in full swing. And at the same time there is another event: the Open World Dutch Women’s Top 10 Championship, a women’s tournament with ten top players.
Tournament director of the Olympiad is Niels Cannegieter. We asked him how things are going and what he noticed.
Niels Cannegieter became involved in the Youth Olympiad because the company Thinc ahead, which he founded in 2012, was asked by the Royal Dutch Chess Federation (KNSB) to organize it. Thinc ahead is an events agency that organizes the most complex, special and challenging events.
Niels is very satisfied. Everything runs smoothly. The atmosphere is good and it is nice to see that so many people are committed, a total of about fifty volunteers.
Niels Cannegieter says: “We get a lot of positive reactions. We notice that it is appreciated that all chess games can be followed live. There are also many reactions to the live stream on Twitch where the chessgames are discussed.”
What did Niels notice especially?
Niels Cannegieter: “The sense of community and fraternization. All countries are melting together. There are national teams from all over the world and they are all like good friends. Supporters, parents, coaches, players, everyone comes together, exchanges thoughts and makes new friends. We have created a kind of living room where everyone can come to analyze games, play games and play table football and so on. The location on the High Tech Campus is also fantastic. It is nice to see how people sit by the water and enjoy the sun and tranquility. Many teams stay here longer before returning to the hotel.”
