Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam is a Dutch chess writer, commentator and organizer. He is the editor-in-chief of New In Chess, an international chess magazine with readers in 116 countries. Ten Geuzendam graduated from Groningen University, where he studied English Language and Literature and General Literature.
New In Chess
He joined New In Chess in 1985 and ever since the late 1980s he's been covering top-level chess, reporting from all over the world. Over the years he has interviewed countless grandmasters and other chess personalities. A selection of those interviews appeared in his books Finding Bobby Fischer and The Day Kasparov Quit. His book Linares! Linares!, A Journey into the Heart of Chess, is a romantic account full of stories of the legendary chess tournaments in Linares, Spain. Furthermore, he edited a number of tournament books including The Second SWIFT International Chess Tournament, Brussels 1987, The 11th Interpolis Chess Tournament, Tilburg 1987, The 12th Interpolis Chess Tournament, Tilburg 1988, SKA Mephisto Turnier 1991, Waarom schaakt u eigenlijk? , Fontys Schaaktoernooi Tilburg 1996, Donner Memorial Amsterdam 1997 and Fontys Schaaktoernooi Tilburg 1997.
Bobby Fischer
Ever since his meeting with American legend Bobby Fischer in Sveti Stefan in 1992, Ten Geuzendam kept a special interest in the 11th Chess World Champion. Following the death of Fischer in 2008, he travelled to Iceland to speak to the people who had been close to Fischer while he lived there. The result was a 22-page article in New In Chess 2008/2. Another extensive article on Fischer appeared in New In Chess 2015/3, in which Ten Geuzendam argued that ‘ by accepting illness as a fact can we forgive his virulent anti-Semitism, his raving paranoia and other delusions, and embrace the chess genius, one of the greatest and most inspiring champions our game has ever seen.’ His article criticized Edward Winter's position on Fischer by distorting the public record, and Ten Geuzendam did not publish a correction in New in Chess, despite undertaking to do so.
Dutch journalism
Besides his work for New In Chess he has written a lot about chess for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad and for the Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland, where he had a chess column from 1994 till 2002. A selection of his columns was published as Schaaklezen in 2000. From 2007 to 2013 he was one of the editors of the Dutch chess literary magazineMatten.
Team Captain
On two occasions, in 1990 at the Chess Olympiad in Novi Sad and in 1992, at the Chess Olympiad in Manila, Ten Geuzendam was captain of the Dutch national team.
Tournament Director
Representing the Monaco-based Association Max Euwe of chess benefactor Joop van Oosterom, Ten Geuzendam was tournament director of the final four editions of the prestigious Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament and the final three editions of the NH Rising Stars vs. Experience tournaments in Amsterdam.
