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Dutch Siblings Emulate Indian Chess Prodigies, Claim National Titles
9 Aug
Summary
- Dutch siblings Jorden and Machteld van Foreest win national chess titles
- Jorden draws with top seed Arjun Erigaisi at Chennai Grand Masters
- Vaishali plays a draw with GM Adhiban Baskaran in Challengers section
The news of Dutch siblings Jorden and Machteld van Foreest winning national titles at the 2025 Dutch Chess Championship last month has been a source of inspiration for many, drawing comparisons to the success of India's own chess prodigies, R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali.
Jorden, who is currently in Chennai for the Grand Masters tournament, had a steady outing on Friday, holding top seed and crowd favorite Arjun Erigaisi to a draw. Playing with the white pieces, the Dutch Grandmaster defended accurately against the world No. 5 in the second round of the event. Meanwhile, in the Challengers section, Vaishali, the inspiring Indian sibling, played out a draw with statemate GM Adhiban Baskaran.
Jorden, who comes from a rich chess heritage, acknowledged the achievements of Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali, stating that they are "inspirational" and "better than us." The Dutch player, who has four brothers and one sister, all of whom play chess, said that while he sometimes helps his sister, they don't play against each other that often.
The chess action in Chennai continued to captivate the audience, with other notable results including a tough loss for Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi against American GM Ray Robson, and a draw between Indian youngster Nihal Sarin and Dutchman Anish Giri.
