In Corus A 2006 as the lowest ranked player, the multiple time Dutch champion registered a minus 1 result (6/13) – his first minus score in several years. However, that crosstable statistic does not do justice to his play level and the positions he got in the tournament. In the last few years the Grandmaster from Tilburg had buckled down on his approach towards chess (certainly during major events), putting him on an even playing field with the world’s elite. Perhaps his ‘partial domestication’ – buying his own place and getting married, have had a positive effect on the crowd favorite GM.

KingLoek’s rating is once again on an upswing, much thanks to his fine results in the Dutch teams (6/7), the Olympiad 7.5/11) and a shared win in the strong Foxwoods open (7/9). That last one makes him some sort of a ‘king of the opens’ in the USA, having previously won similar super events such as (the now defunct) New York open and the World open.

Loek also scored a fine 7/11 at the Dutch championship, but was denied a 7th title with Tiviakov’s scorching result. No doubt that Corus 07 will find the Dutchman in high motivation to once again match wits with the best.