The first thing the young Grandmaster from Soest put on his ‘to-do’ list after last year’s off form performance in Corus B (a dolorous 3/13 score and a penultimate finish), was to go on a quest to regain his form and lost rating points. His goal was more than achieved (he is at an al time high, rating wise), mainly thanks to stellar success in league play – 6/9 in the Bundesliga and 8.5/11 in the Dutch league, as well as a fine finish in the Dutch championship with 6.5/11. Recently he took part in the World Junior championships – one of many youth events he had represented his country in over the years. His final score of a solid 8.5/13 might have even been higher if not for a careless moment in a critical game.

Now in his third year as a Chemistry student, the friendly Dutchman manages to maintain his goal of keeping active in chess too (he played no less than 37 games since the last rating supplement), and still spends a chunk of his non-school time working on improving. Daniel attributes being a lot more organized nowadays to the fact that he is much more relaxed about life – a resolution that is sure to promise a reversal of fortune in Corus ’07.