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Paul van der Sterren
Van der Sterren 
Photo courtesy of www.dimitri.org.  

Number of games in database: 1,343
Years covered: 1972 to 2011
Last FIDE rating: 2462
Highest rating achieved in database: 2605
Overall record: +466 -382 =485 (53.2%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 10 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 King's Indian (89) 
    E97 E81 E84 E94 E87
 Queen's Indian (67) 
    E15 E12 E17 E16 E19
 Sicilian (59) 
    B92 B83 B42 B84 B32
 Modern Benoni (39) 
    A58 A56 A70 A57 A79
 Grunfeld (39) 
    D97 D85 D91 D82 D86
 Queen's Gambit Declined (30) 
    D37 D38 D30 D39 D31
With the Black pieces:
 Queen's Gambit Declined (90) 
    D37 D35 D36 D30 D31
 Ruy Lopez (86) 
    C95 C69 C77 C85 C92
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (63) 
    C95 C85 C92 C91 C86
 Orthodox Defense (58) 
    D58 D55 D53 D54 D59
 Sicilian (49) 
    B83 B45 B32 B22 B25
 English (30) 
    A13 A15 A16 A18 A12
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Van der Sterren vs Ljubojevic, 1987 1-0
   Van der Sterren vs S Kindermann, 1988 1/2-1/2
   Van der Sterren vs K Berg, 1991 1-0
   J Piket vs Van der Sterren, 1993 1/2-1/2
   Van der Sterren vs P Nikolic, 1988 1-0
   Leko vs Van der Sterren, 1992 0-1
   Van der Sterren vs Petursson, 1992 1-0
   Van der Sterren vs P Gelpke, 1985 1-0
   Ljubojevic vs Van der Sterren, 1988 0-1
   Kamsky vs Van der Sterren, 1994 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Dutch Championship (1985)
   Dutch Championship (1993)
   Lost Boys Open (1994)
   Hoogovens-B (1977)
   Dutch Championship (1986)
   Hoogovens Group B (1997)
   Dutch Open (1979)
   Amsterdam IBM-B (1979)
   Amsterdam IBM-C (1980)
   Den Bosch (1999)
   17th Lloyds Bank Masters Open (1993)
   Dutch Championship (2000)
   Dutch Championship (1980)
   Australian Open 1986/87 (1986)
   Bundesliga 1999/00 (1999)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1987 by suenteus po 147
   Wijk aan Zee 1977 B by EmperorAtahualpa
   Wijk aan Zee 1983 B by EmperorAtahualpa

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FIDE player card for Paul van der Sterren

PAUL VAN DER STERREN
(born Mar-17-1956, 69 years old) Netherlands

[what is this?]

Paul van der Sterren was born in Venlo, the Netherlands. FIDE awarded him the IM title in 1979, and the GM title in 1989. He won the Dutch Championship (1985) and Dutch Championship (1993), the latter by two points. He finished equal second at the Biel Interzonal (1993), thereby qualifying for the Candidates, but lost the Kamsky - Van der Sterren Candidates Quarterfinal (1994) by a 4.5-2.5 score. He won the Lost Boys Open (1994). He is the author of the books Fundamental Chess Openings (2009) and In Black and White: The Chess Autobiography of a World Champion Candidate (2024).

Wikipedia article: Paul van der Sterren

Last updated: 2025-01-05 01:37:38

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 54; games 1-25 of 1,343  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Van der Sterren vs F de la Fuente  1-0371972Viana do Castelo Juniors 7273A36 English
2. Van der Sterren vs J bij de Vaate  1-0321972NED-ch U20A10 English
3. Van der Sterren vs C Baljon  0-1461972NED-ch U20E81 King's Indian, Samisch
4. C Koopmans vs Van der Sterren  1-0271972NED-ch U20E92 King's Indian
5. J van Gijzen vs Van der Sterren  0-1211972NED-ch U20A16 English
6. H Bernink vs Van der Sterren  0-1271972NED-ch U20E73 King's Indian
7. J de Lange vs Van der Sterren 1-0441972NED-ch U20E73 King's Indian
8. Speelman vs Van der Sterren  1-0431972Glorney CupB25 Sicilian, Closed
9. Van der Sterren vs J Herman  1-0261974NED-ch sfB72 Sicilian, Dragon
10. Van der Sterren vs V N Kozlov  1-0311974Training GameB60 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
11. P Scheeren vs Van der Sterren  1-0371974NED-ch U20B06 Robatsch
12. A van Dieren vs Van der Sterren  0-1371974NED-ch U20B32 Sicilian
13. Van der Sterren vs W Bichsel  1-0441974European Junior Championship PreliminaryB64 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack
14. E Gigerl vs Van der Sterren  0-1411974European Junior Championship PreliminaryD24 Queen's Gambit Accepted
15. Van der Sterren vs L Schneider  ½-½121974European Junior Championship PreliminaryB69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 11.Bxf6
16. A Ivanov vs Van der Sterren  0-1311974European Junior Championship PreliminaryB22 Sicilian, Alapin
17. Van der Sterren vs Nunn  ½-½101974European Junior Championship PreliminaryB06 Robatsch
18. R Dieks vs Van der Sterren  ½-½131974European Junior Championship PreliminaryB83 Sicilian
19. Van der Sterren vs Y Gruenfeld  ½-½61974European Junior Championship PreliminaryA07 King's Indian Attack
20. Van der Sterren vs Y Gruenfeld  1-0341974European Junior Championship 1974/75B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation
21. Van der Sterren vs F Borkowski  0-1501974European Junior Championship 1974/75B33 Sicilian
22. P Meinsohn vs Van der Sterren  0-1281974European Junior Championship 1974/75B22 Sicilian, Alapin
23. Van der Sterren vs L Schneider  1-0431974European Junior Championship 1974/75B69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 11.Bxf6
24. Nunn vs Van der Sterren  1-0401975European Junior Championship 1974/75B32 Sicilian
25. Van der Sterren vs K Podzielny  0-1291975European Junior Championship 1974/75B42 Sicilian, Kan
 page 1 of 54; games 1-25 of 1,343  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Van der Sterren wins | Van der Sterren loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
Apr-13-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  WTHarvey: Here are some diagrams of the critical positions in Paul's games. http://www.wtharvey.com/vdst.html
Mar-17-06  BIDMONFA: Paul Van der Sterren

VAN DER STERREN, Paul
http://www.bidmonfa.com/van_der_ste...
_

Mar-31-06  blingice: You would think 411 games and a GM title would get you SOME kibitzing. It absolutely doesn't, apparently. Your career must be filled with conflict, politics, and drama.
Mar-31-06  AlexanderMorphy: i love his game against Leko(GOTD today!)
Mar-31-06  EmperorAtahualpa: "van der Sterren" means "of the Stars" in Dutch! :)
Mar-31-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Open Defence: oh, i thought Sterren was probably a place or town
Mar-31-06  dakgootje: < oh, i thought Sterren was probably a place or town> Well...yes in some way you can consider the stars as being a place...;-)
May-14-06  Gypsy: Qualified for FIDE candidates in 1993. (Lost match to Kamsky.)
Mar-17-08  brankat: A strong GM, not active in last few years.

Happy Birthday GM Sterren!

Aug-26-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: Van Der Sterren was the centre of a controversy during the 2000 Dutch Championships when he refused to play the chess computer "Fritz", which had been given a wildcard entry into the tournament by the Dutch Chess Federation. He forfeited the game.
Nov-19-11  waustad: He beat Cramling today in the Euwe memorial. http://euwetoernooi.nl/vierkampen/l... They split in the double RR. White won both games.
Dec-17-11  wordfunph: author of the book Fundamental Chess Openings published by Gambit..

http://www.amazon.com/FCO-Fundament...

Mar-26-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sneaky: More up to date photo - http://www.chessvibes.com/sites/def...
Apr-27-12  technical draw: <Mar-31-06
dakgootje: < oh, i thought Sterren was probably a place or town> Well...yes in some way you can consider the stars as being a place...;-)>

Hmmm, <dakgootje> was a witty man 6 years ago.

Jun-27-14  optimal play: Paul van der Sterren competed in the 1986-87 Adsteam-Lidums International Chess Tournament, Adelaide (28th December 1986 to 10th January 1987) finishing =9th on 8/11 [+07/=02/-02].

I've noticed this database only has his two losses (against Miles & Torre - nothing to be ashamed of), but perhaps he should have at least one of his wins from that tournament included here:-

[Event "Adsteam-Lidums International"]
[Site "Adelaide, Australia"]
[Date "1987.01.02"]
[EventDate "1986.12.28"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Mark Chapman"]
[Black "Paul van der Sterren"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2365"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[PlyCount "52"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. c3 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. Nbd2 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. h3 Nc6 12. Nf1 d5 13. g4 c4 14. Ng3 cxd3 15. Bxd3 Bb7 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Bd2 Qc7 18. g5 Rad8 19. O-O-O Nd4 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. Nf5 dxc3 22. Bxc3 Bxg5+ 23. Kb1 Nxc3+ 24. bxc3 Bxh1 25. Rxh1 Qxc3 26. Rd1 Bf6 0-1

An interesting game and well-played by Van der Sterren.

Submitted.

Aug-21-15  SimplicityRichard: <wordfunph>

Yes indeed. GM Van der Sterren is the author of Fundamental Chess Openings; a book that I have found thoroughly well written and thus decided to find out whom the author is. This book has the history, general principles of chess and basic ideas behind the openings and main lines. The book is well worth perusing for those new to the game or below circa 1800 Elo in my view.

Nov-09-15  zanzibar: He did extremely well at Biel (1993) to qualify, placing 2-9th (or 3-4th on S-B tiebreak).

At the time his rating was 2525, but his (+4 -0 =9) rated him a PR of 2715.

As an aside, he was the oldest qualier.

(All the above from Carolus PGN with SCID).

Nov-10-15  Retireborn: Van der Sterren nearly always struggled against the British players for some reason - even lesser lights used to slaughter him eg

A Hon vs P Van der Sterren, 1992

and

http://www.365chess.com/game.php?gi...

He had a very professional attitude though, and by 1993 was certainly no weaker than GMs like Byrne, Adorjan, Torre who also made slightly unexpected appearances in the Candidates.

Mar-17-20  Xeroxx: #PlayeroftheDay
Oct-13-24  Nosnibor: He has just produced a new book which contains many of his best games.
Oct-13-24  Nosnibor: The book is aptly named "In Black and White." The British Chess Federation are involved with the promotion and sale of it.

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