Two GMs – Grandmaster Chess Lectures in Toronto | Annex Chess Club

GM Eric Hansen and GM Robin van Kampen — **GM Eric Hansen** (GT Headshots) and **GM Robin van Kampen** (Wikipedia)

Two chess grandmasters will give a joint lecture series at Annex Chess Club

22-year old GM Eric Hansen, Canada’s number two player, and 20-year-old GM Robin van Kampen, one of the top players from Holland, are giving a series of lectures at Annex Chess Club, 918 Bathurst Street, Toronto, on Mondays April 13, April 20, and May 11.

These lectures will include chess analysis and stories of the “trials and tribulations” of playing chess professionally. Lectures are from 6:30 to 7:30 pm each Monday night

April 13 – “Counterattack!” – Robin/Eric
April 20 – “Trials and Tribulations from my Two Years as a Grandmaster” – Eric/Robin
May 11 – “Calculate like a Grandmaster” – Eric/Robin

Tickets are $20 for each lecture (or $40 for all three)
Toronto Closed Championship players pay $10 (or $20 for the series)
ACC members pay $5 (or $10 for the series)

April 13 – “Counterattack!” by GM Robin van Kampen

GM Robin van Kampen "Counterattack!" (photo by John Upper) — GM Robin van Kampen “Counterattack!”
(photo by John Upper)

April 20 – “Trials and Tribulations” by GM Eric Hansen

GM Eric Hansen "Trials and Tribulations from my Two Years as a Grandmaster" (photo by Erik Malmsten) — GM Eric Hansen “Trials and Tribulations from my Two Years as a Grandmaster”
(photo by Erik Malmsten)

Who is GM Eric Hansen?

A homegrown Canadian talent, Hansen is from Calgary, Alberta. He is currently the second-highest rated player in the country at 2580 FIDE.

As a 16-year-old, he tied for second at the 2008 World Youth Chess Championship in Vietnam. By July 2009, he was rated over 2400 FIDE, and he was awarded his IM title in 2010.

He went to UT Dallas for one year on a chess scholarship in 2011-2012. But he became a really strong player only after dropping out of school, climbing 100 points to 2568 by January 2013. He earned his GM title in 2012, while playing for Canada at the Olympiad in Istanbul.

As a professional chess player, he has had a number of recent international accomplishments:

tied for first at Cappelle-la-Grande 2013
tied for second with van Kampen at Reykjavik 2014
won clean first at Guernsey 2014

Who is GM Robin van Kampen?

Something of a prodigy, van Kampen won the Dutch Under-20 Championship at age 14, and earned his GM title in 2011 when he was just 16. Rated 2617 FIDE, he is currently the seventh highest rated player in the Netherlands.

His recent international accomplishments include: