The 2025 Dutch Championship was held at the Sports Centre in Drachten. During the tournament, the players stayed in the beautiful town of Bakkeveen. Midway through the championship, an episode of the podcast Dampraat was recorded with Jitse Slump. Slump, who finished second at the recent World Championship in Cameroon, discusses the Dutch Championship and the World Championship in the podcast – highly recommended!
The participant field of the Dutch Championship consisted of eight semi-finalists, the top three from 2024, two nominations by the Topsport Committee, and one sponsor’s spot. Shortly before the tournament, it was announced that Ron Heusdens would replace the suspended Anton van Berkel. The FMJD suspended Van Berkel in the days leading up to the event due to his participation in a tournament organized by the IDF, the 64-square draughts world federation. Unfortunately, Edwin de Jager had to withdraw from the tournament after five rounds due to health issues.
The Dutch Championship was one of the best tournaments I have ever played. I finished in a surprising second place behind world champion Jan Groenendijk. The head-to-head game between Groenendijk and me was played early in the tournament. After that, many possibilities remained for the final ranking. In retrospect, however, that game proved to be crucial for the title! Just like at the World Championship, I had winning chances in an interesting game. From a sharp opening, we reached an unusual position, with both of us having a high active edge piece. Despite time pressure, Groenendijk managed to secure a draw. Due to the many possibilities in these unusual positions, this game is certainly worth analyzing in detail!