Dirk van Foreest

{{short description|Dutch chess player (1862–1956)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} {{family name hatnote|van Foreest|Foreest|lang=Dutch}} {{Infobox chess player |name = Dirk van Foreest |image = DirkVanForeest.jpg |caption = |country = Netherlands |birth_date = 3 May 1862 |birth_place = Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands |death_date = {{Death-date and age|24 February 1956|3 May 1862}} |death_place = Oosthuizen, Netherlands |title = }} {{lang|nl|Jonkheer}} '''Dirk van Foreest''' (3 May 1862 – 24 February 1956) was a Dutch chess master.<ref>[http://www.schaakclubutrecht.nl/histdirkforeest.html Dirk van Foreest]</ref> The elder brother of Arnold van Foreest, he thrice won Dutch Championship (in 1885, 1886, and 1887).<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20091028082835/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/amster.htm Amsterdam and Chess</ref> He also took fifth place in 1884 and took second place, behind Rudolf Loman, in 1888.<ref>[http://www.chessmetrics.com Welcome to the Chessmetrics site]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414132700/http://www.chessmetrics.com/ |date=14 April 2006 }}</ref> He is the great-great-granduncle of Jorden van Foreest, who won the Dutch Championship in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url =https://chess24.com/en/read/news/17-year-old-van-foreest-wins-dutch-title|title = 17-year-old Van Foreest wins Dutch title|first =Colin|last = McGourty|publisher =Chess24|date =30 August 2016}}</ref>

By profession, van Foreest was a medical doctor,<ref>[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2015/08/28/een-wonderlijk-gronings-schaakgezin-1530070-a157074 Een wonderlijk Gronings schaakgezin]</ref> and Max Euwe once said he could have been World Champion if he had dedicated himself fully to chess.<ref>[https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/jonkheer-van-17-zet-dynastie-met-schaaktitel-voort~a4366092/ Jonkheer van 17 zet dynastie met schaaktitel voort]</ref>

On 26 March 1949, at the age of 86, van Foreest played an exhibition game against the 84-year-old Jacques Mieses in The Hague; the Sicilian Paulsen ended after 20 moves. Their combined age of 170 years is often cited as among the highest on record in master-level tournament play. Mieses annotated the game himself in the ''British Chess Magazine'' the following June.<ref name="bcm-1949-juni">British Chess Magazine, Vol. 69, No. 6, June 1949, pp. 178–179.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreest, Dirk van}} Category:1862 births Category:1956 deaths Category:Dutch chess players Category:Jonkheers of the Netherlands Category:People from Haarlemmermeer Category:Van Foreest family Category:Sportspeople from North Holland