As you grow as a young draughts player, it is of course a dream to defeat a grandmaster one day.
At the same time, this is extremely difficult, because:
- Grandmasters are highly experienced, so surprising them is nearly impossible.
- Grandmasters are familiar with virtually every type of position, so having superior knowledge is very difficult.
- Grandmasters manage their time exceptionally well, so catching them off‑guard in time trouble rarely works.
- And so on.
Yet, it is possible.
The title of this article is, of course, somewhat tongue-in-cheek and a little provocative. After all, I lose to grandmasters far more often than I beat them. And if a real “manual” existed on how to always beat grandmasters, I would naturally have won all my recent encounters with them, which is certainly not the case. 😊
However, in 2025, I managed (much to my own surprise) to collect more and more GMI scalps. In classical games, I defeated Martin Dolfing (twice), Arnaud Cordier, Igor Kirzner, and Martijn van IJzendoorn. I also managed to beat several grandmasters in blitz and rapid games.
So I thought it would be fun to analyse some of my 2025 victories against grandmasters in this article. I’ve divided it into two themes, because I noticed several similarities in how I managed to outplay a GMI.
*Enjoy the article!*
Subtheme 1: Finding Practical Chances in Time Trouble
In this subtheme, I discuss the following games:
- A. Cordier – M. Boxum 0–2, World Cup Bourges, Round 3, 23 April 2025
- M. Boxum – M. van IJzendoorn 2–0, Dutch Championship (NK) Drachten, Round 11, 27 August 2025
Subtheme 2: Using History to Your Advantage
In this subtheme, I discuss the following games:
- M. Boxum – J. Stokkel 2–0, Nijmegen Open, Round 5, 23 July 2024
- M. Boxum – M. Dolfing 2–0, Semifinal Dutch Championship 2025, Round 3, 1 February 2025
- M. Dolfing – M. Boxum 0–2, World Cup Nijmegen, Round 5, 22 July 2025