In this Dutch name, the surname is van Oosterom, not Oosterom.
Joop van Oosterom
Country
Netherlands
Born
(1937-12-12)12 December 1937 Hilversum, North Holland, Netherlands
Died
22 October 2016 (age 78)[1] Monaco
ICCF World Champion
2003, 2005
Peak rating
2260 (July 1971)[2]
Joop van Oosterom (12 December 1937 – 22 October 2016) was a Dutch billionaire, chess and billiards sponsor, and twice correspondence chess world champion. His fortune, made with the Volmac Software Group, was estimated by Dutch financial magazine Quote at €1.1 billion at the time of his death.[3][4]
From 1992 to 2011 he staged the annual Melody Amber chess tournament in Monaco, where world-class Grandmasters played rapid and blindfold games. It is named after his first daughter Melody Amber. His other daughter was the eponym to the Crystal Kelly Cup, an invitational tournament for three-cushion carom billiards, which has been held between 1994 and 2011 mostly in Monte Carlo and Nice.[5]
Van Oosterom was a strong correspondence chess player, but suffered a severe brain haemorrhage in 1993. Nevertheless, he concluded the world correspondence chess championship successfully and became the 18th World Champion in Correspondence Chess in 2005. This achievement, however, has been criticized, as at the time of the championship van Oosterom had hired the strong grandmaster Jeroen Piket as his personal secretary. Earlier, van Oosterom had had two Dutch International Masters on his payroll whose job was to analyse his correspondence games.
Chess author Tim Krabbé wrote: "The Turk was operated by William Schlumberger, Mephisto was operated by Isidore Gunsberg, Ajeeb was operated by Harry Pillsbury and Joop van Oosterom is operated by Jeroen Piket."[6]
Van Oosterom also won the 21st World Championship Final in Correspondence Chess in 2008.
In February 2017 it was announced that van Oosterom had died in October 2016. No cause of death was announced and it is not clear why it was kept secret.[7]
^Johan Hut, Schaaksite.nl 19 Febr. 2017
^"Joop van Oosterom 1937-2016". Chess.com. 17 February 2017.
^Pein, Malcolm (18 February 2005). "Van Oosterom unbeaten". Telegraph.co.uk.
^Motké, Door Sonny (3 February 2017). "IT-miljardair en schaakgrootmeester Joop van Oosterom overleden" [IT billionaire and chess grandmaster Joop van Oosterom passed away]. Quote (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 November 2022.
^Frits Bakker (20 June 2011). "Crystal Kelly Cup: Farewell to a phenomenon". Kozoom.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
^Wereldkampioen delegeren, by Tim Krabbé, originally published in the Algemeen Dagblad, 2 April 2005.
^"Mysterie rond dood miljardair en schaakmecenas Van Oosterom" [Mystery surrounding the death of billionaire and chess patron Van Oosterom]. NOS.nl (in Dutch). 3 February 2017.
JoopvanOosterom (12 December 1937 – 22 October 2016) was a Dutch billionaire, chess and billiards sponsor, and twice correspondence chess world champion...
(born 1974), Dutch classical pianist Robert vanOosterom (born 1968), Dutch cricketer JoopvanOosterom (1937–2016), Dutch IT entrepreneur, chess sponsor...
last a long time, they may overlap: for instance, in February 2005 JoopvanOosterom was declared winner of the eighteenth Championship (which began in...
the Dutch businessman and world champion of correspondence chess, JoopvanOosterom. Named after his daughter, the tournament was usually held in March...
become the personal secretary of businessman JoopvanOosterom. A few years later, in 2005, VanOosterom won the Correspondence chess World Championship...
(1860–1913), Dutch physician and museum director in South Africa JoopvanOosterom (1937–2016), Dutch billionaire and chess and billiards sponsor Bessel...
last a long time, they may overlap: for instance, in February 2005 JoopvanOosterom was declared winner of the eighteenth Championship (which began in...
Timmerman JoopvanOosterom 16. 1999–2004 Tunç Hamarat Rudolf Maliangkay 17. 2002–2007 Ivar Bern Wolfgang Rohde 18. 2003–2005 JoopvanOosterom Hans Elwert...
Berliner's 2726 rating placed him third on the ICCF's world list, behind JoopvanOosterom (2777) and Ulf Andersson (2737). Berliner started a new career in...
over 2600). By coming fifth—after Ulf Andersson, Gert Jan Timmerman, JoopvanOosterom, and Hans-Marcus Elwert, Millican qualified in 1997 as an International...
Group), JoopvanOosterom, who is also a billiards and chess enthusiast. The tournament was named after his daughter Crystal Kelly vanOosterom, as well...
Representing the Monaco-based Association Max Euwe of chess benefactor JoopvanOosterom, Ten Geuzendam was tournament director of the final four editions...
championship led to the winner of the eighteenth World Championship, JoopvanOosterom being announced before Bern's victory in the seventeenth.] Another...
Preceded by JoopvanOosterom World Correspondence Chess Championship 2007–2010 Succeeded by Ulrich Stephan Preceded by Ron Langeveld World Correspondence...
1979/80 Hans Bleijenberg (11) 1980/81 Ron vanOosterom (14) 1981/82 Jurrie Koolhof (19) 1982/83 Chris van de Akker (10) 1983/84 Remco Boere (27) 1984/85...
tournament which has been sponsored by the Dutch software developer JoopvanOosterom. It has been named after his daughter Crystal Kelly. At the 2012 3-cushion...
Global Information
Netherlands