Jeroen van den Berg (64) will step down as tournament director of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament after the 89th edition in January 2027. From the 2028 edition, Dutch Grandmaster Erwin l'Ami (41) will take over.

Jeroen van den Berg being interviewed at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Archive photo.

How the handover works

  • 2027 (89th edition): This will be Van den Berg's final tournament as director. He and l'Ami will shape it jointly, working closely together on the preparations and organisation. The tournament runs in Wijk aan Zee from 15 to 31 January 2027.

  • 2028: l'Ami assumes full responsibility for the tournament.

  • After 2027: Van den Berg stays involved as an adviser for a further three years, before stepping down permanently in January 2030.

Who is Erwin l'Ami

l'Ami has been part of the tournament since 2003, when it was still called the Corus Tournament. He has played in nearly every edition since and first made it to the A Group (Masters) in 2011. He is a world class GM with a peak FIDE Elo of 2651. He has also been the second of Anish Giri on several occasions. At the recently concluded Chess Olympiad 2026, he was part of the Dutch team.

"It is a great honour to succeed Jeroen as tournament director of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament," said l'Ami. "During the upcoming edition, my main aim is to learn from him and the organising team."

Tata Steel Chess is going in safe hands - from one amazing personality to the other - Jeroen van den Berg (right) to Erwin l'Ami (left)

Van den Berg has held the position since 1999 and, by the time he steps down, will have served as tournament director for almost three decades. Under his leadership, the event in Wijk aan Zee, known as the 'Wimbledon of chess', became one of the most prominent in the world.

"The 2027 edition will be a very special farewell for me," said Van den Berg. "Over the coming year, we will work side by side to ensure a smooth transition."

For scale, the organisers' factsheet says the 88th edition had 28 top players (14 in Masters and 14 in Challengers), around 2,000 entrants in the amateur tournaments and more than 15,000 spectators at the games. The 89th edition is expected to bring 28 world-class players and some 2,000 amateurs.

Source: Tata Steel Chess Tournament press release