Erwin l'Ami | |
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l'Ami in 2013
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Country | Netherlands |
Born |
Woerden, Netherlands |
5 April 1985
Title | Grandmaster |
FIDE rating | 2608 (February 2017) |
Peak rating | 2651 (May 2014) |
Erwin l'Ami (born 5 April 1985 in Woerden) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. He has emerged, along with Jan Smeets, Daniel Stellwagen and Jan Werle, as one of a new generation of talented young players from the Netherlands. He is married to Alina l'Ami.
He learned the game at the age of five, when his father introduced him to the moves and then took him to the local chess club. His new hobby quickly became a passion, but for a few years he remained just one of a crowd of promising juniors. Upon reaching the age of 12, his family relocated to a larger conurbation and the young l'Ami was exposed to a more testing level of competition, enabling his talent to be further developed.
At Gausdal in 2004, he won the tournament, ahead of Magnus Carlsen and despite being expected to finish no higher than mid-table. He soon fulfilled the requirements for an International Master title, awarded the same year. Becoming a full-time professional, the opportunities for travel continued to suit his lifestyle and in 2005, he complemented his training and dedication with a few good wins, gaining the necessary norms to be awarded the Grandmaster title. During this period, he finished second equal at the Essent tournament, was co-winner of the strong Karabakh 'B' tournament and scored well at the Wijk aan Zee Corus 'C' tourney, earning an upgrade to the 'B' tournament in 2006.
At the Turin 2006 Olympiad, he played a small but helpful role in the national team with a very respectable score of 3.5/5. By then, his Elo rating was reflecting the consistency in his performances and he passed the 2600 mark by the early part of 2007. Working with a new coach (GM Vladimir Chuchelov) was perhaps another reason for his continued progress. At the European Team Chess Championship at Heraklion in 2007, he contributed another plus score (4.5/8) to the Netherlands team total.