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Checkers Champion
Jannes van der Wal ~ Page 3
Champion Jannes van der Wal antics soon became popular
with the television population in the Netherlands and
as Jannes loved music, he would readily be drawn to
the piano to coin a song. On occasion his appearance
would end with him sitting at the piano either singing
well known melodies or making up his own. Jannes built
on these eccentric performances that brought him an
income that his professional career as a checkers master
did not.
However, what many people failed to realize was that
Jannes van der Wal was not a clown or a fool, but a
very creative individual with a flair for originality
both in his own life and at the checkerboard in a tournament
match. Champion
Jannes van der Wal was definitely passionate about
his game and even challenged the referees when he got
so caught up in the checkers game that he would beat
the time clock, almost to death, in an emotional outburst.
The one major difficulty that the former checkers champion
possessed was an inability to settle down to something
other than just playing checkers.
Champion
Jannes van der Wal did write a few articles in newspapers
and magazines about the nature of checkers and various
game analyses and he also wrote some checkers booklets
on problem moves or positions within certain games.
He once commented in an interview “Of
course, there are a lot of other things to do besides
play draughts (checkers), but I don’t know what’s
a good idea and what isn't.” Since he
couldn't discover another purpose in life, Jannes simply
continued to play checkers. Not only did he play in
tournament competitions, but he also focused on improving
the simultaneous games world record and basically,
the checkers Grandmaster led an orderly life. He would
often spend his evenings with the hard
core mind
sport players at the club in Groningen. His love for
checkers was resolute and the game continued to hold
its fascination for him; however, the more he played
the game, the more he wanted to improve the level of
its play. He soon discovered, as others before him
had done, that too often the games would result in
a draw situation. He was frustrated that there were
not enough wins in a given match. His desire became
focused on breathing new life into professional checkers,
so champion
Jannes van der Wal eventually created his own checkers
variant, ‘doordammen’. This
endeavor took the Grandmaster a long time to configure, but eventually he
discovered a solution that would give the checkers opponents one win out
of every three games.
At the same time, Jannes also became intrigued by chess and before long
became an expert player as well. His close friend and chess mentor was
Erik Hoeksema and they would spend hours together perfecting chess moves
until Jannes became a chess master. He achieved a skill at chess that
allowed van der Wal to play the game at a near competitive level.
Unfortunately, Jannes van der Wal became ill before
he had a chance to attend a checkers match featuring
his game of ‘doordammen’ or
Continued play. It was a shock to the World of checkers
when Jannes van der Wal ended up in hospital diagnosed
with leukemia. He had kept the knowledge of his disease
to himself and possibly limited to close friends,
but it didn't take long before the few weeks in the
hospital turned into the final days at his home in
Nieuwstraat, Groningen. While ill at home, Jannes
organized the first checkers tournament in his new
variant format, but he didn't live to participate
in it. Champion checkers player Jannes van der Wal
passed away at home at the age of 39 on September 24, 1996.
In 1999, Pieter van Huijstee made a documentary film about the
life of former checkers World Champion, Jannes van der Wal and
though it briefly mentioned his
‘silly’ side, the
focus of the drama was to show the true spirit of the checkers
Grandmaster.The film portrayed the real Jannes van der Wal in
his persistence to challenge for the World Championship and his
passion for the game of checkers.
The documentary on Jannes van der Wal was about seeking truth,
the purpose of life and then finding one’s personal destination
within it.
Checkers is work; chess is fun
 
The above collages are taken from the Huizum
Checkers Club in the Netherlands and are a
true tribute to a great Dutch Grandmaster player.
The real legacy of Jannes van der Wal is not
only in his contribution to the World of checkers
at the club, National and International levels,
but in the memories of those who knew him as
opponents across the checkerboard and as friends.
He played against numerous opponents throughout
the years in tournaments and in different checkers
clubs ~ Heerenveen, Huizum, Groningen, Appingedam,
Voice of Dordt and the Drents Tiental. The
testimony of who Jannes really was comes in
the form of the words of these opponents and
friends (rough translation from Dutch):
- Harm Wiersma: "He
was his own man, for he did what he
thought and wanted to do. He was full
of vitality. If he wanted to learn a
piano piece, then he went at it all day
and night until Saturday and then he
would play it. Jannes behaved and reacted
differently than others, but he was unique.
A legend."
- Anton Schotanus: "He
always tried to find something new on
the checkerboard."
- Rob Clerc: “He
was a genius as ‘dammer’ (checkers
player) and a unique human being."
- Douwe de Jong: "He
regarded it as a compliment if he was
asked if he was crazy for ‘That
means that I do not understand,’Jannes
said and then to me he said, "From
you, I would never get such a compliment.”
- Erik Hoeksema: “If
you were looking for him, he was either
at home or he was at the club in the
evening, or on his way there. The Newspaper’Noorden’ had
devoted an entire page to Jannes van
der Wal entitled: 'Jannes Asks Himself
... 'Am I crazy or not?’
- Bauke Bies: “Jannes
van der Wal was not a social wonder, but he was my friend. He always wanted to win
and those people with whom he had become involved came to understand
that.”
- Erik Hoeksema:
“The brains were the most important.
I taught Jannes the intricacies of the chessboard and tried to teach
him about some insights into checkers as well. We played on two boards
at once. Checkers Jannes won (2-0) and chess I won (1-0).”
- Wim Baar: “Jannes
analyzed everything. Not only mind sport,
but also music or scores... When he was
alone with you and looked at you, he
could determine your mood, your unhappiness
or grouchiness, and if he couldn't, the
relationship would have been a wasted
effort. Jannes was a citizen of the world.
Jannes was simply Jannes. My best friend
and now he is dead and I'm having great
difficulty with that."
- Bert Dollekamp: “Jannes
would always finish a checkers or chess
simultaneous play and was a champion
master player.”
- Douwe de Jong: "He was a fighter.”
- Auke Scholma: “Even
after the analysis, Jannes was challenged
by the checkers game and sought to elevate
the play."
- In the Leeuwarder
Courant: "The
mind sport and music suggested Jannes
was able to use a round about way to
still have a very intensive contact with
fellow players. Despite clashes or confrontations,
often with his best friends, they never
remained quarrelsome for long. That was
because everyone knew that Jannes was
honest and pure through and through.
If he sometimes spoke harshly, this was
only because he had not adjusted to social
norms so diplomacy and tact were quite
strange to him.”
“Jannes was Jannes.”
  
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