Govert Westerveld

Govert Westerveld

Govert Westerveld
Born Govert Westerveld
(1947-05-23) May 23, 1947
Nationality Dutch
Occupation Writer, hispanist, historian, researcher
Years active 1974-present

Govert Westerveld (born May 23, 1947) is a Dutch writer, hispanist, independent researcher, chess and draughts historian based in Murcia, Spain.[1][2][3] He is also an official chronicler of Blanca, Murcia and a corresponding member of Real Academia Alfonso X el Sabio.[4][5] He has published over 75 books on history of chess, draughts and Spanish history.[6]

Early life

Westerveld was born, in 1947, in Monnickendam, Netherlands. In 1963, he defeated Ton Sijbrands, an international draughts player and became Dutch Youth Champion and was qualified for Senior National Championship in the Netherlands. In 1965 he was ranked no.3 in Noord Holland for the Provincial Senior Championship.[7]

Westerveld received his diploma in agriculture and business administration (1974-1984) through distance education from the universities in the Netherlands and USA. He also received a diploma in International marketing from the University of Murcia. He received his doctorate degree in 1996 from Columbia Southern University.[7]

Career

From 1986 to 1992, Westerveld wrote many articles on the origin of the game of draughts for the Dutch magazine Het Nieuwe Damspel. In 1990 he published Revista Internacional de Damas which was recognized by the World Draughts Federation as an official representation of Spanish draughts. In 1992 he published his first book on the game of checkers in Spain followed by five more. In 1994, Westerveld published his works on the influence of the Queen Isabella I of Castile on the game of draughts and chess, explaining the fact that the modern chess game and draughts game was a Spanish invention.[8][9][10] In 1998, he was appointed as a history member of the Federación Española de Ajedrez, the governing body of chess in Spain. Since 2005 Westerveld is one of the two official historians of the Federation Mondiale de Jeu de Dames.[11]

In January 2002, he was appointed unanimously as an official chronicler of Blanca, Murcia, along with Angel Rios Martinez, by the plenary of the municipality of Blanca. Currently their research focus on new publications on the history of Blanca. Later that year, in December 2002, Westerveld was elected as a corresponding member of the Real Academia Alfonso X el Sabio, taking into account the merits of knowledge and relation to the culture of the Region of Murcia.[11][12]

In 2004, the Generalitat Valenciana recognized and published Westerveld's work La reina Isabel la Católica: su reflejo en la dama poderosa de valencia, cuna del ajedrez moderno y origen del juego de damas. The book explains the hypothesis of Isabella I of Castile and the documentary evidence found in Scachs d'amor, with revelations of significance national and global impacts.[13][14]

In September 2005, Westerveld was unanimously elected as a member of Asociación Internacional de Hispanistas. He is also a full member of Asociación Internacional del Teatro de Arte and Asociación de Hispanistas del Benelux.[15]

Selected bibliography

  • Historia de Blanca, lugar mas islamizado de la region murciana, años 711-1700. ISBN 84-923151-0-5 (1997)
  • The Influence of the Queen Isabel la Catolica on the new Powerful Dama in the Origin of the Draughts and Modern Chess Game. ISBN 9788448237189 (1997)
  • Blanca, "El Ricote" de Don Quijote: expulsión y regreso de los moriscos del ultimo enclave islamico mas grande de España, años 1613-1654. ISBN 84-923151-1-3. (2001)
  • La reina Isabel la Catolica: su reflejo en la dama poderosa de Valencia, cuna del ajedrez moderno y origen del juego de damas. ISBN 84-482-3718-8. In collaboration with José Antonio Garzón Roger (2004).
  • Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Ana Felix y el morisco Ricote del Valle de Ricote en "Don Quijote II" del año 1615. ISBN 9788492315154 (2007)
  • Biografia de Maurice Raichenbach, Tomo II. ISBN 978-1-291-68769-9 (2013)
  • The History of Checkers (Draughts). ISBN 978-1-291-66732-5 (2013)
  • Mis Años Jovenes Al Lado de Ton Sijbrands y Harm Wiersma, Futuros Campeones Mundiales. ISBN 978-1-291-68365-3 (2013)
  • The Ambassador Juan Ramirez de Lucena, the father of the chessbook writer Lucena. ISBN 978-1-326-37728-1 (2015)
  • The Birth of a New Bishop in Chess. ISBN 978-1-326-37044-2 (2015)
  • History of the Holy Week Traditions in the Ricote Valley. Blanca. ISBN 978-1-326-57094-1 (2016)
  • The Origin of the Checkers and Modern Chess Game. Volume I. ISBN 978-1-326-60212-3 (2016)
  • Researches on the mysterious Aragonese author of La Celestina. ISBN 978-1-326-81331-4 (2016)

References

  1. ↑ León se come a Francia al ajedrez Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  2. ↑ Un documental rastrea un libro perdido de Francesch Vicent que recopilaba en 1495 las nuevas normas del juego, surgidas en tiempos de Isabel la Católica Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  3. ↑ DIRECTORIO DE SOCIOS 2016 ASOCIACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE HISPANISTAS Retrieved on 19 November 2016
  4. ↑ El doctor en Historia José María García Avilés pregonó las fiestas de Ricote Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  5. ↑ ´Fernando de Rojas no fue el verdadero autor de ´La Celestina´´ Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  6. ↑ Los cronistas somos apasionados del pasado y testigos del presente Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  7. 1 2 El Dr. Govert Westerveld, Monnickendam (Holanda, 1947), es un antiguo damista, Cronista Oficial de la villa de Blanca, Murcia; Hispanista, historiador e investigador de Ajedrez, Damas, La Celestina, Cervantes y la II República Española (1931-1936) Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  8. ↑ The Queen Piece of Modern Chess Was Inspired by Queen Isabella Retrieved on 19 November 2016
  9. ↑ La influencia de Isabel la Católica cambió la historia del mundo BBC Mundo Retrieved on 19 November 2016
  10. ↑ Queen Isabella's checkmate The New Zealand Herald Retrieved on 19 November 2016
  11. 1 2 Cronistas Oficiales de Blanca Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  12. ↑ Académicos de Honor de la Real Academia Alfonso X el Sabio Retrieved on 19 November 2016
  13. ↑ Izabelláról modeled chess queen Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  14. ↑ La revancha de las damas Retrieved on 5 November 2016
  15. ↑ Independent Researcher of Academia de Estudios Humanísticos de Blanca History of chess, History of Draughts, La Celestina, Ibn Sab'in, El Morisco Ricote Google Scholar Retrieved on 5 November 2016
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.