Harm Wiersm Dutch checkers player and politician, five-time world champion Date of Birth: 13.05.1953 Country: Netherlands

1. Harm Wiersma: Dutch Draughts Player and Politician
2. Early Life and Career
3. Continued Success and Political Career

Harm Wiersma: Dutch Draughts Player and Politician

Harm Wiersma is a Dutch draughts player and former politician. He is a five-time world champion, European champion in both individual (1999) and team (1978) competition, and an eight-time Dutch champion in international draughts. Wiersma is also known for his involvement in Dutch politics as a former member of the Dutch Parliament representing Pim Fortuyn's List.

Early Life and Career

Wiersma's interest in draughts began at a young age, thanks to his father, Chris Wiersma, who was also a draughts player. He introduced Harm to the game when he was eight years old. In 1963, at the age of 13, Wiersma joined the youth section of the draughts club in Leeuwarden, and a year later, he transferred to another city club called "Gytsjerk".

Wiersma quickly proved his talent in draughts, winning the Frisian youth championship in 1965 and the Dutch youth championship soon after. In 1967, at just 14 years old, he became the bronze medalist in the Dutch championship, finishing behind 17-year-old Tony Seibran and experienced player Piet Rozendom. In early 1968, he won the Frisian championship and later that year, at the age of 15, he participated in his first World Championship in Bolzano, Italy. He also achieved the title of Sports Master in the same year.

In 1970, Wiersma finished second in the Dutch national championship, behind Seibran, and earned the titles of national and international grandmaster, becoming the youngest in history to achieve these titles in international draughts. In 1972, without Seibran's presence, he became the Dutch champion for the first time. Two months later, he finished second again, this time behind Seibran, in the World Championship, defeating former world champions Baba Sy and Marcel Delorme. In 1974, Wiersma won his second Dutch championship, once again in the absence of Seibran. In the autumn of the same year, he tied for first place in the contenders' tournament in Tbilisi alongside Iser Kuperman and Anatoli Gantvarg. Although Kuperman was declared the winner based on rating, Wiersma proved his superiority in an additional match at the beginning of 1979. Later that year, he won the World Championship in Amsterdam, finishing ahead of Rob Clerc, Vyacheslav Shchegolev, Gantvarg, and Kuperman. In 1977, he won the Dutch championship again and, in 1978, led the Dutch team (which included Seibran and Clerc) to victory in the European Team Championship in Tbilisi. At the end of the same year, he tied for first place with Gantvarg in the main tournament of the World Championship in Arco, Italy, and convincingly defeated him in the subsequent additional match in early 1979. However, later that year, Wiersma suffered a significant defeat in a rematch match and lost his title.

Continued Success and Political Career

In 1983, Wiersma had a triumphant year, winning the prestigious "VOLMAC-trofee" tournament in Amsterdam and defeating Seibran in a rematch match. However, the result of the match was contested by Soviet representatives in the World Draughts Federation (FMJD) due to a tournament held the previous year, and in 1984, the FMJD retroactively recognized the Amsterdam tournament of 1983 as a World Championship. This meant that Wiersma effectively became a two-time world champion in a single year. In 1984, he successfully defended his title in a match against the Soviet challenger Vadim Virny, with the match ending in a draw, allowing Wiersma to retain his crown as the reigning world champion.

After the match with Virny, Wiersma took a long break from major draughts competitions, following the example of Seibran, who had done the same ten years earlier and only played in team and minor tournaments until 1988. During the early 1990s, Wiersma focused mainly on his business ventures while providing draughts analysis for the newspaper "De Telegraaf" and working as a coach. He made his comeback in 1992, winning the Dutch championship and finishing in second place at the World Championship in Toulon, France.

In December 1993 and January 1994, Wiersma faced off against Alexei Chizhov in a match but lost both games, failing to secure a victory in 18 draws. The match took place in three countries: Russia, Estonia, and the Netherlands, and Wiersma suffered both defeats in his native Friesland. In the World Championship later that year, Wiersma once again finished as the runner-up, and two years later in Abidjan, he failed to win a single game in the qualifying group and was eliminated from the final tournament, missing out on the chance to become world champion.

In 1998, Wiersma won the Dutch championship for the seventh time, sharing first place in the tournament with Gerard Jansen and defeating him in an additional match. The following year, he won the European Championship for the second time in his career, surpassing Seibran on a major tournament once again (the first time being at the 1992 World Championship). This success guaranteed his participation in the 2000 World Championship, although neither he nor Seibran attended the tournament.

In 2001, Wiersma won the Dutch championship for the eighth time. After tying with Hans Jansen in the main tournament and drawing three additional matches, he won the title through a simple draw. In 2002, Wiersma entered the world of politics and became a candidate for the Dutch House of Representatives, representing Pim Fortuyn's List. He was placed 18th on the party's list. In the election, the party, whose leader was assassinated shortly before, won 26 seats in Parliament, securing a seat for Wiersma. He was also considered a candidate for the Minister of Sports position. As a parliament member, Wiersma served on committees for foreign affairs (specializing in third world countries and Eastern Europe), sports, and social affairs. After his election, he announced his withdrawal from upcoming European and Dutch championships due to a lack of time. However, the following year, he was forced to leave his parliamentary post due to disagreements with the municipal authorities of his hometown, Leeuwarden.

In the early 2000s, a division emerged within the World Draughts Federation, of which Wiersma became a part due to a conflict with the Dutch Draughts Federation, leading to the end of their longstanding collaboration. In 2007, Wiersma announced the creation of a new draughts organization, the World Draughts Club (WDC). The WDC's initial goals included promoting draughts, creating an online draughts club, organizing the World Cup in draughts, participating in the preparation of the 2008 World Mind Sports Games in Beijing, and advocating for draughts to be recognized as an Olympic sport.