A scarce 2007 commemorative chess medal dedicated to Garry Kasparov, produced for the Euro Chess Tournament in Hengelo, the Netherlands, and connected with the charitable organisation Right to Play.

The obverse features a photographic portrait of Kasparov at the chessboard. Around the portrait appear the inscriptions “Euro Chess Tournament”, “Hengelo (NL) 2007”, “August 6 to 11” and “Right to Play”. Above the portrait is the name “Garry Kasparov”, while below it the medal identifies him as “World Chess Champion 1985 - 2000”.

The medal measures approximately 38 mm in diameter and has a gold-coloured finish. The reverse depicts the historic mint building in Utrecht together with the traditional Dutch inscription “Het geld hier uit metaal verkregen zij nooit ten vloek doch steeds ten zegen”. The medal is housed in a clear protective capsule and presented in its original black case bearing the Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (Royal Dutch Mint) logo.

The medal is independently catalogued as a 2007 Netherlands commemorative sports medal for the Euro Chess Tournament in Hengelo. The catalogue records the same obverse wording, a diameter of 38 mm and gold-coloured metal, but does not give a mintage figure. Contemporary chess calendars independently confirm that the Euro Chess Tournament in Hengelo took place from 6 to 11 August 2007, exactly matching the dates on the medal.

This issue forms part of a small and now clearly identifiable sequence of Hengelo chess medals featuring major international chess figures: Jan Timman (2004), Anatoly Karpov (2005), Judit Polgar (2006) and Garry Kasparov (2007). A specialist German chess-numismatics collector writing in 2010 specifically referred to the Hengelo 2007 Kasparov medal as the latest Dutch chess medal known to him and asked for information on the mintages of the Hengelo medal series. This is useful evidence that the medals were recognised by specialist chess-medal collectors as a distinct series.

Provenance: this example comes from material originating from the estate of Albert Vasse, former director of DGT and a long-standing figure in Dutch chess. Contemporary material from the regional chess federation also records Vasse in senior organisational roles in the period. The provenance therefore fits closely with the Hengelo tournament environment from which this medal series originated.

The exact mintage of the Kasparov medal is not known. No reliable published production figure has been located, so it should be described as a scarce event medal rather than as a specifically numbered limited edition.

Garry Kasparov is one of the most celebrated players in chess history. He became World Chess Champion in 1985 after defeating Anatoly Karpov, held the title until 2000, and remained one of the dominant figures in elite chess for two decades. He retired from professional tournament chess in 2005, which makes this 2007 issue a post-retirement commemorative rather than a medal from his active world-championship years.

Specifications

Historical Context and Series Significance

The date sequence of the surviving Hengelo medals is unusually coherent: Timman in 2004, Karpov in 2005, Polgar in 2006 and Kasparov in 2007. The Kasparov piece is therefore best understood not as an isolated souvenir but as the fourth documented annual issue in a small Dutch chess-medal series connected with the Hengelo / Euro Chess Tournament environment and charitable causes.

The Kasparov medal is particularly important within the sequence because specialist chess-numismatics correspondence published in 2010 explicitly identifies the 2007 Hengelo Kasparov medal and asks whether later Dutch issues existed. This indicates that the series was already being tracked by dedicated chess-medal collectors only a few years after issue.

Royal Dutch Mint Association

The original presentation case bears the Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt logo, and the reverse design uses the historic mint building and familiar mint imagery. However, the public catalogue record consulted lists the publisher as unknown and does not explicitly name the manufacturer. For that reason, the strongest fully supportable auction wording is that the medal is preserved in its original Royal Dutch Mint presentation case and belongs to the Hengelo chess-medal series. A stronger statement that the medal itself was struck by the Royal Dutch Mint should be reserved for cases where original paperwork or an insert explicitly confirms this.

Provenance

From a group originating from the estate of Albert Vasse, former director of DGT and a prominent Dutch chess organiser. Vasse was active in the regional chess federation and in the wider Hengelo chess-event environment during this period. The material subsequently passed through the regional chess community to the present owner. This provenance should remain with the medal if it is sold.

Condition

The medal remains housed in its clear protective capsule and is accompanied by the original black presentation case with Royal Dutch Mint branding. The photographs show a bright, attractive gold-coloured finish with the portrait and inscriptions clearly visible. Please refer to the photographs for exact cosmetic condition.

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