Croatian FM and content creator Vjekoslav Nemec released a video about Dutch FM Dick De Graaf. Vjekoslav accused Dick of abusing FIDE regulations for obtaining official titles.

Dick De Graaf participated in the European Chess Club Cup 2026 team tournament in October. De Graaf, rated 2113 in Classical, played on the last board for his team. The other members of his team were rated below 2000, and two players were FIDE-unrated.

The main method of obtaining the Fide Master title is reaching 2300 Classical points. An alternative path is fulfilling specific requirements at selected events.

At the European Chess Club Cup 2026, a player could obtain the FM title by meeting two requirements. The player needed to score at least 5/7 points in the event and have a rating above 2100.

Dick De Graaf scored 5/7 points at the event. He met the special requirements and earned the FM title. Dick defeated a 1575-rated opponent and two unrated players of his five wins. De Graaf’s performance was 2049 for the event, 64 points below his rating.

Vjekoslav Nemec called Dick’s accomplishment “dishonorable”, “shameless”, and “disgusting.” Nemec believes that the rules for obtaining FIDE titles should be revised and changed.

Vjekoslav added that Dick’s club participated in the 2025 European Club Cup. Their player Rob Down achieved an FM title with a sub-2000 performance at that event. Vjekoslav noted that Rob played on the first board in 2025.

Credit: Lennart Ootes