Adrianus Dingeman de Groot 1914 - 2006 Chess player and chess psychologist

Adrianus Dingeman (A.D.) de Groot (1914 -2006) was part of a talented generation of Dutch chess players in the 1930s. His results at the board were mixed, but his abilities were recognized early on.

He represented the Netherlands at the Chess Olympiads in Munich (1936), Stockholm (1937), and Buenos Aires (1939). In the Dutch Championship of 1938 he finished in fourth place, and in 1942 he fell only slightly short of qualifying to challenge Max Euwe for the national title.

From a young age, De Groot showed an interest in the psychological dimension of chess. Initially he recorded his observations in personal notebooks, but soon the desire arose to publish his insights. As a chess journalist—a role he fulfilled alongside his studies — he consciously chose a psychological approach to the game rather than a purely technical analysis.

In 1938 this interest led, during the AVRO tournament, to a scientific study focusing on the chess player’s thought process. This research was later expanded with a study of the perceptual process, resulting in his dissertation Het denken van den schaker (1946) on which he earned his doctorate at the University of Amsterdam. (translated in: Thought and choice in Chess (1966). Although a professional chess career was no longer feasible thereafter, De Groot achieved international recognition as a scholar. His research formed the foundation for the first computer programs capable of learning to play chess and is considered fundamental to the development of cognitive psychology.

This (chess) biography focuses both on De Groots own achievements as a chess player and on his scholarly contributions to understanding the thinking process in chess. Extensive use has been made of his personal archive, which was made available by his heirs after his death in 2006.

This has allowed the inclusion of numerous remarkable and previously unpublished details, which together paint a unique and nuanced picture of the role chess played in the life of Adriaan de Groot.