Govert Westerveld

1947

Govert Westerveld, (Monnickendam - The Netherlands, 1947), is a former Draughtsplayer, official Historian of the village Blanca, situated in the Ricote Valley in the Region of Murcia. He is Hispanist, Historian and Researcher of Alquerque, Chess, Draughts, La Celestina, Moriscos and the Spanish Civil War. In 1962, he beated Ton Sijbrands from Amsterdam and won with 15 years the Dutch Youth Championship of Draughts. Before retiring in his daily work he was expert in Competitive Intelligence, Innovative Entrepreneur and Researcher of new foreign markets. He established himself in 1974 in Spain and was a founder member of Zoster S.A., a Company of natural extracts. Other shareholders were Francisco Sabater García (rector of the University of Murcia 1975-1980), José Antonio Lozano Teruel (rector of the University of Murcia 1980-1984), various chemists and some business men. In 1989, the founders sold this firm to Carlos Ferrer Salat, ex-president from 1987-1998 of the Spanish Olympic Committee. Westerveld published in 1994 and 1997 his works on the influence of the Queen Isabella I of Castile on the new powerful Dama, breaking the myth of other international historians that the Draughts game was a French invention and that the new powerful Dama in Chess was an Italian or French achievement. Since then, his research focused on the history of the town of Blanca, Murcia. In 2002, the village Blanca, Murcia elected him as Official Chronicler, together with his friend, Angel Rios Mart

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