Tournament Director
Patrick Zelbel
Patrick Zelbel is an International Master in chess and, as a native of Dortmund, studied economics in his hometown. Since completing his studies in 2018, he has been working in the media industry.
Zelbel occasionally writes editorial articles for various chess magazines and has been known as an author for chess-related video formats since 2020.
He became familiar with the International Dortmund Chess Days at the age of nine through his first participation in the Open Tournament in 2002. In 2010, he achieved his third norm for the title of International Master at the Dortmund tournament.
Since 2020, he has been responsible for public relations for the Sparkassen Chess Trophy and developed entirely new digital event formats. He is now also the second chairman of the organizing association IPS e.V. and, since 2024, has been the main person responsible for the tournament formats as Tournament Director.
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Event Manager
Sebastian Hensel
As a hobby player and general sports enthusiast, Sebastian Hensel was already involved in various organizational and operational tasks at the Dortmund Chess Days in the late 1990s. This is where he discovered his passion for event organization and his interest in the world of chess. Between 2012 and 2019, his involvement with the Dortmund Chess Days was paused due to professional and personal changes.
Since 2015, Hensel has been working as a building and event technician at the German Football Museum. In 2019, the re-conceptualization of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy provided an opportunity to rekindle his former passion.
As technical director within the event team, Sebastian Hensel is responsible for the complete event technology in Dortmund. He manages the processes of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy, from setup and dismantling to stage technology and live commentary in the stream.
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Managing Director
Christian Jochmann
Christian Jochmann works as an application developer in the HR sector and has been active in chess in Lünen-Brambauer since the age of twelve. In 1995, he founded the club Doppelbauer Brambauer and has served as its chairman ever since. Since 2010, Jochmann has also been the second chairman of the Dortmund Chess Association. His focus is therefore on grassroots chess in Dortmund and the surrounding region.
For the Dortmund Chess Days, Jochmann initially took over the direction of the open tournaments and was thus significantly responsible for the success of the 50th International Dortmund Chess Days with a new participation record in 2023. For the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2024, Jochmann succeeded Stefan Koth as Managing Director of IPS e.V.
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Sporting Organization
Andreas Jagodzinsky
Andreas Jagodzinsky successfully completed his law studies in Bochum in 2005 and has worked as a lawyer ever since. He is Head of the Labor Law Staff Unit of an internationally operating corporation in the food industry. Jagodzinsky is chairman of the Hemer Chess Club, served as legal advisor to the German Chess Federation until 2015, and was Head of Elite Sports at the German Chess Federation from 2017 to 2020. He currently serves as Vice President for Competitive and Grassroots Sports on the executive board of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chess Federation.
Andreas Jagodzinsky has been active as tournament director for the Sparkassen Chess Trophy since 2020 and continues to be involved in the sporting organisation.
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Commissioner for Tournament Operations
Andreas Junk
Andreas Junk completed his diploma studies in physics in 1999 at the University of Münster and earned his doctorate at the University of Oldenburg in the field of history of science and physics education. Today, he works in teacher training at the University of Flensburg.
As a player, he was active at association level in the Münsterland region before turning to refereeing and first joining the Sparkassen Chess Trophy team in 2021. In addition to his tournament work, he is deputy state chief arbiter for chess in the North Rhine-Westphalia Chess Federation and is also responsible there for the education and advanced training of arbiters.
Web Administrator
Marc Lang
Marc Lang, born in 1969, has been an active chess player since the age of 11 and is currently registered for SF Plochingen in the 5th league, although he is no longer very active as a player. He is a FIDE Master in chess with an Elo rating above 2300. After studying mathematics at the University of Stuttgart, Marc Lang has been self-employed as a web designer since 2000 (www.gobsy.de) and implements live broadcasts of the German Chess Bundesliga. In 2010, Lang set the European record in blindfold simultaneous chess with 35 boards (19 wins, 13 draws, 3 losses), and in 2011 the world record in blindfold simultaneous chess against 46 opponents (25 wins, 19 draws, 2 losses). This record was surpassed in 2016 by GM Timur Gareyev (48 boards).
For the International Dortmund Chess Days, he implements the website, organizes the live broadcast of the games, and supports media-related work of all kinds.
Photography
Michelle Zelbel
Since 2022, Michelle Zelbel has been primarily responsible for the images and impressions of the Sparkassen Chess Trophy. In addition to her work for the Chess Days, she mainly works as a wildlife photographer.
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