Doha · Updated May 2026
Kerim Demirkol.
Borlaug Scholar through the World Food Prize. FIDE Arena International Chess Master. Writing the Field Notes on food systems, recording as KimDem, training across distances.
Verified
Borlaug Scholar · 2023
FIDE Arena IM · 7 countries
EQF L4 · Personal Trainer
Field Notes · 4 published
Oceanman Champion
8 KimDem tracks · 3 languages
2022
Chess
Serbian Summer Chess Circuit
Novi Sad, Paraćin, Belgrade, Silver Lake
2022
Chess
35-Day Caissa Chess Marathon
Türkiye · AFM Title · Age 12
Jan 2023
Scholar
Named a Borlaug Scholar
World Food Prize · Wageningen University & Research
Mar 2023
Chess
+184.8 FIDE Points · Budapest
Vezerkepzo Spring FM · Age 13
Jan 2024
Chess
Tata Steel · 2nd Place · 6/9
Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands · 8-game unbeaten
2024
Chess
FIDE Arena International Chess Master
Third & highest Arena title · 7 countries
Mar 2025
Fitness
Certified Personal Trainer · EQF Level 4
SIFA · EREPS / EuropeActive · Qatar MoS
Aug to Dec 2025
Cause
Fitness Instructor · Qatar Paralympic Committee
Training Paralympic swimming athlete · National level
Sep 2025
Open Water
Oceanman 10KM Champion
Aktau, Kazakhstan
Oct 2025
Open Water
Oceanman Junior Champion
Ayia Napa, Republic of Cyprus
Dec 2025
Open Water
Oceanman World Championship · Top 10
10KM · Age Category · + Sprint Triathlon
2026
Music
Every Move Counts · Debut Single
Pieces, Vol. I · KimDem · Chess · Cinematic
2026
Music
One Move to Mastery · Now Out
Pieces · KimDem · Chess · Orchestral
2026
Music
One Move Closer · Now Out
Pieces · KimDem · English · Youth Anthem
2026
Music
Hindi Tayo Susuko · Now Out
Pieces · KimDem · Tagalog · Fighter Anthem
2026
Music
Laro Lang · Now Out
Pieces · KimDem · Taglish · Casual Chess
2026
Music
Hamleni Yap! · Now Out
Pieces · KimDem · Turkish · Dance · DROP
2026
Music
Built for Free · Freestyle Anthem
KimDem · Competitive Swimming · 50 → 1500
2026
Music
Built for the Fly · Butterfly Anthem
KimDem · Competitive Swimming · 50 / 100 / 200
2025 to 2026
Media Arts
Transmedia Portfolio · The Transformation King
Data viz · SVG series · Illustrated infographics
2026
Writing
The Grandmaster I Never Became
Memoir in progress · Written at 16 · Lived from 12
Music · KimDem · 2026 · Out Now
Pieces · Chess Songs & Swimming Anthems
6 Original chess songs in English, Filipino & Turkish · 2 new competitive swimming anthems · By a FIDE Arena International Chess Master
Pieces · 01 · English
Every Move Counts
Cinematic · Chess · 3:42
♪ Out Now
Pieces · 02 · English
One Move to Mastery
Orchestral · Chess · 4:05
♪ Out Now
Pieces · 03 · English
One Move Closer
Anthem · Youth · Chess
♪ Out Now
Pieces · 04 · Tagalog
Hindi Tayo Susuko
Fighter Anthem · Filipino
♪ Out Now
Pieces · 05 · Taglish
Laro Lang
Casual · Playful · Filipino
♪ Out Now
Pieces · 06 · Turkish
Hamleni Yap!
Dance · Drop · Chess
♪ Out Now
Just Dropped · Competitive Swimming Music
Built for Free & Built for the Fly
Two race-day anthems for competitive pool swimmers. Freestyle from the 50 to the 1500. Butterfly’s 50, 100, and 200.
Who I Am
The work, by domain.
Chess · From 2022
FIDE Arena Int’l Master
3 FIDE Arena titles · 7 countries · FM and IM-level competition since 2022 · 15 coaches
Open Water & Triathlon · 2025
Oceanman Champion
10KM World Champs Top 10 · Junior Champion Cyprus · Kazakhstan Champion · Sprint Triathlon competitor
Fitness & Coaching · 2025
Certified Trainer
Personal Trainer EQF Level 4 · EREPS/EuropeActive · 4 SIFA certifications · Paralympic coaching assistant, Qatar NPC
Author, Transmedia & Music · 2025 to 2026
Author & KimDem
Memoir in progress · Published essayist · SVG series & data viz · Pieces Vol. I out now
Scholar · Jan 2023
Borlaug Scholar
World Food Prize · Wageningen Youth Institute · Research & scientific policy · Food security · Global impact
Next Chapter · 2026 →
Medicine
Pre-med pathway · Biology and chemistry foundation · Scholar-athlete background · Medical school applicant
Borlaug Scholar · January 2023
World Food Prize Foundation · Wageningen University & Research
Named a Borlaug Scholar
Inaugural World Food Prize and Wageningen Youth Institute · 26 January 2023 · Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
Awarded in recognition of research and presentation of scientific and policy recommendations on obesity and food hunger in the Philippines, in the legacy of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, 1970 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the World Food Prize, namely the figure credited with saving more lives through agricultural science than any other person in history.
Certifications & Credentials
Sports Titles & Championships
Oceanman World Champs 10KM · Top 10 Age Category · Dec 2025
Oceanman Junior Champion · Ayia Napa, Cyprus · Oct 2025
Oceanman 10KM Champion · Aktau, Kazakhstan · Sep 2025
FIDE Arena International Chess Master · 2024
FIDE Arena Master (AFM) · 2022
FIDE Arena Candidate Master (ACM) · 2022
Professional Certifications · SIFA · Smart Gym Trading
Personal Trainer · EQF Level 4 · EREPS/EuropeActive · Mar 2025
Fitness Instructor · REPs Endorsed · Mar 2025
Suspended Fitness Training · SIFA · Apr 2025
Functional Training Specialist · REPs Approved · Aug 2025
Academic & Scholarship
Borlaug Scholar · World Food Prize Foundation · Jan 2023
Wageningen Youth Institute · Inaugural Cohort
Pre-Medicine Pathway · Medical School Applicant
Work Experience
Fitness Instructor Assistant · Qatar National Paralympic Committee · Aug to Dec 2025
The Book
The Motto in Practice · Illustrated and Heard
Calculate. Commit. Continue.
Three words. Three Media Arts works. And now, two songs that live inside the same logic. Every Move Counts is what Calculate feels like at the board. One Move to Mastery is what Continue sounds like over years.
Latest Writing
All writing ↗
Built for the Pool · Two New KimDem Tracks for Freestyle and Butterfly Swimmers
Two competitive swimming anthems drop at once. Built for Free covers freestyle from the 50 to the 1500. Built for the Fly is built for butterfly’s three brutal distances. Both made for swimmers who actually race.
Chess Inspires Music · 6 Songs From a Grandmaster Who Wasn’t
How the failed Grandmaster goal produced six original songs in three languages, namely what that failure actually sounds like set to music.
The Charity Can · The Borlaug Scholar Field Notes
In June 2025 a Texas-based wellness trade body declared a Filipino canned-sardine brand a “superfood.” By January 2026 a national newspaper had filed it under “Filipino Champions.” A long-form investigation, namely the corporate timeline, the regulatory sodium thresholds across three continents, and the ten-year fisheries data underneath all of it.
The Listed Can, the Quiet Owners
Across the twenty mapped countries of the global sardine industry, only four publicly listed companies surface as clean public-equity proxies, namely Thai Union, Century Pacific, Oceana, and Unimer. Beyond those four, the private layer is, by several measures, larger than the public one. The equity-register essay.
The Borlaug Scholar Field Notes · Sardines hub holds all four Field Notes plus the four operational decoders and the cross-cutting reference atlas.
Read the Field Notes ↗
Closing
Start with the story.
If you only have time for one thing on this site, read the about page. It’s the through-line that connects chess, swimming, science, and music to one person who’s still 16.
Read Kerim’s story →Commit · Calculate · Continue