Jan Timman 1951-2026

Jan Timman (born 1951) is considered one of the greatest Dutch chess players of all time. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was among the absolute world elite, even reaching second place in the world rankings. He played several Candidates Matches and faced Anatoly Karpov in the 1993 World Championship final. Timman is known for his creative, sharp, and often attacking playing style. Besides his achievements at the board, he is also active as a chess author and illustrator. He is often considered the best Dutch chess player of all time. To give a sense of who he was, I analyze a game between Timman and Hans Ree from 1984. This game has an adventurous approach: Timman chooses to advance early to an endgame, where he dominates. The game demonstrates how Jan Timman uses initiative and creativity to maintain an advantage despite the theoretical material balance. It is precisely this daring and imagination that make the game characteristic of his style and particularly interesting to examine.