Dutch chess grandmaster Jan Timman dies at 74

Jan Timman, one of the Netherlands’ most prominent chess players and a former world number two, died yesterday at the age of 74 after a prolonged illness, the Royal Dutch Chess Federation (KNSB) confirmed.

Born in Delft, Timman began playing chess at eight and earned the grandmaster title at 23. He dominated Dutch chess in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the national championship nine times between 1974 and 1996.

Timman achieved his highest world ranking in 1982, second only to Anatoli Karpov. He was widely regarded as “The best of the West” during an era dominated by Soviet players, competing alongside legends such as Karpov, Boris Spassky, and Garry Kasparov.

He also claimed victory twice at the Hoogovens Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, in 1981 and 1985, the event now known as the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Timman remained the closest Dutch player to a world championship title since Max Euwe in 1935.