The legendary Dutch chess player Jan Timman has died at the age of 74 after a battle with an incurable disease, reports Telegraaf. The legendary chess player who fled the Soviet Union passed away earlier.
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The son of mathematicians from Amsterdam, Timman first made a name for himself in 1967, when, at the age of 15, he came third in the World Junior Championship under 20 in Jerusalem. At 22, Jan became a grandmaster.
Timman was a nine-time Dutch champion and was among the world's chess elite from the 1970s to the mid-1990s (he was ranked second in the world in 1982).
The chess player represented his country at the Chess Olympiads 13 times (from 1972 to 2004), becoming the team vice-champion in 1976 and winning the gold medal for the best individual performance on the first board.
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In 1993, the Dutchman played in a match for the world championship title against Anatoly Karpov, although he lost to the Russian.
1988, Amsterdam. The strongest chess players in the world – Jan Timman, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov
In addition to his achievements on the chessboard, Timman is known as an author and theorist. He has written many books considered classics and was editor-in-chief of the magazine New In Chess.
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Timman's house houses a unique collection of chess sets. Some of the sets are very old (19th century), made in early Victorian and Chinese styles with red and white rooks and knights and made of wood and ivory. And the grandmaster's home library contains about 2,500 books on chess.
We should add that Jan Timman was married twice, and from his first marriage he had a son and a daughter.
Previously, “FACTS” reported that an outstanding Ukrainian chess player, who became the champion of the World Olympiad, had passed away.
Photo by ANP
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