Jan Timman

Jan Timman es uno de los mejores autores contemporáneos de ajedrez. A su dilatada experiencia como ajedrecista de elite suma su trayectoria periodística en la prestigiosa revista holandesa New in Chess y algunos libros de gran exito como "El Arte del Analisis" o "Curaçao 1962". Esta obra, traducida del ingles "Power of Minor Chess Pieces" rescata algunos elementos de su obra cumbre "El Arte del Analisis". Pocas partidas comentadas, analisis objetivo y profundo de las partidas a partir del Medio Juego, con especial enfasis en las posiciones donde alfiles y caballos se erigen en protagonistas de la lucha. ¿Cuando es superior un alfil? ¿Cuando el Caballo es una pieza muy fuerte? Son luchas dificiles, interesantes, y cuya solucion no es nada trivial. Cada capitulo, cada lucha, cada leccion, dejara su huella en el nivel analitico de los lectores. Es un libro como los de antes, con gran exigencia de trabajo, y por ello el lector necesita tiempo para absorberlo. Uno de los mejores de la literatura moderna de Ajedrez.

The Stories and the Games: Alekhine Euwe Botvinnik Smyslov Tal - Petrosian Spassky Fischer - Karpov KasparovFor many years Jan Timman was one of the best chess players in the world. He combined his brilliant successes on the board with a passion for writing and meticulously analysing his own games and those of his rivals. Three times he was a World Championship Candidate and in 1993 he played in the final of the FIDE World Championship. In this fascinating book, Jan Timman portrays ten World Chess Champions that played an important role in his life and career. Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946) he never met, but the story of how in Lisbon he bought one of the last chess sets belonging to the fourth World Champion is one of many highlights in this book. Timman has a keen eye for detail and a fabulous memory, and he visibly enjoys sharing his insider views, including many revelations about the great champions. Timmans Titans not only presents a personal view of these chess giants, but is also an evocation of countless fascinating episodes in chess history. Each portrait is completed by a rich selection of illustrative games, annotated in the authors trademark lucid style. Always to the point, sharp and with crystal-clear explanations, Timman shows the highs and lows from the games of the champions, including the most memorable games he himself played against them.

A world famous grandmaster explains the modern style of attacking chess to amateur chess players. Jan Timman teaches how to build up an advantage in the game and how to convert that advantage into an aggressive strategy and into great attacking moves. He has selected the most instructive attacking games of great players like Kasparov, Topalov, Karpov, Shirov, and Judit Polgar in order to explain to amateur chess players the basic ideas of modern attacks and their successful execution.

On September 10, 1984, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov appeared on the stage of the Hall of Columns in Moscow for the first game of their match for the World Chess Championship. The clash between the reigning champion and his brazen young challenger was highly anticipated, but no one could have foreseen what was in store. In the next six years they would play five matches for the highest title and create one of the fiercest rivalries in sports history. The matches lasted a staggering total of 14 months, and the two Ks played 5540 moves in 144 games.The first match became front page news worldwide when after five months FIDE President Florencio Campomanes stepped in to stop the match citing exhaustion of both participants. A new match was staged and having learned valuable lessons, 22yearold Garry Kasparov became the youngest World Chess Champion in history. His win was not only hailed as a triumph of imaginative attacking chess, but also as a political victory. The representative of perestroika had beaten the old champion, a symbol of Soviet stagnation. Kasparov defended his title in three more matches, all of them full of drama. Karpov remained a formidable opponent and the overall score was only 7371 in Kasparovs favour.In The Longest Game Jan Timman returns to the KasparovKarpov matches. He chronicles the many twists and turns of this fascinating saga, including his behindthe scenes impressions, and takes a fresh look at the games.

All through his career Jan Timman has been captivated by the mystery and splendour of endgame studies. Even during his most successful and busy years as a world-class player, Timman continued to compose studies and admire those of others. For him, there has never been any doubt that his journeys in this magical world helped him to grow as a player.In this fascinating book, first published in 2011, Timman has collected studies by other composers and explains in his lucid style how they inspired him to create dozens of brand-new studies.Timman has revised the book for this new edition. With the help of engines, Timman discovered that a few studies needed to be corrected or had alternative solutions. He removed six studies and replaced another six with better versions. And fourteen new studies have been added, two of which are published here for the first time.

World Chess Champion Max Euwe, who held the title from 1935-1937, is one of the greatest chess players in history. Much has been written about him, and he authored dozens of books himself. But missing was an outstanding collection of games of this efficient, man-eating tiger as the American grandmaster Reuben Fine once called Euwe.Max Euwes Best Games fills this gap. And it couldnt have been written by anyone else than Euwes successor in Dutch chess Jan Timman, World Champion finalist and arguably one of the leading chess analysts of our time. This book offers eighty of Max Euwes games annotated with great clarity, starting in his early twenties when he worked his way to the world top, up until his late seventies when he was still a force to be reckoned with. It is incredible how high Euwes level of play was for over fifty years and how attractive his attacking style was.Timman made many discoveries in Euwes best and most famous games but has also unearthed several lesser-known brilliancies. Some interesting paradoxes are addressed along the line. For example, although he was an amateur almost his entire life, Euwe was better versed in opening theory than most of his top-level opponents. Although he was the underdog, he beat the mighty Alexander Alekhine in an epic World Championship Match in 1935. At 52, he could still beat top players like Geller and Najdorf with fantastic attacking play in the Zurich Candidates Tournament. And when he was over seventy, he was still highly dangerous for the new upcoming Dutch generation.This game collection of an often underrated World Champion, analysed by top grandmaster Jan Timman, is a must-have for anyone interested in World Championship chess.

Jan Timman is one of the greatest chess players never to win the world title. For many years the Best of the West belonged to the chess elite, collecting some splendid super tournament victories. Three times Timman was a Candidate for the World Championship and his peak in the world rankings was second place, in 1982.For this definitive collection, Timman has revisited his career and subjected his finest efforts to fresh analysis supported by modern technology. The result is startling and fascinating. From the games that he chose for his Timmans Selected Games (1994, also published as Chess the Adventurous Way), only 10(!) made the cut. Some games that he had been proud of turned out to be flawed, others that he remembered as messy were actually well played.Timmans Triumphs includes wins against greats such as Karpov, Kasparov, Kortchnoi, Smyslov, Tal, Spassky, Bronstein, Larsen and Topalov. The annotations are in the authors trademark lucid style, that happy mix of colourful background information and sharp, crystal-clear explanations. Once again Jan Timman shows that he is not only one of the best players the game has seen, but also as one of the best analysts and writers.

Perhaps the greatest beauty in chess can be found in endgame studies. Delightful twists and turns on the board are combined into true works of art. In studies, chess is distilled into its purest form, with all pieces making only the most essential moves. Endgame studies are also useful exercises for practical chess players, as they show patterns, improve calculation, and inspire out-of-the-box thinking. Grandmaster Jan Timman has been fascinated by endgame studies since his youth. The artistry and perfection have always appealed to him. In recent years his focus has shifted from practical chess to composing endgame studies, and many of his compositions have won awards. Timman wrote about composing in The Art of the Endgame. (New In Chess, Revised Edition 2023). In this new book Timman presents the one hundred greatest endgame studies. In five chapters he guides you through masterpieces of increasing difficulty, beginning with elementary endings such as the Reti and Lasker manoeuvres. The studies include themes such as minor) promotion, Zugzwang and domination, all beautifully illustrated and clearly explained. By the time you reach the final chapter with the most complicated examples, you will be amazed at the myriad possibilities of chess and inspired to add more finesse to your own endgame play.

Initially things looked gloomy for Bobby Fischer. Because he had refused to participate in the 1969 US Championship, he had missed his chance to qualify for the 1970 Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca. Only when another American, Pal Benko, withdrew in his favour, and after the officials were willing to bend the rules, could Bobby enter the contest. And begin his phenomenal run that would end with the Match of the Century in Reykjavik against World Champion Boris Spassky.Fischer started out by sweeping the field at the 23-round Palma Interzonal to qualify for the next stage of the cycle. In the Candidates Matches he first faced Mark Taimanov, in Vancouver. Fischer trounced the Soviet ace, effectively ending Taimanovs career. Then, a few months later in Denver, he was up against Bent Larsen, the Great Dane. Fischer annihilated him, too. The surreal score in those two matches, twice 6-0, flabbergasted chess fans all over the world.In the ensuing Candidates Final in Buenos Aires, Fischer also made short shrift of former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, beating the hyper-solid Armenian Tiger 6-2. Altogether, Fischer had scored an incredible 36 points from 43 games against many of the worlds best players, including a streak of 19 consecutive wins. Bobby Fischer had become not just a national hero in the US, but a household name with pop-star status all over the world.Jan Timman chronicles the full story of Fischers sensational run and takes a fresh look at the games. The annotations are in the authors trademark lucid style, that happy mix of colourful background information and sharp, crystal-clear explanations.

Una selección de las mejores partidas de un campeón y gran maestro internacional que lo acreditan como uno de los grandes jugadores de su época

In 1972 Bobby Fischer famously beat Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in Reykjavik to win the world title. This book tells the classic story of that match, including the perplexing prelude and the dramatic games. This is a NEW EDITION following the death of Bobby Fischer, with a new introductory tribute to Fischer by former world champion Garry Kasparov, and a new preface by Jan Timman, in which he relates of his stunning meeting with Bobby in 1990 in a night club in Brussels.