Jan Timman

Jan Timman
Timman in 1984
Personal information
BornJan Hendrik Timman
(1951-12-14)14 December 1951
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died18 February 2026(2026-02-18) (aged 74)
Arnhem, Netherlands
Chess career
CountryNetherlands
TitleGrandmaster (1974)
FIDE rating2530 (March 2026)
Peak rating2680 (January 1990)
Peak rankingNo. 2 (January 1982)

Jan Hendrik Timman (14 December 1951 – 18 February 2026) was a Dutch chess grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career, he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as "The Best of the West". He won the Dutch Chess Championship nine times and was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship several times. He lost the title match of the 1993 FIDE World Championship against Anatoly Karpov.