Find the Move — November 5, 2026

Short's Tilburg Masterpiece (1991)

Black to move. Find the best move.

From Nigel Short – Jan Timman, Tilburg 1991.

Tilburg, 1991. Nigel Short, who two years later became the first English player to play a world championship match, faced Jan Timman, the strongest Dutch player of his generation. White's pieces slowly gained space around Black's king, but for a long time there was no simple breakthrough. Short found a plan that every club player remembers once they have seen it.