LaviChess

The king walk in Tilburg

With the queens still on the board, Nigel Short walks his king from g1 to g5 in four moves. The king is on its way to h6, where it will protect the queen when it mates on g7, and Jan Timman can't stop it.

  • WhiteNigel Short
  • BlackJan Timman
  • WhereTilburg
  • WhenOctober 1991
  • EventInterpolis tournament, Tilburg 1991, round 4
  • Result1–0, White won
  • OpeningAlekhine Defense, Modern Variation (B04)
  • Length34 moves

In the fall of 1991, the fifteenth Interpolis tournament was held in Tilburg in the Netherlands, from October 17 to November 4. Eight players, among them world champion Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, met each other twice. Kasparov won with 10 points out of 14, ahead of Nigel Short with 8½.

In the fourth round, Short had White against Jan Timman, who chose the Alekhine Defense. Short built up strong pressure against the black king, and to finish the job he called on an unusual attacker: his own king.

The players

Nigel Short (born 1965) comes from Leigh in Lancashire. At ten he beat Viktor Korchnoi, then number two in the world, in a simultaneous exhibition, and he became a grandmaster at 19. In 1993 he became the first Englishman to play a world championship match, against Garry Kasparov in London. He lost, but on the way there he had beaten Jan Timman in the Candidates final.

Jan Timman (1951–2026) from Amsterdam was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. He was Dutch champion nine times, was number two in the world rankings in 1982, and was called “the Best of the West,” the best player outside the Soviet Union. In 1993 he played Anatoly Karpov for the FIDE world title and lost.

The game move by move

Step through with the arrows or tap a move. Moves with a dot have a comment.

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Nigel Short has the white pieces, Jan Timman the black.

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Guess the moves Short played, one at a time. The move from the game earns two points, and a move Lavi thinks is about as good earns one. The other side's moves and the game's notes come as you go.

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The moments that decided it

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After 29.Qf6+: the queen stands right next to the black king.
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After 31.Kh2: the king walk begins.
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After 33.Kf4: the king is halfway to h6, and Black can't stop it.

The end

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The final position after 34.Kg5. Black resigned after 34.Kg5.

Why the game is famous

The king is the piece you usually tuck away as long as the queens are on. Here it walks from g1 to g5 in four moves, in the middle of the game, and becomes the piece that decides it: on h6 it would guard g7, where the queen mates.

The game is included in a collection of the hundred greatest chess games of all time, put together by Graham Burgess, John Nunn and John Emms. It is perhaps the most famous king walk of modern times.

The whole game with notes, as text

1. e4 Nf6 The Alekhine Defense. Black lures White's e-pawn forward so that it can be attacked later. 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 The Modern Variation. White settles for a smaller center and develops the pieces instead. 4… g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 The king gets a square on h2. That square will matter later. 9… a5 10. a4 dxe5 11. dxe5 Nd4 12. Nxd4 Qxd4 13. Re1 e6 14. Nd2 Nd5 15. Nf3 Qc5 16. Qe4 Qb4 17. Bc4 Nb6 18. b3 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Re8 20. Rd1 Qc5 21. Qh4 The queen swings over to the kingside. 21… b6 22. Be3 Qc6 23. Bh6 The bishop offers to trade off Black's bishop on g7, which protects the king. Timman avoids the trade. 23… Bh8 24. Rd8 The rook breaks in on the eighth rank. 24… Bb7 25. Rad1 Bg7 26. R8d7 The rook goes to the seventh rank and attacks the pawn on f7. 26… Rf8 27. Bxg7 Now the bishops are traded after all, and the black king loses an important defender. 27… Kxg7 28. R1d4 Rae8 29. Qf6+ The queen breaks in on f6, right next to the black king. 29… Kg8 30. h4 h5 31. Kh2 The king walk begins. The king is going to h6, where it guards g7, so that the queen can mate there. 31… Rc8 32. Kg3 The king walks on. Now Black can avoid mate only by giving up his queen for the rook on d7. 32… Rce8 After this move White has a forced mate. 33. Kf4 The king walks straight up the board, with the queens still on. 33… Bc8 34. Kg5 Timman resigned. White threatens 35.Kh6 and 36.Qg7#, and there is no defense: whatever Black does, it is mate within five moves.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Interpolis tournament, Tilburg 1991, round 4"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1991.10.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nigel Short"]
[Black "Jan Timman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B04"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 a5 10. a4 dxe5 11. dxe5 Nd4 12. Nxd4 Qxd4 13. Re1 e6 14. Nd2 Nd5 15. Nf3 Qc5 16. Qe4 Qb4 17. Bc4 Nb6 18. b3 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Re8 20. Rd1 Qc5 21. Qh4 b6 22. Be3 Qc6 23. Bh6 Bh8 24. Rd8 Bb7 25. Rad1 Bg7 26. R8d7 Rf8 27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28. R1d4 Rae8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. h4 h5 31. Kh2 Rc8 32. Kg3 Rce8 33. Kf4 Bc8 34. Kg5 1-0

Download .pgn

Sources

  • Chessgames.com, Short–Timman 1991
  • PGN Mentor, Short.pgn
  • Wikipedia: Tilburg chess tournament (1991)
  • Wikipedia: Nigel Short

The moves compared in two databases (Chessgames, PGN Mentor, both Short's and Timman's files): identical, 67 half-moves. Timman resigned after 34.Kg5. Round 4 from Chessgames and PGN Mentor; the tournament's dates (October 17–November 4, 1991) and final standings from Wikipedia. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 6, 2026