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J H Donner 
 
Jan Hein Donner
Number of games in database: 1,040
Years covered: 1943 to 1982
Highest rating achieved in database: 2500
Overall record: +255 -294 =488 (48.1%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      3 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Nimzo Indian (134) 
    E41 E54 E55 E53 E45
 King's Indian (110) 
    E60 E62 E92 E64 E67
 Modern Benoni (49) 
    A56 A77 A79 A61 A57
 Grunfeld (39) 
    D72 D79 D71 D86 D80
 Queen's Gambit Declined (22) 
    D35 D37 D31 D38 D30
 Queen's Pawn Game (16) 
    A40 E00 A41 A50 E10
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (60) 
    B99 B92 B90 B93 B87
 Pirc (57) 
    B09 B07 B08
 King's Indian (47) 
    E88 E92 E63 E94 E70
 Caro-Kann (41) 
    B17 B14 B15 B18 B10
 French Defense (41) 
    C07 C11 C14 C02 C18
 Nimzo Indian (40) 
    E52 E41 E25 E31 E54
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   A Matanovic vs J H Donner, 1965 0-1
   Smyslov vs J H Donner, 1967 0-1
   Fischer vs J H Donner, 1962 0-1
   J H Donner vs Portisch, 1968 1-0
   C B Van den Berg vs J H Donner, 1963 0-1
   Fischer vs J H Donner, 1966 1/2-1/2
   Botvinnik vs J H Donner, 1970 1/2-1/2
   Spassky vs J H Donner, 1970 1/2-1/2
   Szabo vs J H Donner, 1968 0-1
   J H Donner vs Petrosian, 1961 1/2-1/2

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Amsterdam (1950)
   Hastings 1951/52 (1951)
   Gothenburg Interzonal (1955)
   Zurich (1959)
   Bled (1961)
   Havana (1965)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Amsterdam IBM 1977 by suenteus po 147
   Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1970 by suenteus po 147
   Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1969 by suenteus po 147
   Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens 1974 by suenteus po 147

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JAN HEIN DONNER
(born Jul-06-1927, died Nov-27-1988) Netherlands
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]
Johannes Hendrikus Donner was born in The Hague. Donner was a three time Dutch Champion (1954, 1957, and 1958) and earned the Grandmaster title in 1959. He first gained international notice by winning at Beverwijk in the Hoogovens tournament 1950, finishing in front of Max Euwe, and Nicolas Rossolimo. He also scored triumphs at Beverwijk 1963, and Venice 1967 ahead of then-World Champion Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian. At the Leiden 1970 tournament, he placed second behind only Boris Spassky and ahead of Mikhail Botvinnik and Bent Larsen. A prolific chess writer in his own country, he produced a huge body of work with his essays, bulletins, and newspaper columns.

Wikipedia article: Jan Hein Donner


 page 1 of 42; games 1-25 of 1,040  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. J H Donner vs Euwe  0-140 1943 casualD17 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
2. C Groeneveld vs J H Donner 1-019 1947 BondswedstrijdenD85 Grunfeld
3. J H Donner vs H Bouwmeester  1-022 1947 BondswedstrijdenD28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
4. J H Donner vs H Bouwmeester 0-110 1948 AmsterdamB59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3
5. Smyslov vs J H Donner  1-029 1950 VeniceC12 French, McCutcheon
6. J H Donner vs C B Van den Berg  0-133 1950 NED-chD22 Queen's Gambit Accepted
7. Gligoric vs J H Donner  ½-½43 1950 AmsterdamD43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
8. Najdorf vs J H Donner 1-028 1950 AmsterdamD05 Queen's Pawn Game
9. Stahlberg vs J H Donner  ½-½28 1950 AmsterdamE21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights
10. O'Kelly vs J H Donner 1-042 1950 AmsterdamA40 Queen's Pawn Game
11. J H Donner vs Rossolimo 0-123 1950 AmsterdamE00 Queen's Pawn Game
12. A Niemela vs J H Donner  1-030 1950 Dubrovnik olmE47 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3
13. Euwe vs J H Donner  ½-½21 1950 The Hague mE22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation
14. Foltys vs J H Donner  1-063 1950 AmsterdamD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
15. H Steiner vs J H Donner  ½-½41 1950 VeniceE25 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
16. J H Donner vs Szabados 0-146 1950 AmsterdamB91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation
17. J H Donner vs Pirc  0-132 1950 AmsterdamE25 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
18. J H Donner vs Rossolimo  ½-½32 1950 BeverwijkA84 Dutch
19. J H Donner vs E Paoli  1-041 1950 VeniceE68 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Variation, 8.e4
20. H Nielsen vs J H Donner  0-137 1950 Dubrovnik olmC86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
21. Szabados vs J H Donner  0-156 1950 VeniceE18 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 7.Nc3
22. H Kramer vs J H Donner  ½-½31 1950 NED-chC02 French, Advance
23. C Kottnauer vs J H Donner 0-129 1950 AmsterdamD47 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
24. Euwe vs J H Donner 1-042 1950 Amsterdam NED chC89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall
25. F Henneberke vs J H Donner  0-131 1950 NED-chC50 Giuoco Piano
 page 1 of 42; games 1-25 of 1,040  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Donner wins | Donner loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-06-09  edbermac: "Also not to be missed is his explanation of Fischer's flop at Buenos Aires, 1960 (it involves GM Larry Evans, a sum of money, and a friendly, well-endowed woman of flexible virtue)"

So what is the story Donner tells about Fischer and the woman in Buenos Aires? Brad Darrach mentions something about this in Bobby Fischer vs the Rest of the World.

Please include as many salacious details as possible!

Jul-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: A strong GM, a very fine author possesed of a unique sense of humour, Mr.J.H.Donner has been missed very much, but his games and literary work live on.

R.I.P. GM Donner.

Jul-06-09  returnoftheking: <Donner reminds me of the trolls that inhabit the Kramnik page.>

hehe..

J. H. Donner was actually one of the more likable characters of his -influential- family (many politicians and high ranking civil servants, and even now a relative of him is leader of the department of justice).

Jul-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  wordfunph: Liu Wenzhe was the first Chinese chess master and China’s first chess player to defeat a grandmaster. At the 1978 Olympiad in Buenos Aires, he defeated Dutch GM Jan Hein Donner. After he resigned, Donner remarked to another Westerner, "When they have the first international tournament in Peking, Donner will be the first European invited."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GM Jan Hein DONNER!!!

Jul-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  ketchuplover: Any relation to the Donner party?
Jul-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  parisattack: I am so pleased his book has been reprinted! The original edition is very difficult to find - and it is such a wonderful read.

Happy B-Day to you Jan Hein!

Jul-06-09  testguy: In essence JH Donner has become like his own view of Mulisch: the octopus hiding behind clouds of ink (ink on paper, of course). An enigmatic, solemny interesting character. I don't know of his latter writings have been translated in English, but those are very good as well.

Chesswise, JH Donner was notoriously careless and inconsistant. Capable of wonderful brilliancies and utter faillure, even in his heyday.

Lehmann vs J H Donner, 1965

One of his last games is this funny win over one of the first chess computers. "what I basically did, was nothing. A billiard player would call it carotte.

J H Donner vs Belle, 1982

Jul-06-09  WhiteRook48: if he was ahead of Botvinnik why didn't I hear of him before?
Jul-06-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Caissanist: "Capable of wonderful brilliancies and utter faillure, even in his heyday."

After reading <The King>, I'd say that that's a fair verdict not only for Donner the chessplayer, but for Donner the writer as well.

Jul-07-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: <blacksburg: ...< i don't understand where all the raving reviews come from... <Donner reminds me of the trolls that inhabit the Kramnik page.>>> Necessarily no contradiction. :D
Jul-22-09  Sem: Petrosianic, I am responding to your question of Sept. 30, 2008. I tried to find Donner's article about Fischer, but in vain. What I did come across were various other articles by him about Fischer's mental health, written in the 1970s. They were interesting enough, but not what I had in mind. I seem to remember that Donner once reasoned that in his chess career Fischer - brought up in a family without a father - needed a father figure above him that he could destroy with a vengeance. Once he would be world champion he would have become that figure himself and would therefore find himself in a vacuum. He would no longer be able to direct his fierce aggression, which would simply derange him.
Sep-02-09  redwhitechess: just read "the King", very hilarious. i never knew his personality before read this book I only know him by this game : Liu Wenzhe vs J H Donner, 1978

His writing is very original. Remind me of another weird chess personality, Tony Miles.

Jul-06-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  wordfunph: One day, GM Jan Hein Donner received a letter from an inmate of an asylum for the insane, impeaching him (Donner) as the FalseGrandMasterDonner and urging him to retreat, signing himself (the lunatic) as the TrueGrandMasterDonner. Donner considered this the greatest recognition a man can get.
Aug-29-10  Dredge Rivers: Contrary to popular belief, the Donner Pass is not named for him!
Dec-10-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  wordfunph: based on Daniel King's book How Good is Your Chess, the late Dutch Grandmaster Jan Hein Donner once said that if he had to play a computer, he would take along a hammer.

:-)

Feb-14-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: Agreed :-)
Jun-27-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  wordfunph: <Caissanist: After reading <The King>, I'd say that that's a fair verdict not only for Donner the chessplayer, but for Donner the writer as well.>

i'm on page 31 now, i rate GM Donner's The King - Chess Pieces at 10/10! simply juicy and entertaining masterpiece..

Jul-06-12  LoveThatJoker: GM Donner, today you are remembered!

LTJ

Jul-06-12  tino72: Happy birthday Hein Donner. 85 today. The king of chess literature! (People: if you have not yet read "The King" then you are missing out.)
Jul-15-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  achieve: For those interested in the <Jan Hein Donner> pronunciation: I submitted the correct one to CG and you can hear it by clicking the "PRONUNCIATION" button located at the top of the Bio section.
Sep-08-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Caissanist: I'm not surprised to see the rave reviews of <The King> from those who have only read the first few pages; by far the best writing in that book is from earlier in his career, when he was primarily a chess professional who did some writing on the side. The last two thirds or so of the book, though, is mostly pretty boring.
Feb-06-13  thomastonk: His gravestone has the following inscription:
"HIER LIGT HEIN
ZIJN WAS ZIJN"

I can translate it word by word, but what does it mean?

Feb-06-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  Stonehenge: Perhaps "here lies Hein, his was to be".
Feb-08-13  thomastonk: Here is a Donner quote from "The King", p 308: "I'd like to point out that my name is: J.H. Donner, to my friends: Hein. 'Jan Hein', however, I am not, have never been and wouldn't want to be either."

The original quote appeared in "Schaakbulletin" 136, March 1979 in occasion of a review of two book. Donner wrote that in both books occasionally a 'grandmaster Jan Hein Donner' appears, sometimes refereed to as 'our Jan Hein'.

Mar-24-13  Osbourne Cox: This is an excerpt from Jan Timmans "J.H. Donner: an obituary" (First published in New in Chess Magazine 1/1989): "...he was always in his best form during the Olympiads. Travelling with Donner was always a very special experience for his teammates. Once at Schiphol Airport I was next in line to him at the security check. "Have you got any weapons with you?" the ground stewardess asked. "Yes, a formidable brain", he answered, leaving a stunned pair of stewardesses behind." I love this guy. Do you know anybody like him out there today?
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