Jan Hein Donner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hein Donner |
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Donner in 1978
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| Full name | Johannes Hendrikus (Hein) Donner |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Born | July 6, 1927 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Died | November 27, 1988 (aged 61) |
| Title | Grandmaster (1959) |
| Peak rating | 2500 (July 1971) |
| Peak ranking | No. 77 (July 1971) |
Johannes Hendrikus (Hein) Donner (born July 6, 1927 – died November 27, 1988) was a famous Dutch chess player and writer. He was born in The Hague, Netherlands. Hein Donner became the Dutch Chess Champion three times: in 1954, 1957, and 1958.
In 1959, FIDE, the World Chess Federation, gave him the top title of Grandmaster. This is the highest title a chess player can achieve. He played for the Netherlands in the Chess Olympiads 11 times, which are big international team chess tournaments. His uncle, Piet Hein Donner, later became a Dutch Minister.
In 1983, Donner had a stroke, which affected his ability to move. He later wrote that it happened "just in time," because he felt he wasn't playing chess as well as he used to. After his stroke, he learned to type using just one finger. He continued to write for newspapers like NRC Handelsblad and Schaaknieuws.
A character in the famous Dutch novel and film The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch was inspired by Hein Donner.
Hein Donner: The Chess Columnist
Hein Donner was well-known as a chess columnist and writer. He wrote many articles about chess and other topics. People knew him for being very direct and sometimes saying surprising things. For example, he once joked that another Dutch Grandmaster, Lodewijk Prins, "cannot tell a knight from a bishop".
In 1987, a book called De Koning ("The King") was published. It contained 162 of his chess columns, written between 1950 and 1983. These were put together by Tim Krabbé and Max Pam. In the same year, Donner won the Henriёtte Roland-Holst Prize. This is a very important literary award in the Netherlands. He won it for his book Na mijn dood geschreven ("Written after my death"). This book was a collection of short columns he wrote for NRC Handelsblad.
Hein Donner passed away on November 27, 1988, due to a gastric hemorrhage. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery. Later, in 2006, an English version of De Koning was published. It was called The King: Chess Pieces.
Famous Quotes from Hein Donner
| This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
Hein Donner was known for his strong opinions and memorable quotes. Here are a few:
- "I love all positions. Give me a difficult positional game, I'll play it. Give me a bad position, I'll defend it. Openings, endgames, complicated positions, and dull, drawn positions, I love them all and will give my best efforts. But totally winning positions I cannot stand."
- After losing a game, he once said: "After I resigned this game with perfect self-control and solemnly shook hands with my opponent... I rushed home, where I threw myself onto my bed, howling and screaming, and pulled the blankets over my face."
- When he won a game from a position he thought he would lose, he said something he never had before: "I said, 'Sorry.'"
- He believed that "Chess is and will always be a game of chance."
- Donner also said: "It is mainly the irreparability of a mistake that distinguishes chess from other sports. A whole game long and there is only one point to score. Just one mistake and the battle is lost, even though the fight may go on for hours. ... That's why a mistake hits so hard in chess."
- About playing against the opening move 1.e4 with the black pieces: "I don't like this move. And they know it."
- He once predicted about Bobby Fischer, a famous American chess player: "... it doesn't take much insight into human nature to predict that Fischer will not be world champion for long. His quirks, moods and whims will turn against him at the moment when he has reached the top."
- Donner also had strong opinions about computers playing chess: "Computers cannot play chess at all, and they will never be able to, at least not for the next two thousand years or so..." (This quote shows how much chess computers have changed since his time!)
- He also clarified his name: "My name is J. H. Donner, 'Hein' for friends. 'Jan-Hein' was an unseemly joke of malicious sport journalists, but that's not my name, it never was and it never will be."
Memorable Chess Games
| This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
Hein Donner thought these two games were his best:
- Donner vs. Octav Troianescu, Wageningen Zonal, 1957
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 0-0 6.Nf3 d5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.a3 cxd4 9.exd4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Be7 11.Re1 a6 12.Ba2 b5 13.d5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5 Bb7 16.Qh5 g6 17.Qh6 Nd4 18.Ng5 Bxg5 19.Bxg5 Qb6 20.Rad1 Rac8 21.Re7 Qd6 22.Kh1 Qc6 23.Rxb7 Nf5 24.Bd5 Qc2 25.Rc1 Qe2 26.Bxf7+ Kh8 27.Bf6+ 1–0
- Donner vs. Bent Larsen, Wageningen Zonal 1957
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 a6 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 c5 10.Qc2 Rb8 11.b3 b5 12.cxb5 axb5 13.Bb2 b4 14.Nd1 Ba6 15.Re1 Bh6 16.e4 Bxd2 17.Qxd2 c4 18.e5 Ne8 19.Qd4 c3 20.Nxc3 bxc3 21.Bxc3 f6 22.Qa7 Nxb3 23.axb3 Ra8 24.Ba5 Rxa7 25.Bxd8 fxe5 26.f4 Ng7 27.Bb6 Raa8 28.fxe5 Nf5 29.exd6 exd6 30.Bf2 Rfb8 31.g4 Nh6 32.Re7 Nxg4 33.Bd4 Rb4 34.Rg7+ Kf8 35.Rxh7 Bb7 36.Rf1+ Ke8 37.Bg7 Rd8 38.Rf8+ Kd7 39.Bf6+ 1–0
