A Database as a Second
Abstract
Chess endgame databases have provided computer-chess researchers with perfect knowledge of many endgames. Grandmaster play, however, has been largely unaffected by their existence. In the 1992 Linares tournament, Timman and Speelman adjourned a position which could lead to the KBBKN endgame. With the aid of publications on computer analysis of this endgame, Timman successfully prepared for the human-to-human confrontation and defeated Speelman. This contribution describes the background of the KBBKN endgame, the sequence of events which led to Timman’s victory, and presents analyses of the grandmasters’ performance.