Dutch Championship 1996
Jan Timman returned to the Dutch Championship for the first time since 1987 and carried a one-point lead into the final round. Then Timman lost to Jeroen Piket while defending champion Ivan Sokolov won, leaving the two leaders together on 8½/11 and forcing a later title match.
The lead disappears in one afternoon
Timman entered round eleven a point ahead of Sokolov. His defeat with Black against Piket opened the door, and Sokolov's victory over Rini Kuijf erased the gap completely.
A round-robin without a champion
Both leaders finished with seven wins, one loss and three draws. Friso Nijboer and John van der Wiel shared the next score on 7½, but the national title itself remained between Timman and Sokolov until their four-game playoff later in the year.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Sokolov, Ivan | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games |
| =1 | Timman, Jan H | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games |
| =3 | Nijboer, Friso | 7½/11 | +6 -2 =3 | games |
| =3 | Van der Wiel, John | 7½/11 | +5 -1 =5 | games |
| 5 | Piket, Jeroen | 6½/11 | +3 -1 =7 | games |
| 6 | Van der Sterren, Paul | 6/11 | +4 -3 =4 | games |
| 7 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| =8 | Cifuentes Parada, Roberto | 4½/11 | +3 -5 =3 | games |
| =8 | Kuijf, Marinus | 4½/11 | +2 -4 =5 | games |
| =10 | Reinderman, Dimitri | 3/11 | +2 -7 =2 | games |
| =10 | Bosch, Jeroen | 3/11 | +0 -5 =6 | games |
| 12 | Hendriks, Willy | 1½/11 | +0 -8 =3 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sokolov, Ivan | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Timman, Jan H | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Nijboer, Friso | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Van der Wiel, John | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Piket, Jeroen | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Van der Sterren, Paul | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | Sosonko, Gennadi | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | Cifuentes Parada, Roberto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Kuijf, Marinus | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | Reinderman, Dimitri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Bosch, Jeroen | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 12 | Hendriks, Willy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.