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Famous games

Famous games of chess history

The story of each game, its moves and the openings it passes through. Watch one on the map and you see, at every move, all the roads the game could have taken.

The Opera GameMorphy, Paris 1858Playing from a box at the opera, Morphy mates his two opponents in 17 moves. The Immortal GameAnderssen, London 1851Anderssen gives up both rooks, a bishop and his queen, then mates with the minor pieces he has left. The Evergreen GameAnderssen, Berlin 1852Anderssen sacrifices his queen and mates with a bishop; more than 170 years on, the game is still fresh. The Game of the CenturyD. Byrne – Fischer, New York 1956Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer gives up his queen and wins. Kasparov's ImmortalKasparov – Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999A rook sacrifice on move 24 starts a hunt that chases Black's king across the whole board. Deep Blue Beats KasparovDeep Blue – Kasparov, New York 1997The last game of the first match a computer won against the world champion, over in 19 moves. The Game Spassky ApplaudedFischer – Spassky, Reykjavik 1972Fischer almost never opened 1.c4; here he did, and at the end even Spassky joined the applause. The Octopus KnightKarpov – Kasparov, Moscow 1985Kasparov's knight digs in on d3 and paralyses White; that match made him world champion. Botvinnik's Bishop SacrificeBotvinnik – Capablanca, AVRO 1938Botvinnik beats former world champion Capablanca with a bishop sacrifice on move 30. The Immortal Zugzwang GameSämisch – Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1923White still has plenty of pieces, but every move he could make loses. Rubinstein's ImmortalRotlewi – Rubinstein, Łódź 1907Rubinstein sacrifices his queen; then his bishops and rooks close in on White's king. The Gold Coins GameLevitsky – Marshall, Breslau 1912Marshall's last move, his queen to g3, was so beautiful that, the story goes, spectators showered the board with gold coins. The Double Bishop SacrificeEm. Lasker – Bauer, Amsterdam 1889Lasker gives up both bishops, on h7 and g7, and strips Black's king bare. The King HuntEd. Lasker – Thomas, London 1912After a queen sacrifice Black's king is driven from h7 all the way to g1 and mated there. Steinitz's CombinationSteinitz – von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895White's rook keeps offering itself on the seventh rank; von Bardeleben walks out rather than wait for the mate. Réti's MateRéti – Tartakower, Vienna 1910After a queen sacrifice the two bishops finish the game with mate in 11 moves. The Peruvian ImmortalCanal – NN, Budapest 1934Canal gives up both rooks and his queen and mates in 14 moves. Légal's MateLégal – Saint Brie, Paris 1750White lets the queen go and mates with three minor pieces; one of the oldest traps in chess. Scholar's MateThe classic trapQueen and bishop strike together at f7, Black's weakest square. Fool's MateThe fastest possible mateTwo weak moves by White open the way for Black's queen: the game is over in four moves.