Famous games

The famous 1851 game in which Adolf Anderssen defeated Lionel Kieseritzky through a spectacular attack involving enormous material sacrifices.

A celebrated attacking game between Adolf Anderssen and Jean Dufresne, first published in 1852.

The 1858 informal game in which Paul Morphy defeated two opponents who jointly chose Black's moves.

Akiba Rubinstein’s victory over Georg Salwe in the three-player Łódź tournament of 1908. Pressure against Black’s structure becomes an extra pawn and then a passed pawn supported by the pieces.

A 1912 game in which Frank Marshall finished against Levitsky with a celebrated queen offer.

The name given to thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer's celebrated 1956 victory over Donald Byrne in New York.

Mikhail Tal’s win with Black against Mikhail Botvinnik, begun in Moscow on 26 March 1960, remembered for the sacrifice 21...Nf4 and the subsequent conversion of the initiative into a winning endgame.

A game from the Varna Olympiad in which Botvinnik defended an inferior ending with White against Fischer. Their draw is remembered both for the defence and for the analytical debate that continued afterwards.

Anatoly Karpov’s victory over Wolfgang Unzicker at the 1974 Nice Olympiad, built through restriction, piece coordination and a switch of attention towards the king.

Vassily Ivanchuk’s win with White against Garry Kasparov in the opening round of Linares 1991. Early exchanges of bishops for knights led to an attack that left the black king without adequate defence.

Garry Kasparov’s win over Veselin Topalov at Wijk aan Zee 1999, famous for a rook sacrifice and an extended king hunt.

Judit Polgár’s victory over Ivan Sokolov at Wijk aan Zee 2005, a Closed Ruy Lopez that developed from queenside counterplay into an attack on the king. Its interest also lies in the winner’s critical reassessment of her own play.

Anand’s second win with Black in the Bonn match: a fresh debate in the Meran that ended with a tactical blow and a decisive passed pawn.

Hou Yifan's victory over Judit Polgar in round seven of Gibraltar 2012, part of a performance that brought her a share of the highest score in the main tournament.

Magnus Carlsen’s win with Black against Viswanathan Anand in game six of the 2013 World Championship. A rook ending with defensive resources gave the challenger his second consecutive victory and a 4-2 match lead.

The fourth and decisive rapid game of the 2023 World Championship, won with Black by Ding Liren in 68 moves.

The deciding game of the 2023 Women's World Championship. Ju Wenjun defeated Lei Tingjie in Chongqing to win the match 6.5-5.5, converting an ending with a rook and two knights against two rooks.