The Vault of Immortal Masterpieces

Adolf AnderssenvsJean Dufresne

The Evergreen Game

Adolf AnderssenvsLionel Kieseritzky

The Immortal Game

Anderssen sacrificed both rooks, a bishop and his queen, mating with only a knight, a bishop and a pawn left on the board — the game that gave the term "immortal" its enduring chess meaning.

Levon AronianvsViswanathan Anand

Aronian – Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2013

Efim BogoljubovvsAlexander Alekhine

Bogoljubov – Alekhine, Hastings 1922

Mikhail BotvinnikvsJosé Raúl Capablanca

Botvinnik – Capablanca, AVRO 1938

Mikhail BotvinnikvsMikhail Tal

Botvinnik – Tal, World Championship 1960, game 6

Donald ByrnevsBobby Fischer

The Game of the Century

At 13, Bobby Fischer defeated master Donald Byrne with a combination beginning 17...Be6, sacrificing his queen for lasting initiative; the game earned its name from contemporary commentators for the quality of Fischer's play at that age.

José Raúl CapablancavsFrank Marshall

Capablanca – Marshall, New York 1918

Magnus CarlsenvsViswanathan Anand

Carlsen – Anand, World Championship 2013, game 5

Magnus CarlsenvsSergey Karjakin

Carlsen – Karjakin, World Championship 2016, rapid tie-break game 4

Ding LirenvsGukesh D

Ding – Gukesh, World Championship 2024, game 14

Max EuwevsAlexander Alekhine

Euwe – Alekhine, World Championship 1935, game 26

Bobby FischervsBoris Spassky

Fischer – Spassky, World Championship 1972, game 6

Anatoly KarpovvsGarry Kasparov

Karpov – Kasparov, World Championship 1985, game 16

Anatoly KarpovvsGarry Kasparov

Karpov – Kasparov, World Championship 1985, game 24

Garry KasparovvsVeselin Topalov

Kasparov's Immortal

Kasparov's king marched to b1 while Topalov's king was hunted from a7 all the way to e1 under fire from White's queen, rooks and bishop in a sequence widely reprinted as one of the most spectacular attacking games of the 1990s.

Emanuel LaskervsJohann Hermann Bauer

Lasker – Bauer, Amsterdam 1889

Stepan LevitskyvsFrank Marshall

Levitsky – Marshall, Breslau 1912

Paul MorphyvsDuke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard (playing in consultation)

The Opera Game

Morphy castled on move 12 and mated three moves later while his opponents were still completing development — a game often used to teach the value of rapid development and open lines.

Ian NepomniachtchivsDing Liren

Nepomniachtchi – Ding, World Championship 2023, rapid tie-break game 4

Louis PaulsenvsPaul Morphy

Paulsen – Morphy, 1st American Chess Congress, New York 1857

Tigran PetrosianvsLuděk Pachman

Petrosian – Pachman, Bled 1961

Tigran PetrosianvsBoris Spassky

Petrosian – Spassky, World Championship 1966, game 10

Harry Nelson PillsburyvsEmanuel Lasker

Pillsbury – Lasker, St Petersburg 1896

Judit PolgárvsGarry Kasparov

Polgár – Kasparov, Russia vs the Rest of the World 2002

Lev PolugaevskyvsRashid Nezhmetdinov

Polugaevsky – Nezhmetdinov, RSFSR Championship, Sochi 1958

Richard RétivsAlexander Alekhine

Réti – Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925

Richard RétivsSavielly Tartakower

Réti – Tartakower, Vienna 1910

Robert ByrnevsBobby Fischer

Robert Byrne – Fischer, US Championship 1963/64, round 3

Gersz RotlewivsAkiba Rubinstein

Rotlewi – Rubinstein, Łódź 1907

Friedrich SämischvsAron Nimzowitsch

The Immortal Zugzwang Game

Nigel ShortvsJan Timman

Short – Timman, Tilburg 1991

Boris SpasskyvsDavid Bronstein

Spassky – Bronstein, USSR Championship 1960

Boris SpasskyvsBobby Fischer

Spassky – Fischer, World Championship 1972, game 3

Wilhelm SteinitzvsCurt von Bardeleben

Steinitz – von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895

Veselin TopalovvsViswanathan Anand

Topalov – Anand, World Championship 2010, game 12

Veselin TopalovvsAlexei Shirov

Topalov – Shirov, Linares 1998

Johannes ZukertortvsJoseph Henry Blackburne

Zukertort – Blackburne, London 1883