The Chess Guru

Morphy versus the Duke and the Count, eighteen fifty eight. The most famous attacking game ever played. Watch how every piece comes to its best square before a single piece is exchanged, and how the king in the center pays for staying home.

Anderssen versus Kieseritzky, London eighteen fifty one. Anderssen gives up both rooks, the queen, and a bishop, ending with a mate using only the three remaining minor pieces. The Romantic era at its peak.

Anderssen again, this time versus Dufresne in Berlin, eighteen fifty two. The famous queen sacrifice on move twenty followed by the discovered double check. Steinitz called it 'evergreen in the laurel wreath of the great German master'.

Bobby Fischer, thirteen years old, versus Donald Byrne. Rosenwald Memorial, New York, October nineteen fifty six. The seventeen-move queen sacrifice that announced a future world champion. Hans Kmoch called it 'the game of the century'.

Kasparov versus Topalov, Wijk aan Zee, nineteen ninety nine. Considered one of the greatest games ever played. Kasparov sacrifices a rook on d four, then chases the black king from a8 to a2 across the entire board.

Judit Polgar versus Kasparov, two thousand two. The first time the world's strongest woman defeated the world champion in a classical game. A masterclass in keeping pressure on a stronger opponent.

Tal versus Larsen, Candidates semifinal nineteen sixty five. The magician from Riga at full strength. A double piece sacrifice that no engine would have suggested but which works because Larsen's king never finds a safe square.

Rotlewi versus Rubinstein, Lodz nineteen oh seven. Rubinstein's Immortal. A flurry of sacrifices on g two and h two with every piece coordinating perfectly. One of the most analyzed games in chess history.

Fischer versus Spassky, game six, world championship nineteen seventy two, Reykjavik. Spassky stood up and applauded at the end. Fischer opens with one d4 for the first time in his career — and produces a strategic gem.