ChessatmyboarD

This page features some of the greatest chess games ever played between some of the greatest chess players ever known. These players include Morphy, Capablanca, Rubinstein, Fischer and Kasparov.

GAME 1 : The Evergreen game
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[Event “Casual Game”]
[Site “Berlin GER”]
[Date “1852.??.??”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “?”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “Anderssen Adolf”]
[Black “J Dufresne”]
[ECO “C52”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “48”]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d3 8.Qb3
Qf6 9.e5 Qg6 10.Re1 Nge7 11.Ba3 b5 12.Qxb5 Rb8 13.Qa4 Bb6 14.Nbd2 Bb7
15.Ne4 Qf5 16.Bxd3 Qh5 17.Nf6+ gxf6 18.exf6 Rg8 19.Rad1 Qxf3 20.Rxe7+
Nxe7 21.Qxd7+ Kxd7 22.Bf5+ Ke8 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7# 1-0
[/pgn]

The opening here is the Evans Gambit and this produced this sparkling game full of invention and good play!

Game 2 : Morphy plays at the Opera- the ‘Opera Game’
[pgn height=500 initialHalfmove=16 autoplayMode=none]

[Event “Paris Opera”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “1858.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Morphy”]
[Black “Duke of Brunswick & Count iso”]
[Result “1-0”]
[PlyCount “33”]

1.e4
{This is another game against Royalty (see also Morphy-Lyttleton). The present game is better known, having been played at the Paris Opera during a performance of the Barber of Seville. Talk about distractions!}
e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3
{Given the circumstances of the game, Morphy just didn’t feel like capturing the pawn at b7. That would have taken the fun out of the game!}
c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5
{That’s more like it! Morphy sacrifices a knight for the b-pawn instead of capturing it for free at his 8th turn.}
cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.O-O-O Rd8
{Both knights are pinned, and Morphy now trades one pin for another.}
13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7
{Black has an extra piece, but White checkmates in two moves. If you can’t find Morphy’s brilliant finish on your own, continue on and let Gambit show you. Either way, it is a pleasant sight!}
16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1-0
[/pgn]

Morphy gets an opening advantage in this Philidor defence game and absolutely comes up trumps with an oustanding checkmate combination featuring a Queen sac. Morphy shows just how amazing his chess playing ability was to produce such a finish.

Game 3 : The Gold coin game….Rotlewi vs Rubinstein
[pgn height=500 initialHalfmove=16 autoplayMode=none]
[Event “Lodz”]
[Site “Lodz”]
[Date “1907.??.??”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “?”]
[Result “0-1”]
[White “Georg Rotlewi”]
[Black “Akiba Rubinstein”]
[ECO “D32”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “50”]

1.d4 {Notes by Carl Schlechter and Dr. Savielly Tartakower.}
d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5 4.c4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.dxc5 {Tartakower:
Less consistent than 6.a3 or 6.Bd3, maintaining as long as
possible the tension in the center.} Bxc5 7.a3 a6 8.b4 Bd6
9.Bb2 O-O 10.Qd2 {? Schlechter: A very bad place for the
queen. The best continuation is 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Be2, followed
by O-O. *** Tartakower: Loss of time. The queen will soon have
to seek a better square (14.Qe2). The most useful move is
10.Qc2.} Qe7 {! Schlechter: A fine sacrifice of a pawn. If
11.cxd5 exd5 12.Nxd5? Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Rd8! and Black has a strong
attack.} 11.Bd3 {Schlechter: Better was 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Be2.}
dxc4 12.Bxc4 b5 13.Bd3 Rd8 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.O-O Ne5 {!
Schlechter: Introduced by Marshall and Schlechter in a similar
position with opposite colors, but here with the extra move
Rd8.} 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 {Tartakower: Threatening to win a pawn by
17…Bxh2+ 18.Kxh2 Qd6+. White’s next move provides against
this, but loosens the kingside defenses.} 17.f4 Bc7 18.e4 Rac8
19.e5 Bb6+ 20.Kh1 Ng4 {!} 21.Be4 {Schlechter: There is no
defense; e.g., 21.Bxh7+ Kxh7 22.Qxg4 Rd2 etc.; or 21.h3 Qh4
22.Qxg4 Qxg4 23.hxg4 Rxd3, threatening …Rh3 mate and
…Rxc3; or 21.Qxg4 Rxd3 22.Ne2 Rc2 23.Bc1 g6! threatening
…h5; or 21.Ne4 Qh4 22.h3 (if 22.g3 Qxh2+ 23.Qxh2 Nxh2 and
wins.) 22….Rxd3 23.Qxd3 Bxe4 24.Qxe4 Qg3 25.hxg4 Qh4+ mate.}
Qh4 22.g3 {Schlechter: Or 22.h3 Rxc3! 23.Bxc3 Bxe4 24.Qxg4
Qxg4 25.hxg4 Rd3 wins. *** Tartakower: The alternative 22.h3,
parrying the mate, would lead to the following brilliant lines
of play: 22…Rxc3! (an eliminating sacrifice, getting rid of
the knight, which overprotects the bishop on e4) 23.Bxc3 (or
23.Qxg4 Rxh3+ 24.Qxh3 Qxh3+ 25.gxh3 Bxe4+ 26.Kh2 Rd2+ 27.Kg3
Rg2+ 28.Kh4 Bd8+ 29.Kh5 Bg6+ mate) 23…Bxe4+ 24.Qxg4 (if
24.Qxe4 Qg3 25.hxg4 Qh4+ mate) 24…Qxg4 25.hxg4 Rd3 with the
double threat of 26…Rh3+ mate and 26….Rxc3, and Black
wins. Beautiful as are these variations, the continuation in
the text is still more splendid.} Rxc3 {!!} 23.gxh4 Rd2 {!!}
24.Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25.Qg2 Rh3 {!} 0-1
[/pgn]

What an awesome finish!

Game 4: Capablanca end game mastery
[pgn height=500 initialHalfmove=16 autoplayMode=none]
[Event “Habana, WCH”]
[Site “Habana, WCH”]
[Date “1921.01.11”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “10”]
[Result “0-1”]
[White “Emanuel Lasker”]
[Black “Jose Raul Capablanca”]
[ECO “D61”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “136”]

1.d4 {Notes by J. R. Capablanca} d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5
Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Qc2 c5 8.Rd1 Qa5 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bh4
cxd4 11.exd4 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Nb6 13.Bb3 Bd7 14.O-O {The
development is now complete. White has a lone d Pawn, but, on
the otherhand, Black is somewhat hampered in the manoeuvering
of his pieces.} Rac8 15.Ne5 Bb5 {With this move and the
following, Black brings about an exchange of pieces, which
leaves him with a free game.} 16.Rfe1 Nbd5 17.Bxd5 Nxd5
18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Qb3 Bc6 {Not Ba6 because of Nd7, followed by
Nc5.} 20.Nxc6 bxc6 21.Re5 Qb6 22.Qc2 Rfd8 23.Ne2 {Probably
White’s first mistake. He wants to take a good defensive
position, but he should instead have counter-attacked with Na4
and Rc5.} Rd5 24.Rxd5 cxd5 {Black has now the open file and
his left side Pawn position is very solid, while White has a
weak d-Pawn. The apparently weak Black a Pawn is not actually
weak because White has no way to attack it.} 25.Qd2 Nf5 26.b3
{In order to free the Queen from the defense of the b-Pawn and
also to prevent Rc4 at any stage.} h5 { In order to prevent g4
at a later stage. Also to make a demonstration on the king’s
side, prepatory to further operations on the other side.}
27.h3 {Weak, but White wants to be ready to play g4.} h4 {To
tie up White’s King side. Later on it will be seen that White
is compelled to play g4 and thus further weaken his game.}
28.Qd3 Rc6 29.Kf1 g6 30.Qb1 Qb4 31.Kg1 {This was White’s
sealed move. It was not the best move, but it is doubtful if
White has any good system of defense.} a5 32.Qb2 a4 {Now Black
exchanges the pawn and leaves White with a weak, isolated
b-Pawn, which will fall sooner or later.} 33.Qd2 Qxd2 34.Rxd2
axb3 35.axb3 Rb6 {In order to force Rd3 and thus prevent the
White rook from supporting his b-Pawn by Rb2 later on. It
means practically tying up the White rook to the defense of
his two weak pawns. } 36.Rd3 Ra6 37.g4 hxg3 38.fxg3 Ra2 39.Nc3
Rc2 40.Nd1 {The alternative Na4, was not any better. White’s
game is doomed. } Ne7 41.Nc3 Rc1+ 42.Kf2 Nc6 43.Nd1 Rb1 {Not
Nb4 because of 44. Rd2 Rb1 45. Nb2 Rxb2 46.Rxb2 Nd3+ 47.Ke2
Nxb2 48.Kd2, and Black could not win. } 44.Ke2 {Not a mistake,
but played deliberately. White had no way to protect his
b-Pawn.} Rxb3 45.Ke3 Rb4 46.Nc3 Ne7 47.Ne2 Nf5+ 48.Kf2 g5
49.g4 Nd6 50.Ng1 Ne4+ 51.Kf1 Rb1+ 52.Kg2 Rb2+ 53.Kf1 Rf2+
54.Ke1 Ra2 {All these moves have a meaning. The student should
carefully study them.} 55.Kf1 Kg7 56.Re3 Kg6 57.Rd3 f6 58.Re3
Kf7 59.Rd3 Ke7 60.Re3 Kd6 61.Rd3 Rf2+ 62.Ke1 Rg2 63.Kf1 Ra2
64.Re3 e5 {This was my sealed move and unquestionably the best
way to win.} 65.Rd3 {If 65.Ne2 Nd2+ 66.Kf2 e4 67.Rc3 Nf3
68.Ke3 Ne1 69.Kf2 Ng2. and White would be helpless. If 65.Nf3
Nd2+ exchanging knights wins.} exd4 66.Rxd4 Kc5 67.Rd1 d4
68.Rc1+ Kd5 {There is nothing left. The Black pawn will
advance and White will have to give up his Knight for it. This
is the finest win of the match and probably took away from
Dr. Lasker his last real hope of winning or drawing the
match.} 0-1
[/pgn]

This opening is the Queen’s Gambit Declined Orthodox Rubinstein variation. It is the end game where Capablanca

shows fantastic chess playing technique.

Game 5 : Byrne vs Fischer (Fischer at 13 years old shows what a talented chess player he is).
[pgn height=500 initialHalfmove=16 autoplayMode=none][White “Donald Byrne”]
[Black “Robert James Fischer”]
[Event “3rd Rosenwald Memorial”]
[Date “1956.10.17”]
[ECO “Grünfeld Defence”]
[Result “0-1”]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 0-0 5. Bf4 d5 6. Qb3 dxc4 7. Qxc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7

9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 Bg4
11. Bg5?
{The start of Byrne’s sensational demise, according to many annotators –
but how was he to know what was to come from one so young? }
11…..Na4!!
{From a seemingly innocuous position, suddenly Fischer produces
a thunderbolt out of the blue that was described by three-time British
champion Jonathan Rowson,
in his book Understanding The Grünfeld, as,
“One of the most powerful chess moves
of all time.” It was to prove to be the precursor to an even
more spectacular queen sacrifice on move 17 that
overnight brought Fischer world-wide fame. }
12.Qa3
{12 Nxa4 Nxe4 wins by force, e.g. 13 Qxe7 Qa5+ 14 Nc3 Nxc3 15 bxc3 Rfe8.}
12….Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe4! 14. Bxe7 Qb6!

15. Bc4!
{To his credit, Byrne keeps his wits about him and finds
the most active defence to the myriad of threats and pins.
The alternative doesn’t offer any resistance:
15 Bxf8 Bxf8 16 Qb3 Nxc3! 17 Qxb6 axb6 18 Ra1
(No better is 18 Rd2 Bb4 19 Rb2 Ba5)
18 ..Bxf3 19 gxf3 Ba3 20 Kd2 Bb2 21 Re1 Nd5
and White is doomed in the ending. }
15… Nxc3 16. Bc5 Rfe8+ 17. Kf1 Be6!!!
{The shot that was heard around the world –
the move that announced Fischer was the real deal
and a World Champion in the making.
To have the chutzpah to play such a move from one so young,
he would have had to have foreseen the Queen sacrifice
from as far back as move 11.
Ruben Fine liked this move so much he gave it an unheard
of FOUR exclamation points in his book The World’s Great Chess Games.}
18. Bxb6 {18 Qxc3 Qxc5!
exploits even more pins. But the crux of the position is the threat
of the forced Philidor smothered mate with
18 Bxe6 Qb5+ 19 Kg1 Ne2+ 20 Kf1 Ng3+ 21 Kg1 Qf1+ 22 Rxf1 Ne2#.}
18… Bxc4+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Nxd4+
21. Kg1 Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nc3+ 23. Kg1 axb6
24. Qb4 Ra4 25. Qxb6 Nxd1 26. h3 Rxa2
27. Kh2 Nxf2
{The hard graft is done, and now watch how
Fischer supremely orchestrates his pieces to work in unison –
a sign of good technique and a portent of greater things to come
from the 13-year old.}
28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Nxe1 Bd5 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8 b5
33. h4 h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 35. Kg1 Bc5+ 36. Kf1 Ng3+ 37. Ke1 Bb4+ 38. Kd1 Bb3+
39. Kc1 Ne2+ 40. Kb1 Nc3+ 41. Kc1 Rc2# 0–1
[/pgn]

The Grunfeld defence opening . A great game starting the amazing (if somewhat turbulent) chess career of Bobby Fischer.

Game 6 : The champion of modern times -Gary Kasparov

[pgn height=500 initialHalfmove=16 autoplayMode=none]

[Event “Hoogovens A Tournament”]
[Site “Wijk aan Zee NED”]
[Date “1999.01.20”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “04”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “G Kasparov”]
[Black “V Topalov”]
[ECO “B07”]
[WhiteElo “2812”]
[BlackElo “2700”]
[PlyCount “88”]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 b5 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8.
Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14.
Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6 17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+
Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Re7+ Kb6 26.
Qxd4+ Kxa5 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7 Qc4 31. Qxf6 Kxa3
32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ Kxc3 34. Qa1+ Kd2 35. Qb2+ Kd1 36. Bf1 Rd2 37. Rd7
Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5  43. Kc1
Rd2 44. Qa7 1-0[/pgn]

Here is a video of this game (video by Kingscrusher at YouTube):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qW9oKma9YE[/youtube]

Do you have a favourite player and or favourite game?

Another one of my favourites is the Kieniger mate trap in the Budapest defence (a favourite of Akiba Rubinstein).

I have won with this mate on several occasions in internet blitz where it can catch an unwary opponent off guard.

I will post more famous games later…