Greatest Chess Games

The Greatest Chess Games of all time are hotly debated. Nearly everyone would include the Byrne vs. Fischer (1956) "Game of the Century" in which the 13-year-old Bobby Fischer sacrificed his queen to attain a superior position and victory by checkmate many moves later against an international master, Professor Donald Byrne.^[1] Many would also include the pivotal Fischer-Spassky Game 6, where Fischer began with an unexpected opening and played flawlessly to take the lead in the Match of the Century.

The "Evergreen Game" (Adolf Anderssen v. Jean Dufresne in 1852) is an elegant contest which includes a queen sacrifice, a double-check, and a checkmate using a pair of bishops. It is explained in less than 9 minutes in a widely viewed YouTube video.^[2] Other great games from long ago include the "Immortal Game" (Anderssen vs Kieseritzky in 1851), and Rotlewi vs Rubinstein (1907).

Top 5 Ranking by Chess.com[edit]

This popular website lists its ranking of the greatest games as follows:^[3]

1. Kasparov vs. Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999
2. Morphy vs. Allies, Paris Opera 1858
3. Aronian vs. Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2013
4. Karpov vs. Kasparov, World Championship 1985, game 16
5. Byrne vs. Fischer, New York 1956, played through checkmate unlike most high-level contests

References[edit]