Your own.
Best Chess Games to memorize
Sort:
My list needs updating, but this is what I put together some months ago:
(1) De Legall,François Antoine - St Brié [C41]
Cafe de la Regence Paris, 1750
[Stripes,James]
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 [2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5# Big Database 2011] 2...d6 3.Nf3 Bg4 [3...Nc6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5# George Walker, A Selection of Games at Chess (1835)] 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5# Dominique Thimognier, "DE LEGALL François Antoine (sire de Kermeur)" http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/legall.htm 1–0
(2) Taylor,I.O. Howard - N,N [C42]
London, 1862
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3 Nc5 5.Nxe5 f6 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Bf7+ Ke7 8.Nd5+ Kd6 9.Nc4+ Kc6 10.Nb4+ Kb5 11.a4+ Kxb4 12.c3+ Kb3 13.Qd1# 1–0
(3) Blake,Joseph Henry - Hook,William [C41]
London London, 1891
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 exd4 6.Qxd4 Bd7 7.Ng5 Nc6 8.Bf7+ Ke7 9.Qxf6+ Kxf6 10.Nd5+ Ke5 11.Nf3+ Kxe4 12.Nc3# 1–0
(4) Spassky,Boris V - Evans,Larry Melvyn [E80]
Varna ol (Men) fin-A Varna (10), 1962
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 c6 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 b5 8.0–0–0 bxc4 9.Bxc4 0–0 10.h4 d5 11.Bb3 dxe4 12.h5 exf3 13.hxg6 hxg6 14.Bh6 fxg2 15.Rh4 Ng4 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qxg2 Nh6 18.Nf3 Nf5 19.Rh2 Qd6 20.Ne5 Nd7 21.Ne4 Qc7 22.Rdh1 Rg8 23.Rh7+ Kf8 24.Rxf7+ Ke8 25.Qxg6 Nxe5 26.Rf8+ 1–0
(5) Mayet,Carl - Anderssen,Adolf (2600) [C64]
Berlin, 1859
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.0–0 Bg4 7.h3 h5 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Nxe5 g3 10.d4 Nxe4 11.Qg4 Bxd4 12.Qxe4 Bxf2+ 13.Rxf2 Qd1+ 0–1
(6) Stripes,James (1879) - Moroney,Timothy (2076) [C76]
20th Dave Collyer Spokane (5), 26.02.2012
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 a6 5.Ba4 d6 6.d4 Bd7 7.Bg5 f6 8.Be3 Nh6 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.h3 Nf7 12.Qxd7+ Qxd7 13.Bxd7+ Kxd7 14.Nd2 Bh6 15.Bxh6 Nxh6 16.Nc4 Rad8 17.0–0–0+ Ke6 18.Kc2 Nf7 19.Ne3 Nd6 20.f3 Rd7 21.Rd3 Rhd8 22.Rhd1 c6 23.b3 Ke7 24.R1d2 Ke6 25.Rd1 f5 26.exf5+ gxf5 27.g4 f4 28.Nf5 Nxf5 29.gxf5+ Ke7 30.Rxd7+ Rxd7 31.Rxd7+ Kxd7 32.Kd3 Ke7 33.h4 Kf6 34.Ke4 h5 35.b4 b6 36.c4 a5 37.bxa5 bxa5 38.c5 1–0
(7) Grabovetz,Vladimir (1850) - Stripes,James (1999) [A21]
Team USA: Northwest vs. Team Ukraine - Chess.com, 28.02.2012
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bxc3 5.bxc3 0–0 6.d4 d6 7.e3 Nc6 8.Ne2 Re8 9.0–0 e4 10.h3 Na5 11.Qa4 c5 12.Rb1 Bd7 13.Qc2 Nxc4 14.Rxb7 Qc8 15.Rb1 Bxh3 16.Nf4 Bg4 17.Re1 g5 18.Ne2 Bf3 19.a4 Qg4 20.Qd1 Qh5 21.Kf1 Ng4 22.Qc2 Bxg2+ 23.Kxg2 Qh2+ 0–1
(8) Carlsen,Magnus (2814) - Wang Hao (2731) [B12]
Tata Steel GM-A 73rd Wijk aan Zee (12), 29.01.2011
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Be3 e6 5.Nd2 Nd7 6.Ngf3 Bg6 7.Be2 Ne7 8.Nh4 c5 9.c3 Nc6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Nf3 Rc8 12.0–0 a6 13.g3 Be7 14.h4 b5 15.a4 Qb6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Kg2 c4 18.Ng5 Qd8 19.Bg4 Bxg5 20.Bxg5 Qc7 21.Rh1 Nb6 22.h5 gxh5 23.Bxh5 Na4 24.Bxf7+ Kxf7 25.Qf3+ Kg8 26.Rxh8+ Kxh8 27.Rh1+ Kg8 28.Qh5 Rf8 29.Bf6 1–0
(9) Auberonk (1827) - Stripes,James (1784) [B21]
Chess.com Live Chess Chess.com, 18.01.2012
1.e4 e6 2.f4 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nf3 Qg4 10.hxg3 Qxg3+ 11.Ke2 Qg2+ 12.Ke3 Bc5+ 13.Ke4 f5+ 14.exf6 d5# 0–1
(10) Lengyel,Bela (2345) - Zueger,Beat (2425) [C11]
Budapest FS03 GM Budapest (8), 1994
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6 9.Ncb5 a6 10.Nf5 Bc5 11.Nbd6+ Kf8 12.Qh5 Nd8 13.Nxg7 Bxe3 14.Nxe6+ fxe6 15.Qh6+ Kg8 16.Qg5+ Kf8 17.Qh6+ Kg8 18.Qg5+ ½–½
(11) Rubinstein,Akiba - Heilmann,Ernst [D40]
Hauptturnier-A Barmen (2), 1905
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 c5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.a3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bb5 Qd6 9.e4 Bd7 10.e5 Qe7 11.0–0 Ng8 12.Nxd5 Qd8 13.Qa4 Rc8 14.Bg5 Nge7 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.Rad1 a6 17.Qxa6 Nd4 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Rxd4 1–0
(12) Karpov,Anatoly (2700) - Kortschnoj,Viktor (2670) [B78]
Candidates final Moscow (2), 1974
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0–0 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.h4 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.0–0–0 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5 Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.Nde2 Qa5 17.Bh6 Bxh6 18.Qxh6 Rfc8 19.Rd3 R4c5 20.g5 Rxg5 21.Rd5 Rxd5 22.Nxd5 Re8 23.Nef4 Bc6 24.e5 Bxd5 25.exf6 exf6 26.Qxh7+ Kf8 27.Qh8+ 1–0
(13) Rotlewi,Georg A - Rubinstein,Akiba [D40]
Lodz1 Lodz, 1907
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5 4.c4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.a3 a6 8.b4 Bd6 9.Bb2 0–0 10.Qd2 Qe7 11.Bd3 dxc4 12.Bxc4 b5 13.Bd3 Rd8 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.0–0 Ne5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.f4 Bc7 18.e4 Rac8 19.e5 Bb6+ 20.Kh1 Ng4 21.Be4 Qh4 22.g3 Rxc3 23.gxh4 Rd2 24.Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25.Qg2 Rh3 0–1
(14) Aronian,L (2802) - Anand,V (2772) [D46]
75th Tata Steel GpA Wijk aan Zee NED (4.5), 15.01.2013
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.a3 Rc8 12.Ng5 c5 13.Nxh7 Ng4 14.f4 cxd4 15.exd4 Bc5 16.Be2 Nde5 17.Bxg4 Bxd4+ 18.Kh1 Nxg4 19.Nxf8 f5 20.Ng6 Qf6 21.h3 Qxg6 22.Qe2 Qh5 23.Qd3 Be3 0–1
(15) Tarrasch,Siegbert - Mieses,Jacques [C10]
Berlin m Berlin (3), 1916
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0–0 Nxe4 8.Bxe4 Nf6 9.Bd3 b6 10.Ne5 0–0 11.Nc6 Qd6 12.Qf3 Bd7 13.Nxe7+ Qxe7 14.Bg5 Rac8 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.Qh3 Qd6 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qh6 f5 19.Re3 Qxd4 20.c3 1–0
(16) Stripes,James - Crafty (Chessimo) [A46]
Rating Estimation, 01.02.2013
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Bb4+ 4.c3 Bd6 5.Bd3 0–0 6.0–0 Be7 7.Nbd2 d5 8.Re1 Nc6 9.Qc2 Bd6 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 Kh8 13.Bxh7 g6 14.Bg5 Qe8 15.Bf6+ Kxh7 16.Qe4 Bf4 17.Qxf4 Qd7 18.Qh4+ Kg8 19.Qh8# 1–0
(17) Polugaevsky,Lev - Nezhmetdinov,Rashid [A53]
Sochi Sochi, 1958
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd2 g6 7.b3 Bg7 8.Bb2 0–0 9.Bd3 Ng4 10.Nge2 Qh4 11.Ng3 Nge5 12.0–0 f5 13.f3 Bh6 14.Qd1 f4 15.Nge2 g5 16.Nd5 g4 17.g3 fxg3 18.hxg3 Qh3 19.f4 Be6 20.Bc2 Rf7 21.Kf2 Qh2+ 22.Ke3 Bxd5 23.cxd5 Nb4 24.Rh1 Rxf4 25.Rxh2 Rf3+ 26.Kd4 Bg7 27.a4 c5+ 28.dxc6 bxc6 29.Bd3 Nexd3+ 30.Kc4 d5+ 31.exd5 cxd5+ 32.Kb5 Rb8+ 33.Ka5 Nc6+ 0–1
(18) Portisch,Lajos - Berger,Bela [D37]
Amsterdam Interzonal Amsterdam (22), 19.06.1964
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 0–0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Qa5 10.Rd1 Ne4 11.cxd5 Nxc3 12.bxc3 exd5 13.Ng5 g6 14.Rxd5 Qxa3 15.Bc4 Nd8 16.Nxh7 Kxh7 17.Rh5+ Kg7 18.Be5+ f6 19.Rg5 1–0
I heard Carlsen say in an interview that he has memorized over 10,000 games, not 1,000.
GM Rashid Ziatdinov has a book called GM-RAM that has a couple hundred positions and games which he considers to be fundamentally important. There are many others. Irving Chernev's Logical Chess Move By Move, 1953 Zurich tournament book, Capablanca's Best Chess Endings also by Chernev.
Life is too short to memorize chess games.
I have Ziyatdinov's GM-RAM and have mentioned its value in a couple of blog posts. It has 256 positions. 136 positions are endgame positions. The rest are from the 59 games included, and which Ziyatdinov recommends memorizing. Here's one of my blog posts:
Instructive Games Worthy of Memorizing
Choosing to memorize whole chess games demands identifying games with instructive value. The miniatures that I committed to memory last week are useful to the chess teacher who works with beginning players (see "Memorizing Chess Games"). They are of less value to my objective of making Expert (see "Breaking Through 1900!"). Consider the most important elements in a brief game that I played during the course of a single minute during lunch a few months ago, and have been able to replay ever since. To this day, I have not checked my analysis with an engine. It was an entertaining disaster for White in a three minute blitz game.
Internet Opponent -- Stripes
Chess.com 2012
1.e4 e6 2.f4 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nf3
9...Qg4? 10.hxg3? Qxg3+ 11.Ke2 Qg2+ 12.Ke3 Bc5+ 13.Ke4 f5+ 14.exf6 d5#
Black should have played 9...Qh3 when the knight remains safe. After 9...Qg4, White should have played 10.Rg1!
It was a fast game, and I have not analyzed it in any depth. Likely, there is an improvement that I have overlooked. It serves to illustrate the en passant rule, to show the danger to a king drawn into the middle of the board, and to illustrate the sort of mating attack that often presents itself in games of weak players. Memorizing this game required no effort. I played it at lunch on my iPad, saved it to tChess Pro, and showed it to a group of elementary school students an hour later. It has remained lodged in my memory since because I have shown it to others.
What elements give this game instructive value?
1) The truth of the position. Both players made errors. Perhaps the diagram position is worth knowing because the next move was Black's most significant error, which was followed by White's missed opportunity to use a pin to win material. Does Black have a clear advantage before 9...Qg4? Does White gain the upper hand after the unplayed 10.Rg1?
2) Tactical motifs. The queen's attack along the e1-h4 diagonal can occur in many positions, and it particularly effective when supported by a knight. White's knight is also a factor that often refutes such attacks.
3) Opening ideas. The game began as a French Defense, but quickly transposed into something resembling the Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. Was 6.e5 a useful move for White?
Process of Memorizing
Many games of fifteen moves or less can be memorized with minimal effort. Even players who claim they have never memorized an entire game can demonstrate Fool's Mate and Scholar's Mate. Legall de Kermeur's only recorded game should present no difficulty for the average player. My process in rereading Chernev's 1000 Best Short Games of Chess is a slightly more difficult exercise, but not onerous. It is an exercise in translation. I read through a short game in descriptive without reference to a chess board, close the book, and then play through the game on a board. Later, I write the game in algebraic notation without looking at the board. In the 1970s I played a few blindfold games using English Descriptive Notation, but have become rusty in its use since learning Algebraic Notation in the early 1990s. With Chernev, I am honing my reading skills in the ancient language that exists in dozens of chess books on my shelf.
It is possible to memorize a game without understanding, particularly a short game. With longer games, however, the ability to play through an entire game from memory is either the precondition or it is the natural consequence of understanding the strategic features and tactical possibilities in a particular struggle between two players. Two years ago, I began an effort to identify useful whole games and commit them to memory. This effort was suspended for reasons having nothing to do with chess.
Those games that seem worthy of learning whole are the games from which critical positions have been extracted. Rashid Ziyatdinov wrote, "In Russian folklore it is said that there are 300 positions which comprise the most important knowledge which an aspiring player must acquire" (GM-RAM, 12). Lev Alburt stated something similar, "To become a strong tournament player, you must indelibly carve into your chess memory alimited number of essential positions and concepts" (Chess Training Pocket Book, 7). The terms "aspiring player" and "strong tournament player" are imprecise. My goal is specific: become a USCF Expert.
Both Alburt and Ziyatdinov stress that the essential 300 differ from one player to another. I have three books that each present approximately 300 candidate positions for my own 300: Alburt, Chess Training Pocket Book; Alburt, Chess Training Pocket Book II; and Ziyatdinov, GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Chess Knowledge. Ziyatdinov compares critical middlegame positions to fingerprints, "from this fingerprint, the associated game can be identified" (77). See "Fingerprints" for more discussion of Ziyatdinov's ideas.
Adding Games to the List
Earlier this week, in "Problems in the English Opening," I annotated a game that I won. White made a series of small strategic errors that led to a theoretically lost position. I have made some effort to commit this game to memory. It is not the celebration of winning a miniature from the Black side of the English that has merit, but the struggle to identify White's errors. I, too, play the English Opening. White's play must be improved so that I never find myself on the losing end of such a game.
Yesterday and today, I am reviewing the first twenty positions in Chess Training Pocket Book II. Positions 5-8 all come from the game Spassky -- Evans 1962. One position is from the actual game. Three are hypothetical positions that follow from moves that Evans did not play. Looking at the game, I concluded that the final mating attack was also worthy of knowing.
Spassky,Boris V - Evans,Larry Melvyn [E80]
Varna ol (Men) fin-A Varna (10), 1962
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 c6 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 b5 8.0–0–0
This position is not uncommon, but Evans' move here has been repeated only a few times and with terrible results for Black.
8... bxc4 9.Bxc4 0–0 10.h4
Alburt's first problem is finding this move. The other there are variations involving tactical shots after alternative moves that are worse than those played by Evans over the next few moves from this position, 15...Nh5 for instance.
10...d5 11.Bb3 dxe4 12.h5 exf3 13.hxg6 hxg6 14.Bh6 fxg2 15.Rh4 Ng4 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qxg2 Nh6 18.Nf3 Nf5 19.Rh2 Qd6 20.Ne5 Nd7 21.Ne4 Qc7 22.Rdh1
Improvements for Black must be found before this position is reached. No matter what Black tries here, the aspiring player should have a clear plan of attack for White.
22...Rg8 23.Rh7+ Kf8 24.Rxf7+ Ke8 25.Qxg6 Nxe5 26.Rf8+ 1–0
Internet Opponent -- Stripes
Chess.com 2012
1.e4 e6 2.f4 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Nf3
Black to move
9...Qg4? 10.hxg3? Qxg3+ 11.Ke2 Qg2+ 12.Ke3 Bc5+ 13.Ke4 f5+ 14.exf6 d5#
Black should have played 9...Qh3 when the knight remains safe. After 9...Qg4, White should have played 10.Rg1!
It was a fast game, and I have not analyzed it in any depth. Likely, there is an improvement that I have overlooked. It serves to illustrate the en passant rule, to show the danger to a king drawn into the middle of the board, and to illustrate the sort of mating attack that often presents itself in games of weak players. Memorizing this game required no effort. I played it at lunch on my iPad, saved it to tChess Pro, and showed it to a group of elementary school students an hour later. It has remained lodged in my memory since because I have shown it to others.
What elements give this game instructive value?
1) The truth of the position. Both players made errors. Perhaps the diagram position is worth knowing because the next move was Black's most significant error, which was followed by White's missed opportunity to use a pin to win material. Does Black have a clear advantage before 9...Qg4? Does White gain the upper hand after the unplayed 10.Rg1?
2) Tactical motifs. The queen's attack along the e1-h4 diagonal can occur in many positions, and it particularly effective when supported by a knight. White's knight is also a factor that often refutes such attacks.
3) Opening ideas. The game began as a French Defense, but quickly transposed into something resembling the Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. Was 6.e5 a useful move for White?
Process of Memorizing
Many games of fifteen moves or less can be memorized with minimal effort. Even players who claim they have never memorized an entire game can demonstrate Fool's Mate and Scholar's Mate. Legall de Kermeur's only recorded game should present no difficulty for the average player. My process in rereading Chernev's 1000 Best Short Games of Chess is a slightly more difficult exercise, but not onerous. It is an exercise in translation. I read through a short game in descriptive without reference to a chess board, close the book, and then play through the game on a board. Later, I write the game in algebraic notation without looking at the board. In the 1970s I played a few blindfold games using English Descriptive Notation, but have become rusty in its use since learning Algebraic Notation in the early 1990s. With Chernev, I am honing my reading skills in the ancient language that exists in dozens of chess books on my shelf.
It is possible to memorize a game without understanding, particularly a short game. With longer games, however, the ability to play through an entire game from memory is either the precondition or it is the natural consequence of understanding the strategic features and tactical possibilities in a particular struggle between two players. Two years ago, I began an effort to identify useful whole games and commit them to memory. This effort was suspended for reasons having nothing to do with chess.
Those games that seem worthy of learning whole are the games from which critical positions have been extracted. Rashid Ziyatdinov wrote, "In Russian folklore it is said that there are 300 positions which comprise the most important knowledge which an aspiring player must acquire" (GM-RAM, 12). Lev Alburt stated something similar, "To become a strong tournament player, you must indelibly carve into your chess memory alimited number of essential positions and concepts" (Chess Training Pocket Book, 7). The terms "aspiring player" and "strong tournament player" are imprecise. My goal is specific: become a USCF Expert.
Both Alburt and Ziyatdinov stress that the essential 300 differ from one player to another. I have three books that each present approximately 300 candidate positions for my own 300: Alburt, Chess Training Pocket Book; Alburt, Chess Training Pocket Book II; and Ziyatdinov, GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Chess Knowledge. Ziyatdinov compares critical middlegame positions to fingerprints, "from this fingerprint, the associated game can be identified" (77). See "Fingerprints" for more discussion of Ziyatdinov's ideas.
Adding Games to the List
Earlier this week, in "Problems in the English Opening," I annotated a game that I won. White made a series of small strategic errors that led to a theoretically lost position. I have made some effort to commit this game to memory. It is not the celebration of winning a miniature from the Black side of the English that has merit, but the struggle to identify White's errors. I, too, play the English Opening. White's play must be improved so that I never find myself on the losing end of such a game.
Yesterday and today, I am reviewing the first twenty positions in Chess Training Pocket Book II. Positions 5-8 all come from the game Spassky -- Evans 1962. One position is from the actual game. Three are hypothetical positions that follow from moves that Evans did not play. Looking at the game, I concluded that the final mating attack was also worthy of knowing.
Spassky,Boris V - Evans,Larry Melvyn [E80]
Varna ol (Men) fin-A Varna (10), 1962
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 c6 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 b5 8.0–0–0
Black to move
This position is not uncommon, but Evans' move here has been repeated only a few times and with terrible results for Black.
8... bxc4 9.Bxc4 0–0 10.h4
Alburt's first problem is finding this move. The other there are variations involving tactical shots after alternative moves that are worse than those played by Evans over the next few moves from this position, 15...Nh5 for instance.
10...d5 11.Bb3 dxe4 12.h5 exf3 13.hxg6 hxg6 14.Bh6 fxg2 15.Rh4 Ng4 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qxg2 Nh6 18.Nf3 Nf5 19.Rh2 Qd6 20.Ne5 Nd7 21.Ne4 Qc7 22.Rdh1
Black to move
Improvements for Black must be found before this position is reached. No matter what Black tries here, the aspiring player should have a clear plan of attack for White.
22...Rg8 23.Rh7+ Kf8 24.Rxf7+ Ke8 25.Qxg6 Nxe5 26.Rf8+ 1–0
http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2012/03/instructive-games-worthy-of-memorizing.html
It is said that Magnus Carlsen has over 1000 chess games memorized. What chess games are instructive to learn?
I'm quite an advanced player