Three Rook Sacs
Karpov was devastating in Linares 1994, and this is one of his games. He obtains the advantage in the opening, and slowly begins to creep toward black's king. Then comes a blaze of sacrfices, inculding three rook sacs!
A Tal Tale
In this game, Tal appears to be focused on the queenside, but after a mistake by his opponent, he switches to the kingside. The result is a brilliant tactical display followed by mate.
The Shifting Attack
Reshevsky keeps Nadjorf on the run in this game. After anchoring a kinght on d6, he then creates a queenside passed pawn. Next he stirs up a king-side attack. His poor opponent is left totally helpless. (notes & title by irving chernev) ...
Quiet, Like a Tiger
Botvinnik wins this game purely by the strength of his position. Control of the d-file, especially d5, enables him to penetrate. After going up a pawn, he simply trades down into a rook & pawn ending, which he wins in a breeze. (notes & ...
The Power of Position Play
Capablanca shows just how to make use of a slight advantage. A more active rook, a closer-situated king, it all adds up to the forced win of a pawn. And once he is a pawn ahead, the win is easy for him. (notes & title by irving chernev)
The Flash of a Mighty Surprise
Olafsson's play in this game is simple and elegant. He lures his opponent into winning the exchange, and then exploits the weaknesses he has left behind. When he obtains two connected passed pawns, their power is unstoppable.
Endgame Duel-Knight against Rook
A great game by Botvinnik, as he shows just how powerful a knight can be in the endgame. You have to notice his elegant sacrfice of the exchange, followed by his knight dancing rings around his opponent's rook. (notes & title by irving chern...
The King-Side Attack
From the 8th move onward in this game, Tarrasch maps out a plan that will decide the game. He pries open the g-file, and posts both of his rooks on it. Then he swings the queen over, which crushes the barriers. Finally von Scheve's king cannot hol...
Phalanx of Pawns
Petrosian knows how to make the most of a small advantage. He takes one, transforms it into another, and yet another. Eventually, his centralization allows him to start a flank attack with his pawns. After his rook manages to make it to the 7th ra...
Viktor the Terrible
The great Korchnoi had some dominating tournaments, including the 1962 USSR Championship. In this game, he crushes the great Tal with a deep strategy involving a king-march and two connected passed pawns.
A Well-Oiled Machine
Keres takes advantage of an opening slip by his opponent, and quickly mounts a kingside attack. With the help of a few rook sacrifces, the final breakthrough provides an elegant finish to a model game. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS FROM THE WORLD'S GREATEST...
Speculative Queen Sacs-2
A tense opening battle leads to a nice queen sacrifice by white, who proceeds to hunt down black's exposed king in the endgame. Black's extra queen is completely helpless to defend. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS FROM THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST...
Refuting a Line
Bronstein goes into a sharp and risky line of the Sicilian, somewhat provocative against Kholmov, who proceeds to try a daring pawn sacrifice. After a slip-up by his opponent, he then blows him away with a stream of tactics. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS FRO...
Speculative Queen Sacs-1
Normally when we think of a queen sacrfice, a dashing mate in 5 or a fabulous combination to win a rook comes to mind. But what if we sacrfice the queen just for some material and a chance for an advantage? Those are some of the most brilliant que...
The Long and Winding Road
This extremely brilliant game shows Kotov in his element as he sacrifices his queen and proceeds on a king-hunt lasting nearly 20 moves. He demonstrates why it is never good to let your guard down. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS FROM THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF THE WO...
Still Swinging
We all face lost positions, with seemingly no chance of saving the game. Therefore, why not counterattack? You have, of course, nothing to lose...
A Hundred Miles
Here we see the great Anthony Miles unleashing a fantastic new novelty that put an end to the opening variation. After the devastating blow, Beliavsky never gets back to level terms. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS FROM THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF THE WORLD'S GREAT...
Weird Enough?
Weird positions call for unusual moves! That's probably what Anand would tell you in this victory where he leaves en prise, among other things, his queen and bishop. By the way, this is my last article before I head off to Texas for a much-nee...
The Octopus Knight
In one of the critical games in this match, Kasparov repeats a daring gambit idea, knowing that Karpov's team has had over a week to prepare for it. The risk pays off, and his "octopus" knight on d3 prevents Karpov's pieces from ...
Captain Evans
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (1850-1908) was one of the greatest and most overlooked masters of all time. He challenged Steinitz to the world championship twice, in 1889 and 1892, but lost both times. Nevertheless, he was still one of the best playe...
You Just Gotta Believe
We've all dreamt of creating our own Mona Lisa, and GM Serper is no exception. Imagine sacrificing ALL 7 pieces of yours, while also queening two pawns, in the space of 48 moves! Then you'll be prepared for this game. By the way, this article put...
Attacking w/o the Queen
It always seems that whenever we lose our queen, our means to attack shut down, and none will succeed. But the truth is, some of the best attacks come with the queens gone and imagination at its highest rate. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS BY EDMAR MEDNIS.&nbs...
Eagle-Like Precision
The great Capablanca had the ability to dispose of strong opponents without any effort. After an opening mistake by Spielmann, his play afterwards is accurate to the most minute detail.
Sparks from AVRO
In this game, Botvinnik unleashes one of the most famous combinations in the history of chess, his victim being the mighty Capablanca. NOTE: ANNOTATIONS FROM THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST CHESS GAMES.