NN's Most Memorable Games

Hey guys! Today we’re going to cover some of NN’s most memorable games! Now, most of you will recognize NN as the name of the mysterious figure who's been playing players at all levels ― from World Champions to amateurs ― for centuries! NN, whose full name is No Name, is the immortal ― or at least incredibly long-living ― figure pictured in the thumbnail.

NN’s first known game was played against Pedro Damiano, in 1497. Pedro Damiano’s  ironic legacy is having the awful Damiano Defense (e4 e5 Nf3 f6?) named after him, even after he published an article refuting it! Just imagine telling people why an opening is bad, only for them to associate you with that opening! It would be like if Ben Finegold had the Barnes Opening named after him! (For context, Ben Finegold is always telling people not to play f3 or f6, and the Barnes Opening is 1.f3.) 

Anyways, sorry for the digression, and let’s get into the game! It's a very romantic game that is the typical style of NN’s early games, but unfortunately for NN, he lost most of those games.

Can you find Damiano’s fun finish?

This game is a very instructive lesson on why the fairly natural looking 3.Nxe4 is bad in the Petrov’s Defense. Unfortunately, NN was unaware of this, and got disposed of in a tragic, yet entertaining fashion.

For my second game analysis, I’ll highlight a game played in the year 1620 against  NN’s most brutal opponent, Gioachino Greco, one of the greatest chess geniuses ever. Greco dominated the chess world during the 17th century, playing incredible games that are still very instructive to this day, although he had  practically no opening knowledge to help him! Unfortunately, Greco proved to be NN’s superior in every game they played, with a 79-0 lifetime score!

After Greco played his signature gambit, in his typical fashion, he sacrificed a full rook and two pawns for excellent compensation. Can you find the knockout blow?

What a game! Not the most complex, but it was still a great attack nonetheless. Let me know if you were able to solve the puzzle. If so, congrats on your tactical awareness! Let’s move onto the next game; we should not enjoy poor NN’s humiliation so much. 

The next game we will cover is NN’s first known win, which occurred against the famous Francois Philidor ― known for the Philidor Defense, (e4 e5 Nf3 d6) ― which was very popular throughout the 19th century. However, this opening has lost popularity over time, because it is considered to be a passive line, as the dark squared bishop is blocked in by the d6 pawn.

NN played an excellent game! Philidor looked like he would win a very romantic game, but NN defended well, and used the passed pawns to propel to victory! This shows that although a piece is typically better than 3 pawns in a middlegame, you shouldn’t get complacent, because those pawns will give you an incredibly hard time in an endgame.

The game against Philidor was not an isolated incident either. Although NN has lost most of his games, he still has had incredible moments, even against the best of the best, such as in this game in 1908, where he beat reigning world champion Lasker in a simultaneous exhibition game! 

It was by no means a perfect game, but it was a miniature against Lasker, and you can’t ask for much more! It goes to show how you can never underestimate your opponents, even if you’re a world champion ― which, if you’re reading this, I seriously doubt. But if Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, or Magnus are reading this, then hello! I’m glad that you know that I exist, and I hope that you’re enjoying yourself! 

This last pair of games are probably NN’s greatest achievement, and an accomplishment that many grandmasters haven’t achieved. In 1998, when he was still world champion, Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest player ever, played a 2 game, 5|0 match against the legendary NN on ICC, and lost both games.

That was amazing! Defending a kingside attack from Kasparov, then organizing a successful counterattack, and calmly defending his counterplay. A game us mortals can only dream of!

Yes, it was a dirty flag, but I’m almost certain that every viewer of this post would not survive for so long against Kasparov, let alone manage their time better the whole time, so I tip my hat to Mr. NN for this amazing feat.

I hope that you enjoyed reading about some of NN’s highs and lows; please comment saying which game was your favorite. Thank you, and I’ll see you next time!