Lessons

The 10 Best Chess Games Of The 2010s

NM Sam Copeland

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Are these the 10 best games of the last decade?

NM Sam Copeland has picked the 10 best games of recent decades. Take a look at his picks for 2010s and learn from the greatest games of recent years!

Learn from the play of geniuses like Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik and more!
See how AlphaZero changed modern chess.
Check out this top 10 list and let us know of any that Sam missed.

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Alireza Firouzja's Game Of The 21st Century–Firouzja vs Zarkovic 2019

Many people think that GM Alireza Firouzja will be the next World Champion. He played his first brilliancies in the 2010s including this astounding game, with numerous sacrifices to blow his opponent away. Take a look at NM Sam Copeland's pick for the #10 game of the 2010s.

13 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Magnus Carlsen's Most Spectacular Defeat–Aronian vs Carlsen 2017

World Champion Magnus Carlsen rarely loses a game. One of those losses came against the Levon Aronian in Norway in 2017. Check out NM Sam Copeland's #9 game of the 2010s.

16 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Ding Liren's Immortal Game–Bai Jinshi vs Ding Liren 2017

GM Ding Liren reached the number two spot in the rating list in the 2010s. He played one of the prettiest games of the decade in the 2017 Chinese League. Check out NM Sam Copeland's pick for the #8 game of the decade.

13 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Most Ridiculous, Castling Move, Ever!–Dubov vs Giri 2019

GM Daniil Dubov is still getting better, but he first rose to the top in the 2010s, winning several amazing games. Check out this shocking victory against GM Anish Giri, NM Sam Copeland's #7 game of the decade.

14 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Hikaru Nakamura's Best King's Indian Victory–Gelfand vs Nakamura 2010

Hikaru Nakamura rose to prominence in the 2010s, reaching as high as the second spot in the world ranking. Check out one of his greatest attacking achievements, a King's Indian against GM Boris Gelfand, NM Copeland's #6 game of the decade

13 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Magnus Carlsen's Perfect Chess Grind–Carlsen vs Karjakin 2013

World Champion Magnus Carlsen rose to the top by grinding out wins from nearly even positions. The perfect example was his 92 move victory over his future title challenger Sergey Karjakin. Check out NM Sam Copeland's #5 game of the 2010s.

21 min

3 Challenges

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Vladimir Kramnik's No Castling Chess Attack–Aronian vs Kramnik 2018

World Champion Kramnik popularized the Berlin Defense as a way to reach an early endgame. However, in the 2018 Candidates tournament, Kramnik demonstrated that the Berlin can lead to amazing attacks as well. Check out NM Sam Copeland's pick for the #4 game of the decade.

15 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: A New Kind Of Chess–AlphaZero vs Stockfish 2017

In 2017 the engine, AlphaZero, shocked the chess world with a whole new type of engine chess. Check out this amazing highlight from AlhpaZero's first match. NM Copeland's #3 game of the decade.

15 min

2 Challenges

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Wei Yi's Quiet Move Immortal–Wei Yi vs Bruzon 2015

It's not often that a chess game earns the monicker "Immortal." Young Wei Yi did it with his "Quiet Move Immortal" where he sacrificed a rook to set off a long king hunt, Check out NM Copeland's #2 game of the decade.

19 min

1 Challenge

Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Anand's Immortal Chess Game–Aronian vs Anand 2013

NM Sam Copeland thinks that Anand's brilliant win against Levon Aronian in 2013 was the best game of the 2010s. Check it out and let us know if you agree.

19 min

1 Challenge

The 10 Best Chess Games Of The 2010s

: Master Games
: Mastery
: Strategy

Middlegame

Attacking

Attacking the King
: 10 Lessons
: 158 Minutes
: 13 Challenges
: Released January 19, 2021
: 4,146 Students