10 Chess Games That Made History

We've played a lot of chess throughout history. Chess players partake in millions of chess games every day in bullet chess alone. Still, some games have stood the test of time for their brilliant application of chess theory. Here are 10 chess games that made history.

1. The Game of The Century

None other than IM Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer produced the infamous Game of the Century in 1956 at the famous Marshall Chess Club in New York City. Bobby Fischer was just 13 years old when he gave a mesmerizing performance playing with the black pieces.

Fischer sacks his queen on move 17, followed by a windmill attack that trades his queen for a rook, two bishops, and a pawn with superior piece activity.

Despite his age at the time, the Game of the Century is regarded as one of Bobby Fischer's finest games. Fischer would win the U.S. Championship just a year later and would become a grandmaster at age 15. He would become one of the most influential chess players in history.

Oddly enough, Fischer's Game of the Century is not one included in his classic book, My 60 Memorable Games. 

2. The Opera Game

The Opera Game is one of the most well-known games in history, renowned for its educational value. It's used to demonstrate piece development, chess strategy, and other critical concepts for chess players to learn. 

Paul Morphy faced off against two amateurs with high social status in an Opera House in Paris while a performance was taking place.

Morphy finishes off the game by sacrificing his queen to welcome a mating pattern that is now called the "opera mate."

3. Deep Blue Defeats Kasparov: Game 6 in the 1997 Rematch

This is probably the single most famous chess match, according to non-chess players. Deep Blue, IBM's programmed creation, took on reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a battle of humanity vs AI.

Kasparov narrowly secured victory against Deep Blue in the 1996 battle, but in 1997, Deep Blue would defeat Kasparov, with a score of 3.5 to 2.5.

It all came down to game 6, where Deep Blue sacrificed a knight on move 8 and beat Kasparov in 19 moves.

It was the first time a computer was strong enough to beat a world champion, marking a turning point for chess engines. Today, we know that chess engines will only continue to be stronger. Top engines' ELO now surpass 3600, making the highest rating ever achieved by a human, 2880 by Magnus Carlsen, look puny in comparison.

We know how dramatic the difference is between, say, a 2400-rated player and Magnus Carlson. But we can't even comprehend how much better AI is at chess. The question we must now wonder is: how much stronger can AI become?

4. Karpov vs. Kasparov, Game 16 of 1985 World Championship

The Karpov vs. Kasparov rematch followed the 1984 match, which ended up being cancelled. No winner was found after 48 games in 5 months, leaving Karpov as the de facto champion. Now the World Chess Championship match was set at best of 24 games to prevent an endless battle.

The first ten movies of this game were identical to those from game 12 of the same match. Kasparov had analyzed the position intensely beforehand. Kasparov would have an "octopus knight" on the board so bothersome that Karpov would sack his queen to be rid of it.

Despite that, he maintains that even after the trade, Karpov's ill-coordinated pieces led him to resign after move 40.

Chess Informant readers declared this game the best chess game of the first 64 issues.

5. The Immortal Game

The Immortal Game was played between Adolf Anderssen, with the white pieces, and Lionel Kieseritzky, with the black pieces, at the first international tournament in London in 1851. 

This game features the King's Gambit accepted opening, followed by white's tactical dominance on the board, including a double rook sack, followed by a forced checkmate pattern that involves… you guessed it… sacking the queen on move 21.

Now, whenever a renowned chess player has a particularly dominant, masterful performance on the board, it's often called their Immortal Game.

6. Capablanca vs. Marshall: The Birth of the Marshall Attack

In New York in 1918, José Raúl Capablanca played with the white pieces against Frank Marshall. The game featured what is now known as the Marshall Attack, a line in the Ruy Lopez opening that is associated with Marshall's aggressive play. Marshall ended up losing the game thanks to Capablanca's strong defensive play. Still, the Marshall Attack is now enshrined as a critical line of study in the Ruy Lopez opening.

7. Magnus Carlsen vs. Ian Nepomniachtchi: Game 6 of 2021 World Chess Championship

Game 6 of the 2021 World Chess Championship was record-shattering, the longest World Chess Championship game by number of moves. It took 136 moves for Magnus Carlsen to finally secure the victory against Nepo. The entire game was played for 7 hours and 45 minutes.

The duo played a largely drawn endgame until Magnus finally put Nepo into a position where he had a hard-to-find, safe move. He missed it, and at move 130, he finally lost the battle. The game reminds us why Magnus was known as the greatest endgame player of all time before he was known as the greatest player of all time.

8. Timur Gareyev's World Record for Blindfold Simultaneous Exhibition

While it may not technically be a single game, Timur Gareyev, the blindfold king, made history in chess. He played a historic simultaneous exhibition in 2016, setting the world record for the most simultaneous blindfold games. Gareyev ended this simul with 35 wins, seven draws, and six losses.

To meet the Guinness World Records criteria, Gareyev needed to fulfill specific requirements. He needed to:

• Get a score of at least 80 percent
• start all his games at the same time and
• play opponents of decent strength.

His opponents' average score was around 1700. And with a score 80.2%, Gareyev met the requirements to achieve the world record.

9. Game 6 of the Match of the Century

One of the most renowned games in chess history was Game 6 of Bobby Fischer's World Chess Championship match against Boris Spassky in 1972. Fischer surprised his opponent by playing c4 instead of e4 for his first move, which transposed to the Queen's Gambit. 

Fischer would strike at the center of the board and follow up with a crushing attack. Spassky joined along with the audience in applauding Fischer's win. The World Chess Championship of 1972 would go down in history as the Match of the Century.

10. Anand vs. Aronian: Anand's Immortal Game

Viswanathan Anand vs. Levon Aronian at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in 2013 would go down as one of his Immortal Games. Playing as black in a Semi-Slav opening, Anand combines a dazzling chess strategy, featuring a series of sacrifices and mate threats until Aronian resigns at move 23.

FAQ: 10 Chess Games That Made History