A game of chess is a story that can be retold exactly, move by move, a hundred years later. That is why we take the moves very seriously: every game here comes from at least two sources, compared move by move and checked against the rules of chess before it is shown. The sources are listed at the bottom of each page.
1851 · London
The Immortal Game
Adolf Anderssen – Lionel Kieseritzky
Anderssen sacrifices both rooks and his queen. One of the most famous games in chess.
1852 · probably Berlin
The Evergreen Game
Adolf Anderssen – Jean Dufresne
Evans Gambit, a queen sacrifice and a double check. Anderssen's second masterpiece.
1858 · Paris, Salle Ventadour
The Opera Game
Paul Morphy – the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard
Morphy in an opera box. Development, sacrifices and mate in seventeen moves.
1895 · Hastings
Steinitz vs. von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895
Wilhelm Steinitz – Curt von Bardeleben
Four pieces left hanging, and a rook that can't be taken. Black walked out.
1907 · Łódź
Rubinstein's Immortal
Gersz Rotlewi – Akiba Rubinstein
The queen and a rook are sacrificed. Two bishops decide.
1910 · Vienna
Réti's miniature
Richard Réti – Savielly Tartakower
Queen sacrifice and double check: caught out in ten moves.
1912 · Breslau (today Wrocław)
The Gold Coins Game
Stepan Levitsky – Frank Marshall
The queen can be taken three ways. Levitsky resigned anyway.
1912 · London
The king hunt in London
Edward Lasker – George Alan Thomas
Queen sacrifice and king hunt: the black king walks all the way to g1.
1918 · New York
Capablanca vs. Marshall, New York 1918
José Raúl Capablanca – Frank Marshall
Marshall attacks with everything he has. Capablanca defends and wins.
1923 · Copenhagen
The Immortal Zugzwang Game
Friedrich Sämisch – Aron Nimzowitsch
A quiet pawn move, and White has no good move left.
1938 · Rotterdam
Botvinnik vs. Capablanca, AVRO 1938
Mikhail Botvinnik – José Raúl Capablanca
The passed pawn on e6 and two sacrifices decide.
1955 · Gothenburg
The Göteborg Variation
Efim Geller – Oscar Panno
Three Argentines, the same line, three losses. Chess history in Gothenburg.
1956 · Marshall Chess Club, New York
The Game of the Century
Donald Byrne – Bobby Fischer
Thirteen-year-old Fischer sacrifices his queen against one of America's leading masters.
1972 · Reykjavik
Fischer vs. Spassky, Game 6
Bobby Fischer – Boris Spassky
Fischer switches openings and plays it perfectly. Spassky applauds.
1985 · Moscow
Karpov vs. Kasparov, Game 16
Anatoly Karpov – Garry Kasparov
The knight on d3 paralyzes White for eighteen moves.
1991 · Tilburg
The king walk in Tilburg
Nigel Short – Jan Timman
The king walks from g1 to g5 in the middle of the game. Black can't stop the mate.
1997 · New York
Deep Blue vs. Kasparov, Game 6
Deep Blue – Garry Kasparov
19 moves that made history: the computer beats the world champion.
1999 · Wijk aan Zee
Kasparov's Immortal
Garry Kasparov – Veselin Topalov
The rook sacrifice 24.Rxd4 and a king hunt across the whole board.
2002 · Moscow
Judit Polgár vs. Kasparov
Judit Polgár – Garry Kasparov
The first time a woman beat the world number one in a competitive game.
2016 · New York
Carlsen vs. Karjakin, 2016 World Championship
Magnus Carlsen – Sergey Karjakin
A queen sacrifice as the last move of a world championship match. Both ways of taking it lead to mate.
2024 · Singapore
Ding vs. Gukesh, 2024 World Championship, Game 14
Ding Liren – Gukesh D
A rook trade in a drawn endgame decides the world championship.
Play yourself
Every game you play on LaviChess also gets a page of its own with the moves, the final position and a link you can share. Maybe your next game will become a family classic.
Updated November 6, 2026