LaviChess

Anand's Immortal

World champion Viswanathan Anand remembers an old piece of home analysis, more or less. He sacrifices a pawn and pieces against Levon Aronian's king, and after 23 moves Aronian resigns.

  • WhiteLevon Aronian
  • BlackViswanathan Anand
  • WhereWijk aan Zee
  • WhenJanuary 15, 2013
  • EventTata Steel tournament, Group A, round 4
  • Result0–1, Black won
  • OpeningSemi-Slav Defense (D46)
  • Length23 moves

The 75th Tata Steel tournament was played in January 2013 in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. In round four, on January 15, world champion Viswanathan Anand had Black against Levon Aronian, who had the higher rating, 2802 to 2772.

Anand had prepared the opening the year before, for his world championship match against Boris Gelfand. “Of course this was our match preparation for Boris,” he said afterwards. He admitted that he did not remember every detail, and at one point he sat thinking for half an hour to recall them.

The players

Levon Aronian (born 1982) is from Yerevan in Armenia. He led Armenia to gold at the Chess Olympiad in 2006, 2008 and 2012 and has won the World Cup twice, in 2005 and 2017. Since 2021 he has played for the United States.

Viswanathan Anand (born 1969) from India had been world champion since 2007 and had defended the title three times, against Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov and Boris Gelfand. Later in 2013 he lost it to Magnus Carlsen.

Read more about Viswanathan Anand among the great chess players.

The game move by move

Step through with the arrows or tap a move. Moves with a dot have a comment.

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Levon Aronian has the white pieces, Viswanathan Anand the black.

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Open on the analysis board

Watch the game on the living board

Play like Anand

Guess the moves Anand played, one at a time. The move from the game earns two points, and a move Lavi thinks is about as good earns one. The other side's moves and the game's notes come as you go.

Play like AnandPlay like Aronian

The moments that decided it

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After 16…Nde5: Anand offers yet another piece to get at the king.
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After 19…f5: the move Anand was proudest of.
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After 23…Be3: Black threatens mate on h3, and Aronian resigns.

The end

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The final position after 23…Be3. White resigned after 23…Be3.

Why the game is famous

The game is often called Anand's Immortal, and Anand himself said afterwards that it was easily one of his best. He won it against Aronian, who had been a difficult opponent for him, and in only 23 moves.

The ideas recall another famous game, Rubinstein's Immortal from 1907: both times a black knight jumps to g4, and Black's bishops and queen take aim at the white king in the corner. It was not a world championship game, but it shows what a world champion can do with some old notes and half an hour's thought.

The whole game with notes, as text

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 With 2…c6 and 4…e6 it becomes the Semi-Slav Defense, a blend of the Slav Defense and the Queen's Gambit Declined. 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. Ng5 The knight aims at the pawn on h7. 12… c5 Black lets White take the pawn on h7 and strikes in the center instead. “Of course this was our match preparation for Boris,” said Anand. 13. Nxh7 Ng4 The knight jumps forward toward the white king. 14. f4 Here Anand could not remember the details of his analysis and thought for half an hour. 14… cxd4 15. exd4 Bc5 The bishop goes where the pawn on d4 can take it. If White takes it, the knight takes back, and then the queen comes in on d4 with check. 16. Be2 “Might be the mistake,” Anand said afterwards, and he was right: with 16.dxc5 White would have held up much better. 16… Nde5 Another piece is offered, now the knight. Anand said: “I only know that the position is supposed to be fine for black. I was only playing on that confidence.” 17. Bxg4 Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Nxg4 Black has won the piece back. The bishop on d4 and the knight on g4 stand close to the white king. 19. Nxf8 White takes the rook and is now a whole rook up. But the knight on f8 is far from its own king, and Anand does not bother to take it back. 19… f5 “This move I am very proud of,” said Anand. “To find it over the board is of course very nice.” The pawn cuts the white queen off from h7, where it could have helped in the defense. Now the black queen comes in via f6. 20. Ng6 Qf6 21. h3 Qxg6 Black takes the knight. White is still the exchange up, but Black's pieces are attacking the king. 22. Qe2 White cannot take the knight on g4. After 22.hxg4, Black mates with 22…Qh6#. 22… Qh5 23. Qd3 Anand said he saw no defense for White even after 23.Rf3, but that White could at least have reached a worse endgame. 23… Be3 Aronian resigned. The bishop on e3 blocks the queen's path along the third rank, and now 24…Qxh3# is threatened: the pawn on g2 cannot take, because the bishop on b7 pins it to the king.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Tata Steel tournament, Group A, round 4"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2013.01.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Levon Aronian"]
[Black "Viswanathan Anand"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D46"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. Ng5 c5 13. Nxh7 Ng4 14. f4 cxd4 15. exd4 Bc5 16. Be2 Nde5 17. Bxg4 Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Nxg4 19. Nxf8 f5 20. Ng6 Qf6 21. h3 Qxg6 22. Qe2 Qh5 23. Qd3 Be3 0-1

Download .pgn

Sources

  • The Week in Chess: Anand crushes Aronian (round 4, with Anand's comments)
  • Wikipedia: Anand's Immortal
  • PGN Mentor, Anand.pgn
  • Wikipedia: Levon Aronian

The moves compared in three sources (The Week in Chess, Wikipedia, PGN Mentor): identical, 46 half-moves. Aronian resigned after 23…Be3. The date and round from The Week in Chess and PGN Mentor. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 14, 2026