LaviChess

Kasparov's Immortal

Garry Kasparov sacrifices a rook and chases Veselin Topalov's king from the queenside all the way down to White's first rank. The game is counted as a masterpiece.

  • WhiteGarry Kasparov
  • BlackVeselin Topalov
  • WhereWijk aan Zee
  • WhenJanuary 20, 1999
  • EventHoogovens, Wijk aan Zee, round 4
  • Result1–0, White won
  • OpeningPirc Defense (B07)
  • Length44 moves

In January 1999, the 61st Hoogovens tournament was held in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. Garry Kasparov, the world number one, won with 10 points, half a point ahead of Viswanathan Anand, and called it “by far the best tournament in my life.”

In the fourth round, on January 20, he faced the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov. Topalov answered 1.e4 with 1…d6, and the game reached a position Kasparov had never had on the board in a classical game.

The players

Garry Kasparov (born 1963) was world champion from 1985 to 2000 and was ranked the world's best player for a record 255 months. The year of this game he reached a rating of 2851, the highest anyone had had until 2013.

Veselin Topalov (born 1975) from Bulgaria was 23. He later became FIDE world champion in 2005 and played a world championship match against Viswanathan Anand in 2010.

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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Garry Kasparov has the white pieces, Veselin Topalov the black.

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Open on the analysis board

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Play like Kasparov

Guess the moves Kasparov 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 KasparovPlay like Topalov

The moments that decided it

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After 24.Rxd4: the rook sacrifice that starts it all.
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After 35…Kd1: the black king has wandered from the queenside down to White's first rank.
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After 37.Rd7: the rook pins Black's rook, and White wins the queen.

The end

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The final position after 44.Qa7. Black resigned after 44.Qa7.

Why the game is famous

The game is called Kasparov's Immortal, after Anderssen's Immortal Game of 1851. It is counted as a masterpiece, and Chess.com has listed it as the best chess game ever played.

What makes the game special is how long the sacrifice takes to pay off. Kasparov gave up the rook on move 24 and got the material back only after a king hunt across the whole board, with quiet moves like 36.Bf1 and 37.Rd7 in the middle of the storm. After the game, Topalov sat for hours with his second, Silvio Danailov, looking for a defense.

The whole game with notes, as text

1. e4 d6 An unusual reply from Topalov. It becomes a Pirc Defense, a position Kasparov had never met in a classical game. 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 The setup looks like a King's Indian Defense, but White's c-pawn is still on c2. 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 Topalov plays flexibly and waits to see what White wants. 6. f3 b5 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 The queen on h6 makes it hard for Black to castle kingside. 9… Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 The king goes to a safer square and leaves c1 for the knight. 12… a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14. Nb3 exd4 Black opens the position. 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6 17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 The bishop has no targets on h3, and the move gives Black the chance to break in the center. 19.Qf4 would have been better. 19… d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 22. Nd5 If Black takes with 22…Nfxd5, White wins a piece after 23.exd5 Qd6 24.Qxf7+. 22… Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 Now the fireworks begin. Kasparov sacrifices a rook. 24… cxd4 Topalov takes the rook. He has said that he found the sacrifice “very interesting,” but years later he called his decision to accept it “suicide.” With 24…Kb6 Black would have done better, but then the game would largely have been forgotten. 25. Re7+ Another rook left to be taken. If Black takes with 25…Qxe7, then 26.Qxd4+ follows, and mate. 25… Kb6 26. Qxd4+ Now the knight on a5 is sacrificed, and the king is drawn out into the open. 26… Kxa5 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 The commentator Lubomir Kavalek was the first to show that 28.Ra7 would have been even stronger. 28… Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7 Qc4 Black forces White's queen away for a moment. If Black takes the rook with 30…Qxb7 instead, it is mate with 31.Qb3#. 31. Qxf6 Kxa3 The king takes the pawn to stop 32.Qxa6#. With 31…Rd1+ Black would have had better chances of holding a draw. 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ Kxc3 34. Qa1+ Kd2 35. Qb2+ Kd1 White has checked the king all the way down to White's own first rank. 36. Bf1 A quiet move in the middle of the hunt. If Black takes the bishop with the queen, 36…Qxf1, White mates after 37.Qc2+. 36… Rd2 37. Rd7 The rook pins Black's rook on the d-file, so White can take the queen without losing his own, and White also threatens Qxd2#. 37… Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8 White has a queen against a rook and a pawn and should win easily. 39… Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 Topalov resigned. Kasparov has said that the audience in the hall applauded.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Hoogovens, Wijk aan Zee, round 4"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Garry Kasparov"]
[Black "Veselin Topalov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 b5 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6 17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Re7+ Kb6 26. Qxd4+ Kxa5 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7 Qc4 31. Qxf6 Kxa3 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ Kxc3 34. Qa1+ Kd2 35. Qb2+ Kd1 36. Bf1 Rd2 37. Rd7 Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 1-0

Download .pgn

Sources

  • Chessgames.com, Kasparov–Topalov 1999
  • Wikipedia: Kasparov's Immortal
  • PGN Mentor, Kasparov.pgn

The moves compared in three sources (Chessgames, Wikipedia, PGN Mentor): identical, 87 half-moves. Topalov resigned after 44.Qa7. The date and round from Chessgames and PGN Mentor. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 6, 2026