The game below has been well-annotated all over the web, and I won’t presume to add anything. Just enjoy! The computer may point out faster wins, but who cares… A dashing demonstration of the power of multiple minor pieces over a Queen, and the vulnerability of an uncastled King.
Ding’s defensive obstinacy is well shown in this next game.
Wilhelm (or William) Steinitz was the first official World Chess Champion in 1886, when he beat Zukertort. He had probably been the best chess player in the world for a long time before then! Andersson was reckoned to be the best player before then, and Steinitz beat Andersson in a match in 1866. So he…
Fischer never defended his title, which passed to the winner of the Candidates’ matches, Anatoly Karpov, in 1975. Karpov was a worthy Champion, though, and his quiet, deft chess dominated the world of chess for a decade. Here are two games where he strangled strong opponents. Click […] to see list of games
Adolf Anderssen was the best player in the world for a lot of his life, but was never ‘World Champion’ because there was no official match or organisation to arrange an official match. But from the time he won the 1851 London Tournament (the first ever international chess tournament), he was recognised as being the…
Kasparov wasn’t just the best chessplayer of his time, he may have been the best of any time. Botvinnik used to say that he was [i]primus inter pares[/i], first among equals, but Kasparov wasn’t like that at all. His rating was a long way ahead of his rivals. And he didn’t like to win a…
Petrosian finally ended Botvinnik’s long reign at the top of world chess in 1963, and Botvinnik didn’t seek a re-match. Petrosian’s mature style was often hard to like — slow and safety-first — but easy to admire — very effective and often subtle. He was known for a ‘boa-constrictor’ approach, taking control of a game…
