- Paris 1900
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As early as 1851, master chess tournaments had been organized to be played during World's Fairs and Exhibitions. The cities that hosted many of these tournaments that later become famous for their strength and importance included London in 1851 and 1862, Vienna in 1873, and Philadelphia in 1876, but it was Paris that hosted the most, with three tournaments during three Exhibitions, in 1867, 1878, and finally in 1900. This last Exhibition proved to be the final time that an international chess tournament would be organized, after two World Fairs had already been held without chess tournaments, in Paris in 1889 and in Chicago in 1893. The tournament of Paris in 1900 was held from May 17th until June 20th in the Grand Cercle. A significant portion of Paris was used for the World's Fair as the first Metro line was connected to the exhibition area. Among the participants to the tournament were the World Champion Emanuel Lasker, winner of Hastings 1895 Harry Nelson Pillsbury, and James Mason who won the World's Fair tournament in Philadelphia twenty-four years earlier. This tournament also marked the international debut of the American chess master Frank James Marshall. The time control for the tournament was 30 moves in two hours, followed by 15 moves in one hour. Every draw had to be replayed once with the chess masters switching colors and the result of the replayed game standing as the final score of the encounter, win, lose, or draw. Two consultation games were also played as a special event of the tournament. One game decided by forfeit, Miklos Brody's first round loss to Amos Burn, is not included in this collection. Lasker triumphed in one of his greatest tournament victories, drawing quickly against Mikhail Chigorin in the final round to secure first place and losing only one game to the twenty-four year old Marshall. Marshall enjoyed great success at Paris with a shared third with Geza Maróczy behind second place Pillsbury, and he would go on to challenge Lasker for the world title seven years later. Lasker collected 5000 Francs for his win, and the following seven places earned cash prizes as well, though Carl Schlechter was denied one since he scored less wins than either Georg Marco and Jacques Mieses. The top four places also received Sèvres vases, which was a tradition from prize ceremonies during Paris 1867 and 1878, a tradition which sadly ended with this, the last of the World's Fair tournaments. The final standings and crosstable:
1st Lasker 14½/16 * 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2nd Pillsbury 12½/16 0 * 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 =3rd Marshall 12/16 1 1 * 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 =3rd Maróczy 12/16 0 0 1 * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5th Burn 11/16 0 1 0 1 * 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6th Chigorin 10½/16 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 =7th Schlechter 10/16 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 =7th Marco 10/16 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 * 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 =7th Mieses 10/16 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 * 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 =10th Showalter 9/16 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 * 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 =10th Janowski 9/16 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 * 1 1 1 1 1 1 12th Mason 4½/16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 * 1 0 1 1 1 13th Brody 4/16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1 1 1 14th Rosen 3/16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 * 0 1 1 15th Mortimer 2/16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 0 1 =16th Sterling 1/16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 0 =16th Didier 1/16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 *
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164 games, 1900 - Paul Keres beats nine world champions
Keres, though never himself champion, defeated nine other world champions in tournament play. He is the only player in history to have done this (so far). When Keres won multiple games against a champion, his first victory is given.
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9 games, 1937-1959 - Petrosian Victories Playing French w/Black
8 games, 1950-1979 - Salzburg 1942
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During World War II, Nazi Germany organized several chess tournaments played in German and occupied cities, such as Munich and Prague. The strongest and most famous of these Nazi organized tournaments was played in Salzburg, Austria in the summer of 1942. The original line up of players for the tournament included then-current world champion Alexander Alekhine, former world champion Max Euwe, potential challenger Paul Keres, former challenger Efim Bogoljubov, German champion Paul Felix Schmidt, and Gosta Stoltz, winner of the Munich tournament in 1941. It was the strongest line up of players possible from Germany and the occupied territories, but it was not to be realized as Max Euwe declined to attend, citing poor health. Erhardt Post, the main organizer of the event, replaced Euwe with eighteen year old Klaus Junge, the winner of the silver medal during the previous year's German championship. The tournament was held at Mirabell Palace, situated near Berchtsgaden, which was Hitler's summer residence. Games were played from June 9th to the 18th and started promptly at 9am each day. Players had two hours to play the first thirty-two moves followed by an hour for every sixteen moves. Despite a first half lead of the field, Bogoljubov fell apart after his loss to Alekhine in round six and proceeded to lose all his remaining games. Alekhine emerged triumphant with an impressive score of seven and a half points out of ten, a full point and a half ahead of second place Keres. The final standings and crosstable:
1st Alekhine 7½/10 ** 11 01 11 01 ½1
2nd Keres 6/10 00 ** 1½ ½½ ½1 11
=3rd Junge 5/10 10 0½ ** ½½ 01 ½1
=3rd Schmidt 5/10 00 ½½ ½½ ** 01 11
5th Bogoljubov 3½/10 10 ½0 10 10 ** 00
6th Stoltz 3/10 ½0 00 ½0 00 11 **
*Thanks to <Benzol> for his help putting the finishing touches on this game collection.
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30 games, 1942 - San Antonio 1972
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In 1972, while the world's gaze was fixed on Iceland, a company in America had plans to generate publicity for itself through the chess world. Church's Fried Chicken, a restaurant chain in the United States, organized an international tournament to be held in San Antonio, Texas. European and Soviet grandmasters were pitted against grandmasters and masters from the Americas in a round robin format. The sixteen participants were (in order of ELO): Tigran Petrosian (2645), Lajos Portisch (2640), Anatoli Karpov (2630), Bent Larsen (2625), Vlastimil Hort (2600), Paul Keres (2600), Svetozar Gligoric (2575), Henrique Mecking (2570), Larry Evans (2545), Walter Shawn Browne (2530), Donald Byrne (2470), Julio Kaplan (2470), Duncan Suttles (2470), Dr. Anthony Saidy (2425), Ken Smith (2395), and Mario Campos Lopez (2200). The tournament ended with a trifecta finish, with the top three seeds sharing first place. The finals standings and crosstable are as follows: 01 Portisch 10.5/15 * ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 02 Petrosian 10.5/15 ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 03 Karpov 10.5/15 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 04 Gligoric 10/15 1 0 0 * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 05 Keres 9.5/15 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 06 Hort 9/15 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 07 Suttles 9/15 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 08 Mecking 8.5/15 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 09 Larsen 8.5/15 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 * 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 10 Byrne 7/15 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 11 Evans 6.5/15 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 * ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 12 Browne 6.5/15 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ * 1 0 0 1 13 Kaplan 5/15 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 * 1 ½ 0 14 Campos Lopez 3.5/15 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 * 1 ½ 15 Saidy 3.5/15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 * 1 16 Smith 2/15 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 *
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119 games, 1972 - San Remo 1930
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From January 16th to February 4th, 1930, sixteen chess masters from Europe and the Americas, including the World Champion, gathered in San Remo, Italy to play at the famous casino's first ever international tournament. The participants of the round robin were Alexander Alekhine, Aron Nimzowitsch, Efim Bogoljubov, Akiba Rubinstein, Rudolph Spielmann, Savielly Tartakower, Geza Maroczy, Milan Vidmar, Edgar Colle, Hans Kmoch, Frederick D. Yates, Karl Ahues, Roberto Grau, Mario Monticelli, Massimiliano Romi, and Jose Joaquin Araiza-Munoz. Alekhine dominated the entire field with an unbelievable score of 14/15, scoring 3½ points better than second place Nimzowitsch, and winning the grand prize of 10,000 liras. The final standings and crosstable:
1st Alekhine 14/15 * 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2nd Nimzowitsch 10½/15 0 * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 3rd Rubinstein 10/15 0 1 * 0 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 4th Bogoljubov 9½/15 ½ 0 1 * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 5th Yates 9/15 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 6th Ahues 8½/15 0 0 ½ 1 ½ * 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 =7th Spielmann 8/15 ½ ½ 1 0 0 0 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 0 =7th Vidmar 8/15 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 =9th Maroczy 7½/15 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 =9th Tartakower 7½/15 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ * 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 =11th Colle 6½/15 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 ½ 1 * 0 ½ 1 0 ½ =11th Kmoch 6½/15 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 * ½ 0 1 1 6.5 13th Araiza-Munoz 4½/15 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 14th Monticelli 4/15 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ * ½ ½ 15th Grau 3½/15 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ * ½ 16th Romi 2½/15 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ *
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120 games, 1930 - San Sebastian 1911
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In the early spring of 1911, fifteen chess masters were invited to the seaside town of San Sebastian, Spain to compete in a round robin tournament. Each player was invited based on a previous tournament result. Every participant had won either first or second place in a chess master tournament, or two or more fourth place prizes. The turnout was a veritable who's who of chess mastery: Established masters such as Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank James Marshall, Carl Schlechter, Geza Maroczy, David Janowski, and Amos Burn, and newer stars like Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch, and Rudolph Spielmann were all in attendance. The tournament also marked the European debut of Jose Raul Capablanca, who had garnered fame for defeating Marshall in a match. The only noticeable absence was the world champion, Emanuel Lasker. As a result of this method of invitation, this tournament is often considered to be one of the strongest held in chess history. Games were played in the Gran Casino from February 19th to March 17th. The time control for the tournament stipulated that fifteen moves must be played each hour. Initially, Ossip Bernstein had objected to Jacques Mieses, the tournament organizer, about Capablanca's inclusion in the tournament based on one match victory. Capablanca proved himself first by defeating Bernstein in the first round, silencing his protests for the rest of the tournament. He then went on admirably to win clear first in the tournament, taking home the 5000 Franc prize, as well as winning the brilliancy prize. Rubinstein and Dr. Milan Vidmar shared second place behind Capablanca, while Marshall took clear fourth. The tournament was a landmark both in its strength and in heralding the arrival of Capablanca, a superb tournament player with a long career of victories ahead as well as becoming future world champion. The Final Standings and Crosstable:
1st Capablanca 9½/14 * 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 =2nd Rubinstein 9/14 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 =2nd Vidmar 9/14 ½ ½ * 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 4th Marshall 8½/14 ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 =5th Tarrasch 7½/14 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ =5th Schlechter 7½/14 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ =5th Nimzowitsch 7½/14 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 =8th Bernstein 7/14 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ * 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 0 =8th Spielmann 7/14 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 10th Teichmann 6½/14 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 =11th Maroczy 6/14 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 0 =11th Janowski 6/14 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 * 1 1 1 =13th Burn 5/14 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 * 0 ½ =13th Duras 5/14 ½ 0 0 1 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 * ½ 15th Leonhardt 4/14 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ *
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105 games, 1911 - Second Piatigorsky Cup 1966
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NOTE : This collection has now been superceded by Second Piatigorsky Cup (1966) The collection is based on <matey>'s Game Collection: Second Piatigorsky Cup 1966 However, a number of omissions and errors in that collection meant that it was unsuitable directly for conversion to an historic tournament, hence this collection. I would like to thank <matey> for his original contribution in getting the ball rolling on the project. table[
1. Spassky * * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1
2. Fischer 0 ½ * * 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1
3. Larsen ½ 0 1 0 * * 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 0
4. Portisch ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ * * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1
5. Unzicker 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ * * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
6. Petrosian ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1
7. Reshevsky ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½
8. Najdorf ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 * * 1 ½ ½ 1
9. Ivkov 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * * ½ 1
10. Donner ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 * *]table
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90 games, 1966 - Selected Games of Lajos Portisch
101 games, 1956-1999 - Shirov Gives French Lessons
I am challenged as white by the French Defense. I am hoping to find an answer in Shirov's games. This collection is culled from this list goo.gl/X7BKsH ..
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58 games, 1983-2017 - Sicilian Najdorf
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
click for larger viewA)
6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 (12.Rg1 Nb6 Caruana vs Vachier-Lagrave, 2014) b4 13.Ne2 Ne8
click for larger view14.f4 a5 15.f5
15...a4 16.Nbd4 (16.fxe6 axb3 17.cxb3 (17.exf7+ Rxf7 18.Kb1 (18.cxb3 D Mastrovasilis vs Mamedyarov, 2005) H Wang vs J Zhou, 2006) fxe6 Caruana vs Gelfand, 2013, Tinker vs Deuterium, 2010) exd4 17.Nxd4
17...b3 18.Kb1 bxc2 19.Nxc2 Bb3 20.axb3 axb3 21.Na3 Ne5 22.h4
22...Ra5 Karjakin vs Anand, 2006, E Najer vs V Popov, 2006
22...Ra4! Svidler vs Van Wely, 2008, Shirov vs Van Wely, 2007, E Inarkiev vs S Sjugirov, 2009, Wei Yi vs I Cheparinov, 2013 15...Bxb3 Nijboer vs A Volokitin, 2008, T Hillarp Persson vs H Wang, 2008, Svidler vs X Bu, 2008, N Grandelius vs N Zdebskaja, 2009 14.h4 a5 15.Kb1 Nb6 (15...a4 16.Nc1 b3 17.cxb3 axb3 18.Nxb3 Rxa2 L Danek vs W Stern, 2002, Sutovsky vs F Amonatov, 2005) 16.Ng3 a4 17.Nc1 d5 18.Bxb6 Qxb6 19.exd5 Rd8 20.Bc4 Nc7 21.dxe6 Rxd2 22.exf7+ Kh8 23.Rxd2 Nb5 24.Bxb5 Qxb5 25.Nf5 Rxf7 26.Nxe7 Rxe7 27.Rd8+ Rd8 28.Rhd8 Rg8 29.g3 h3 Karjakin vs Anand, 2007 14.Kb1 Svidler vs F Vallejo Pons, 2004 B)
6.Be2 e5
click for larger view7.Nb3 Be7
8.0-0 0-0 9.Kh1 b6 10.f3 Bb7 11.a4 Nc6 12.Bg5 Rc8 8.Be3 Be6
9.0-0
9...0-0
10.Qd2 Nbd7 11.a4 Rc8 (11...Nb6 Leko vs Shirov, 2002, Motylev vs Nepomniachtchi, 2008, Jakovenko vs Carlsen, 2009, 11...Qc7 12.Rfd1 Rac8 13.a5 Nc5 Ivanchuk vs Karjakin, 2009) 12.a5 Re8 (...Nc5 Leko vs Topalov, 2004) 13.Rfd1 h6
10.a4
10...Nbd7 11.a5 Rc8 12.f3 Qc7 13.Qd2 Rfd8 14.Rfd1 (14.Rfc1 d5 Boleslavsky vs V Doroshkievich, 1968, 14.Nc1 T Saarenpaa vs W Grohde, 1999) d5 Smeets vs P H Nielsen, 2009 10...Nc6 11.Qd2 Rc8 12.Rfd1 Nb4 13.Bf3 Rc4 10.f4 exf4 (10...Qc7)
10.Nd5 Nbd7 11.Qd3 Bxd5 12.exd5 Nc5! D King vs Browne, 1990, Ponomariov vs Anand, 2011, Svidler vs J Polgar, 1999, 9...Nbd7
10.a4 Rc8 11.Qd2 (11.a5?! Rxc3 A Kovchan vs Nepomniachtchi, 2010) Nb6 A Kovchan vs Karjakin, 2010 10.f4 Qc7 (...Rc8) 11.a4 0-0 12.a5 b5 13.axb6 Nxb6 14.f5 Bc4 15.Kh1 Rfc8 K Aseev vs Gelfand, 1989, Anand vs Gelfand, 1989 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Qd3 0-0! 11.c4 b5! 12.cxb5 (12.Nd2 Nc5 Anand vs Vachier-Lagrave, 2015) axb5 13.0-0 (13.Bf3 Bxd5 14.exd5 e4 (14...Ra4!?) M Sebag vs Y Xu, 2002) Bxd5 14.exd5 Nb6! Svidler vs Gelfand, 2000 C)
6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 (7.Qe2, 7.Qf3 Short vs Kasparov, 2000, 7.Qd3 W Arencibia Rodriguez vs Ivanchuk, 1997, 7.Qd2) Qc7
click for larger view8.Qf3 b5
9.0-0-0 b4
10.Nd5 V Akopian vs Lautier, 1997, C Li vs V Saravanan, 2012 10.e5 Bb7
11.Ncb5 axb5 12.Bxb5+ Nbd7 13.Qh3 b3 14.Qxb3 (14.exf6 bxa2) Bd5 15.c4 Ne4 16.Kb1 (16.Qc2 Bb7 Van der Wiel vs L Brunner, 1992, 16.Rhe1 Nxg5 17.fxg5 Bxc4 K Miton vs Vachier-Lagrave, 2008) Bb7 R Milu vs A Istratescu, 1994
11.Qh3 dxe5 12.Ncb5 (12.fxe5 Qxe5 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bb5+ axb5 15.Rhe1 Qf4+ (15...Qg5+) Yudasin vs Tukmakov, 1981) axb5 13.fxe5 (13.Bxb5+ Bc6 14.fxe5 Bxb5 Psakhis vs Tukmakov, 1979) b3! 14.Qxb3 Bd5 15.Bxb5+ Nfd7 16.c4 Nc6 17.Rhf1 Bc5 10.Nce2 P Trujillo Villega vs L Dominguez Perez, 2007 9.f5 b4 10.Ncb5 (10.Nce2 e5 T Szafranski vs C Pilalis, 1999) axb5 11.Bxb5+ Bd7 12.fxe6 Bxb5! 13.Nxb5 Qc5 14.Bxf6 fxe6! 15.Nd4 (15.Rf1 M Makropoulou vs J Dworakowska, 2009, 15.Qh3 O Milani vs S Dibley, 2004, 15.e5) REBEL vs R Har-Zvi, 2000, U Atakisi vs E Berg, 2007, I Timmermans vs J Moreno Carnero, 2003, K Chorfi vs J Noomen, 1999 11.fxe6 Be7! 12.Bxb5+ (12.e5 dxe5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6! (improving on J Murey vs K Spraggett, 1991) 14.Nxb5 Qc6!, 12.Nf5 U Atakisi vs B Gundavaa, 2006) 9.a3 I Nataf vs L Dominguez Perez, 2002 8.Qf3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6
10.e5 D Solak vs A Istratescu, 1995, A Berelowitsch vs A Istratescu, 1998 10.0-0-0
10.Bd3
10.a3 Bb7 11.Be2 h5 12.0-0-0 Nd7 13.f5 Smeets vs Ivanchuk, 2010 10.Nd5
8.Qf3 b5 9.f5 b4 10.Ncb5 axb5
11.Bxb5+ Bd7 12.fxe6 Bxb5 13.Nxb5 Qc5 14.Bxf6 fxe6
15.Nd4 REBEL vs R Har-Zvi, 2000, R Molander vs J Moreno Carnero, 2003, U Atakisi vs E Berg, 2007
15.Rf1 M Makropoulou vs J Dworakowska, 2009
15.Qh3
15.e5
11.fxe6 Be7
12.Bxb5+ Kf8 13.exf7 d5 14.exd5 Qe5+
12.e5 dxe5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6! 14.Nxb5 15.Qxc6+ Nxc6 16.Nc7+ Ke7 17.Nxa8 Bb7(17...Nd4)
12.Nf5 0-0 13.e5 Bb7 U Atakisi vs B Gundavaa, 2006 8.Qe2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Be7 11.g3 (11.e5 Ivanchuk vs Kasparov, 1989)
Ljubojevic vs Kasparov, 1989, Ljubojevic vs J Xu, 1990 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Qd2 Nc6 Timman vs Kasparov, 1983 8.f5 Be7 9.fxe6 fxe6 I Nataf vs L Bruzon Batista, 2002 D)
6.Bc4 e6
click for larger view 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.f5 Bd7! 10.0-0 b5 11.Qf3 Be7 12.fxe6 fxe6 13.e5!? dxe5 14.Nc6 Bxc6 15.Qxc6+ Kf7 16.Be3 (16.Ne4) 16...Qc8! A Istratescu vs Short, 1996 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.e5 Nfd7 10.exd6 (10.Nf3 dxe5 11.fxe5 b5 12.0-0 Velimirovic vs P Popovic, 2000 12...h6!) Nf6 11.Be3 (11.Qe2 Bxd6 Velimirovic vs P Popovic, 1998) Bxd6 12.Qf3 (12.Qe2 A Zapolskis vs Ftacnik, 1999) 0-0 13.0-0-0 Qc7 14.g4? b5! 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.Qf3 b5! 10.f5 Bd7 11.Bg5 (11.Be3 b4!, 11.g4 e5! 12.Nde2 Bxb3!, 11.a3 Nxb3! 12.cxb3 Be7 13.g4 h6, 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.g4 b4! 13.Nce2 Nxb3!) 11...Be7 12.0-0-0 (12.e5!? dxe5 13.Nc6 Bxc6 14.Qxc6+ Kf8! 15.fxe6 b4!, 12.fxe6 fxe6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Nc6 Bxc6 15.Qxc6+ Kf7 16.Be3 Qc8) 12...0-0 13.fxe6 (13.e5? dxe5 14.Nc6 Bxc6 15.Qxc6 Qa5 D Chuprov vs Svidler, 2000 Nxb3 14.Nxb3 Qc7)fxe6 14.e5 Nd5! 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16.Qe3 d5 (N Doghri vs T Dao, 1996) 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.0-0 Be7 (9...b5!?, 9...Nfxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.f5 e5 12.Qh5 d5! 13.Re1 Bc5 14.Rxe4 Bxd4+ 15.Be3 0-0 16.Rxd4 exd4 17.Bxd4 Topalov vs Short, 1996 17...Re8!) 10.e5 (10.Qf3 0-0 11.Be3 Nfd7 12.g4 Re8 ) 10...dxe5 11.fxe5 Nfd7 12.Qh5 Nf6! (12...g6 13.Qe2 h5!?) 13.Qd1 Nfd7 L Sandler vs S Danailov, 1991 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.0-0
7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.Bg5 T Thiel vs Ftacnik, 1992 7.0-0 Be7
7.Bg5
Typical Middlegame Themes:
d5 pawn sacrifice:
Morozevich vs Sadler, 1999
Marjanovic vs J Fedorowicz, 1986
T Nedev vs G Gajewski, 2007
Lagno vs V Gurevich, 2000
Dvoirys vs Y Wang, 2007
A Bokuchava vs Tal, 1970
K Asrian vs P Kotsur, 2000
K Aseev vs Gelfand, 1989 d5 pawn break:
S Megaranto vs Y Wang, 2002
Smeets vs Giri, 2010
A Kovchan vs Karjakin, 2010
A Bokuchava vs Tal, 1970
Morozevich vs Sadler, 1999 Rxc3 exchange sacrifice:
A Ushenina vs Karjakin, 2002
J Rohl vs R Leitao, 1998
Lizbov vs Topalov, 1988
Gipslis vs Simagin, 1957
I Nataf vs L Dominguez Perez, 2002
J Polgar vs I Ivanov, 1989
Movsesian vs Kasparov, 2000
A Kovchan vs Nepomniachtchi, 2010
de Firmian vs Ivanchuk, 1989 Using K-side pawn majority:
A Demianjuk vs A Korobov, 2010
I Makka vs A Istratescu, 2000
Svidler vs J Polgar, 1999
D King vs Browne, 1990
Unzicker vs Fischer, 1966 Minority Attack on Q-side:
Averbakh vs Petrosian, 1959
Matulovic vs Fischer, 1968 Using open e-file:
Jakovenko vs Carlsen, 2009 Q-side attack against the King:
T Abergel vs Vachier-Lagrave, 2008
S Melia vs M Sebag, 2004
L S Eolian vs Kasparov, 1976 f5-pawn break:
D Resende vs W Pereira, 1988 Portisch maneuver:
C Pritchett vs Portisch, 1980 Two Bishops and Strong Centre:
Smyslov vs Botvinnik, 1948
Suetin vs Botvinnik, 1952
Bronstein vs Botvinnik, 1951
Spassky vs Botvinnik, 1959 Endgames:
Suetin vs Spassky, 1960
A Berelowitsch vs N Guliyev, 2012
Topalov vs Short, 1996
Levenfish vs Boleslavsky, 1943
G Stoltz vs Boleslavsky, 1946
O Sterner vs Boleslavsky, 1954 Great Najdorf Practitioners:
Garry Kasparov Bobby Fischer Veselin Topalov Lajos Portisch Boris Gelfand Viswanathan Anand Sergey Karjakin Lev Polugaevsky Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
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304 games, 1949-2017 - Sicilian Schevengien
45 games, 1961-2017 - Sicillian Defense
442 games, 1834-2017 - Smyslov's Best Games of chess 1935-1957
Anyone interested in seeing Smyslov at his best should glance through these games that I got from the actual book!
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66 games, 1935-1957 - St Petersburg 1914
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NOTE : This collection has now been superceded by St. Petersburg (1914) The St Petersburg Tournament of 1914 featured the joint winners of the 1914 All Russian Championship and players who had won at least one major tournament.
There were the veterans Blackburne and Gunsberg, established masters such as Tarrasch, Bernstein, Janowski, Niemzowitsch, Alyekhin and Marshall as well as the World Champion Lasker and his two most prominent rivals Rubinstein and Capablanca. The tournament was divided into two sections. The first stage from the 21st April to the 6th of May was an all-play-all event with the first five finishers proceeding into the second stage which ran from the 10th of May to the 22nd of May. This second stage was a double round all-play-all with the final scores being cumulative from both sections. It was expected that there would be a great struggle between Lasker, Capablanca and Rubinstein but disappointingly Rubinstein failed to make the final leaving Lasker and Capablanca to battle it out.
Lasker was 1½ points behind the Cuban at the start of the finals but in the end ran out the winner by a ½ point by scoring a truly magnificent 7 out of 8. table[
Preliminary Crosstable :
Pts
1.Capablanca * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 8
2.Lasker ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 6½
3.Tarrasch ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 6½
4.Alyekhin 0 ½ ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 6
5.Marshall ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 6
6.Bernstein 0 1 0 ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5
7.Rubinstein ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 5
8.Niemzowitsch 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 4
9.Blackburne 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * 0 1 3½
10.Janowski 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 * ½ 3½
11.Gunsberg 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1 ]table - table[
Final Crosstable :
Pts
1.Lasker 6½ * * ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 13½
2.Capablanca 8 ½ 0 * * ½ 1 1 0 1 1 13
3.Alyekhin 6 0 0 ½ 0 * * 1 1 1 ½ 10
4.Tarrasch 6½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 * * 0 ½ 8½
5.Marshall 6 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ * * 8]table Prizes amounted to 1200, 800, 500 and 300 Roubles. Each non-prizewinner received 20 Roubles for every game won and 10 Roubles for every drawn game.
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75 games, 1914 - St Petersburg 1909
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The St. Petersburg Chess Club consisted of the elite. After Chigorin’s death, the club decided to organise a memorial tournament. President of the organising committee was P.P. Saburov, a powerful diplomat. The main event lasted from 14th February - 12th March. The favourites were Emanuel Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein and Carl Schlechter. The world champion Lasker had not played a tournament since Cambridge Springs 1904. The time limits were 37 moves in 2½ hours, 23 in 1½ and 15 per hour. A budget of 10,500 Rubles took care of the prizes, money for points and expenses. The main tournament was dominated by the race between Rubinstein and Lasker. Akiba took the lead by a win over Emanuel in round three. At the end they shared the first place. Spielmann competed with them for a long time, but he had to accept a margin of 3½ points after a poor finish. Schlechter scored poorly due to a flu. <<<>>> 1st/2nd place - <Rubinstein> +12 =5 -1 (14.5/18) 1st/2nd place - <Lasker> +13 =3 -2 (14.5/18) 3rd/4th place - <Duras> +10 =2 -6 (11/18) 3rd/4th place - <Spielmann> +7 =8 -3 (11/18) 5th place - <Bernstein> +8 =5 -5 (10.5/18) 6th place - <Teichmann> +6 =8 -4 (10/18) 7th place - <Perlis> +6 =7 -5 (9.5/18) 8th-10th place - <Cohn> +5 =8 -5 (9/18) 8th-10th place - <Salwe> +7 =4 -7 (9/18) 8th-10th place - <Schlechter> +6 =6 -6 (9/18) 11th/12th place - <Mieses> +7 =3 -8 (8.5/18) 11th/12th place - <Tartakower> +5 =7 -6 (8.5/18) 13th place - <Dus Chotimirsky> +5 =6 -7 (8/18) 14th place - <Forgacs> +4 =7 -7 (7.5/18) 15th/16th place - <Burn> +2 =10 -6 (7/18) 15th/16th place - <Vidmar> +4 =6 -8 (7/18) 17th place - <Speyer> +2 =8 -8 (6/18) 18th place - <Von Freyman> +3 =5 -10 (5.5/18) 19th place - <Znosko Borovsky> +3 =4 -11 (5/18) <<<>>> GM Hans Kmoch, who in his book "Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces" stated, "In the tournament at St Petersburg, Rubinstein in my opinion, reached the zenith of his artistry." His best known games from this tournament are his victory over Lasker and the famous pawn ending with Cohn, but also outstanding are his wins over Schlechter and Mieses. <<<>>>
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175 games, 1907-1909 - St. Petersburg 1895-96
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At the closing banquet for the Hastings 1895 tournament, Chigorin announced that the top prizewinners had been invited to St. Petersburg for a match-tournament to begin in December of that year. The top three finishers (Pillsbury, Chigorin, and Lasker) plus fifth-place finisher Steinitz agreed to play; fourth-place finisher Tarrasch declined. Even so, St. Petersburg was enormously strong; the top five places on the December 1895 Chessmetrics list are occupied by Lasker, Tarrasch, Chigorin, Steinitz, and Pillsbury respectively. Each entrant played six games against the other three. The tournament began on December 13, 1895 with 23-year-old Harry Nelson Pillsbury, the victor at Hastings, crushing the 26-year-old world champion, Emanuel Lasker (Lasker vs Pillsbury, 1895). After three cycles (half the tournament), Pillsbury held the lead, having scored 2 1/2 out of 3 against Lasker and 3 out of 3 against Chigorin. But Lasker's 2 1/2 out of 3 against both Steinitz and Chigorin, combined with Pillsbury's loss and two draws against Steinitz, kept it close. At the midpoint, the score stood: Pillsbury 6 1/2 out of 9; Lasker 5 1/2; Steinitz 4 1/2; Chigorin 1 1/2. The second half of the tournament began on January 4, 1896, with Lasker facing Pillsbury and scoring perhaps the greatest victory of his long career (Pillsbury vs Lasker, 1896). Pillsbury lost his next two games to Chigorin and Steinitz, so at the end of the fourth cycle Lasker, despite a loss to Steinitz, led the field by a point, and Steinitz had caught up to Pillsbury. In the fifth cycle, Pillsbury again lost to Chigorin and Steinitz, finally ending his miserable run of five straight losses with a drawn game against Lasker on January 19, 1896. Lasker, meanwhile, had beaten Steinitz and drawn with Chigorin, so that after five cycles the identity of the winner was scarcely in doubt, and Pillsbury had fallen to third place: Lasker 9 1/2, Steinitz 7 1/2, Pillsbury 7, Chigorin 6. In the sixth and final cycle, Lasker beat Chigorin and drew with Steinitz and Pillsbury to coast home with 11 1/2 out of 18, two points ahead of Steinitz, who beat Pillsbury (for the fourth time in the tournament!) and drew with Chigorin. Pillsbury also drew with Chigorin and so was able to avoid falling into last place. Final standings: Lasker 11 1/2 (+8-3=7), Steinitz 9 1/2 (+7-6=5), Pillsbury 8 (+5-7=6), Chigorin 7 (+5-9=4). It was a fine result for Lasker, solidifying his position as world champ, and creditable for the 59-year-old Steinitz. But it was a great disappointment for Pillsbury and Chigorin. The prizes were: first 50 pounds sterling, second 30 pounds, third 20 pounds, fourth 10 pounds, plus four pounds for a win, two pounds for a draw, and 1 pound for a loss. (I am quoting from a British tournament book, so I don't know if the authors converted ruble prizes into pounds sterling, or whether the prizes were paid in pounds.) Lasker received 99 pounds, Steinitz 74 pounds, Pillsbury 59 pounds, and Chigorin 47 pounds. All players received traveling expenses and incidentals. According to Soltis' <Why Lasker Matters>, there were no brilliancy prizes. The head-to-head matchups were intriguing. Pillsbury beat Lasker (3 1/2 - 2 1/2) and Chigorin (3 1/2 - 2 1/2) while scoring a horrible 1-5 (two draws, four losses) against Steinitz -- a result that is even more remarkable when you consider that, outside of this tournament, Pillsbury had a +5-0=2 score against the first world champion! (<Calli>) Lasker beat Steinitz 4-2 and Chigorin 5-1 but, as noted, lost his mini-match to Pillsbury. Equally intriguing were the varied fortunes of Chigorin and Pillsbury, compared with the consistency of Lasker and Steinitz. Lasker scored 5 1/2 in the first half, and 6 in the second. Steinitz scored 4 1/2 in the first half, and 5 in the second. Chigorin managed only one win and one draw in the first half of the tournament, but in the second half scored 5 1/2 out of 9, just a half-point less than Lasker. Pillsbury's reversal of fortune was even more dramatic: in the first half he scored five wins, one loss, and three draws to lead the field, but in the second half he obtained three draws, six losses and not a single win. Many explanations have been offered for Pillsbury's collapse. It has been said that he caught syphilis from a St. Petersburg prostitute, which caused his poor performance in the second half; it has even been suggested that he received the diagnosis of the disease on the day of his dramatic fourth-cycle encounter with Lasker. (OMGP I, p. 135.) These stories don't seem credible to me. If Pillsbury was infected with syphilis in St. Petersburg, he probably would not have suffered any serious symptoms there. It is also unlikely that he would have been diagnosed as having the disease immediately after catching it; no blood test for syphilis existed in 1895-96. On the other hand, there is no question that Pillsbury was unwell during the second half of the tournament; many of his games had to be postponed. <Calli> has uncovered an article from the Brooklyn Eagle in January 1896 saying that Pillsbury was still suffering from "influenza" that had afflicted him during the second half of the tournament. The symptoms of second-stage syphilis are apparently not that different from severe flu; if Pillsbury had caught syphilis <before> the St. Petersburg tournament, the second stage might have manifested itself during the tournament. Alternatively, of course, he could have just caught the flu. Finally, it is worth noting that St. Petersburg posed unusual problems for a 19th century master. "Supertournaments" where every player was a leading master, like Corus or Linares today, were rare back then. Major international tournaments like Hastings or Nuremburg included a number of local masters, who were easy prey for the likes of Pillsbury, Chigorin, Steinitz and Lasker. But at St. Petersburg 1895-1896, there were no weak opponents. A master in bad form, like Chigorin in the first half of the tournament or Pillsbury in the second half, could expect no mercy. Later in 1896, the St. Petersburg masters plus many others gathered in Dr. Tarrasch's hometown of Nuremburg. Lasker again emerged the winner. Pillsbury tied for 3rd-4th with Tarrasch; Steinitz finished sixth and Chigorin finished in a tie for 9th-10th. Late in the year, Lasker and Steinitz returned to St. Petersburg for their rematch. Lasker overwhelmed his opponent, 10:2 with 5 draws. As for Pillsbury, the St. Petersburg tournament book, echoing <Paradise Lost>, said: "Pillsbury is still young, and the chess world is all before him. A match between Lasker and Pillsbury would be interesting from many points of view." But it was not to be. Pillsbury continued to play strongly, but never repeated his feat at Hastings of winning a leading international tournament. His last major tournament was Cambridge Springs, where he finished in a tie for 8th-9th. But he did have the pleasure of defeating Lasker in the same variation that had brought him disaster at St. Petersburg on January 4, 1896: Pillsbury vs Lasker, 1904. My main source for this collection was <The Games of the St. Petersburg Tournament 1895-1896> by James Mason and W.H.K. Pollock.
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36 games, 1895-1896 - Svetozar Gligoric Collected Games (Leach)
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Svetozar Gligoric Collected Games, Edited by Colin Leach Caissa Books 1988, ISBN 1 870816 01 3
371 games of Gligoric
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361 games, 1939-1986 - Tal at the Capablanca Memorial 1963
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[This collection is part of Game Collection: Tal's Tournament and Matches 1949-1973 ] These are all the games Mikhail Tal played at the <Capablanca Memorial 1963>, dated and in correct round order.[1 ] In Havana (25 Aug - 24 Sept)
Tal shared 2nd with Geller and Pachman, behind Korchnoi, ahead of Ivkov, Barcza, Darga, Uhlmann, Trifunovic, Bobotsov and others, with +14 -3 =4. [Notes
1 Alexander Khalifman, ed. "Mikhail Tal Games II 1963-1972" (Chess Stars 1995), pp.22-33 Di Felice, "Chess Results 1961-1963," p.320; Winter, p.154; ]
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21 games, 1963 - The Greatest Games of all Time
This collection is dedicated to (what I think) are some of the greatest games ever played (I say some as there will be more in the future). These games are in no specific order.
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101 games, 1834-2008
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Kibitzing
