Garry Kasparov vs Viswanathan Anand (1995) The Evans Gambit Revisited

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

Garry Kasparov vs Viswanathan Anand
"The Evans Gambit Revisited" (game of the day Sep-15-2018)
Tal Memorial (1995), Riga LAT, rd 4, Apr-16
Italian Game: Evans Gambit. Anderssen Variation Cordel Line (C51) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Given 112 times; par: 31 [what's this?]

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer). [35435 more games annotated by Stockfish]

explore this opening	find similar games	81 more Kasparov/Anand games
	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: Olga is our default viewer, but we offer other choices as well. You can use a different viewer by selecting it from the pulldown menu below and pressing the "Set" button.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

THIS IS A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE. [CLICK HERE] FOR ORIGINAL.

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 2 OF 5 · Later Kibitzing>
Jul-30-04		Eggman: Kasparov's 7.Be2 is not mentioned in Romantic Chess Openings by Zagorovsky (1982). Only 7.Bd3 and 7.Bxf7+ are considered.

Jul-30-04		WMD: "In all the fuss surrounding Kasparov's employment of this move in 1995, the move's origins were obscured; indeed, it is doubtful if the World Champion himself knew the history of 7.Be2. Kasparov appears to have known of a game involving correspondence master Michael Melts (once from USSR but now living in the USA) but Melts had previously been on the black side of the line against an American player, Dr Ted Bullockus, who himself had learned the move from its true pioneer. Mentioned in an early edition of Modern Chess Openings (with no game references cited), 7.Be2 was first adopted in the 1950s by veteran CC master Walter Muir who played it on numerous occasions and analysed it in detail." (Play the Evans Gambit, Harding & Cafferty, Cadogan).

Jul-30-04		sneaky pete: <Eggman> I don't have that book, but I find it hard to believe Zagorovsky ignores 7.Nxe5 .. (the main line). 7.Be2 .. is of course not Kasparov's invention. It was first played some 50 years ago by American correspondence master Walter Muir.

Jul-30-04		alexandrovm: it was a crushing game by Kasparov

Jul-31-04		Eggman: <... I find it hard to believe Zagorovsky ignores 7.Nxe5 (the main line)> Indeed. Zagorovsky considers 7.Be2 and 7.Bxf7+ as the only alternatives to 7.Nxe5. I misread the text. My bad.

Dec-09-04		Son of Dad: The Evan's Gambit is just lovely.

Jan-02-06		penarol: I read all the kibitzing. Can someone say what was the first mistake by Anand in this game? Was it in the opening (I mean sometime after 7. Be2; BTW, What does the Harding & Cafferty book reccomend for Black?) or in the middle game?

Jan-02-06		Jim Bartle: When I first read about this game, I got the impression Kasparov played this opening in order not to show any of his preparation for the upcoming WC match later in the year.

Jan-02-06		HannibalSchlecter: I don't know why Kasparov didn't play more gambit openings. It fit right into his strength (attacking). We know Gary always wins anyway, but he wins faster and prettier with gambits :)

Jan-08-06		MUG: It is believed that Anand went wrong with 18...Nf7?. After the game both Anand and Kasparov agreed that 18..Bd7 would give Black an 'excellent postion'. However, when annotating this game in Informator 63, Kasparov makes no mention of 18...Bd7. Neil McDonald amusingly ponders in one of his books that this maybe because Kasparov didn't want to sully his creative achievement by pointing out that even after he has awarded himself three exclamation marks, Anand, with the black pieces, has achieved at least equality! It was only much later, when commenting on this game in My Great Predessesors Vol 1, do I notice Kasparov admit that black has defensive resources: <reverting to old gambits has caught many present-day players unawares, but here the dispute did not last long - everywhere an acceptable defence was found for Black.>

Mar-31-06		PolishPentium: Excuse me, folks. A little assistance for a duffer, please... Why does Anand resign at this stage? Is the position really as bleak as all that? I don't see the winning continuation for White...

Mar-31-06		Benzol: <PolishPentium> Check out <Honza Cervenka>'s post on the previous page. It's the 6th post down.

Sep-14-06		AbhinavAsthana: I did not know that Kasparov plays Evans gambit. I did not even know that Evans gambit is popular now also. I am happy to know this as it is one of my favourite openings.

Sep-14-06		plang: It's not popular now. Kasparov played it in this game and then again against Piket shortly after this game and then stopped using it. No one else followed his lead.

Sep-15-06		AbhinavAsthana: <plang> But why? Is this gambit unsound? Most of the grandmasters played it in earlier times. Do you know the reason why it is not practicesd now?

Sep-15-06		plang: I think it is a question of style. It was considered "manly" to play tactical gambits like the Evans Gambit and Kings Gambit during the 18th century. The defender was considered to be a whimp if he declined it. I think, today, these gambits are seen as very risky. Kasparov used it as a surprise weapon but maybe does not trust it as an every day weapon. The King's Gambit has not scored very well on the grandmaster level in recent years. Only Spassky had consistent success and even he only used it occasionally (and never in a WC or candidates match).

Sep-15-06		AbhinavAsthana: <plang>Thank You. I feel that the beauty of this gambit lies when the opponent does not know what to do next.There are a lot of traps in it. I myself sometimes avoid 4.b4 against strong players but I love this opening very much. I used it in inter-school matches effectively once.

Oct-23-06		Gbness: This is really one of my favorite games for one reason, ignoring the fact that Kasparov and Anand are both in my top ten players of all time, but anyways -- it gives true justice to the Evans Gambit. Yeah, Lasker could refute it. It's still something which in the hands of someone who's completely sure of what they're doing, can totally deliver.

Oct-23-06		Professeur Y: <AbhinavAsthana, Gbness, and all Evans Gambit lovers>; this is a beautiful game, one of Capablanca's rare losses, against an obscure guy playing the white side of the Evans, which says a lot about the opening's soundness. Of course theory has evolved since, but I think it can still be quite a weapon at club level: J Corzo vs Capablanca, 1901

Jan-17-07		Lt. Col. Majid: Kasparov MUGGED Anand with the Evans lol. I aM sure Anand didn't know what hit him afterwards. Everyone was surprised (Anand dazed) by Kasparov's opening choice and execution. I remember rushing to a chess shop for the latest edition of Chess magazine.

Jan-17-07		Ulhumbrus: Instead of 23...Be6, 23...Kg7 leaves the a2-g8 diagonal before White occupies it by Bc4.

Oct-31-07		xrt999: <Eggman: Kasparov's 7.Be2 is not mentioned in Romantic Chess Openings by Zagorovsky (1982). Only 7.Bd3 and 7.Bxf7+ are considered> The only 2 moves that appear in top level 20th century play are 7.Bd3 and 7.Nxe5 The outcomes for these 2 moves are: 7.Bd3 +0 -2 =4 7.Nxe5 +6 -6 =13 Timman vs S Tatai, 1977 Kasparov departed from any previous theory. Then again, only 17 games had been played in this line through move 6 from 1900-2000. Furthermore, only 208 total Evans games appear in 20th century top level play, so "theory" must be taken with a grain of salt. Overall, white's record in that time period is +59 -73 =67 with the Evans, so it appears to me to be dubious for white.

Oct-31-07		xrt999: <Gbness: This is really one of my favorite games for one reason, ignoring the fact that Kasparov and Anand are both in my top ten players of all time, but anyways -- it gives true justice to the Evans Gambit.> Kasparov is 1-0 against Anand with the Evans gambit. He only played 2 other games in top level competition, Piket 1-0 and NDShort 1/2-1/2. I dont really think this validates the Evans gambit. Kasparov vs Short, 1993 < Yeah, Lasker could refute it. > Lasker played the Evans gambit once, in 1895 against someone named Pollock. He won the game. I dont think this means that Lasker could "refute" the Evans gambit. W Pollock vs Lasker, 1895 <It's still something which in the hands of someone who's completely sure of what they're doing, can totally deliver.> white's record in the modern period is +59 -73 =67 with the Evans. I agree, the Evans is an exciting, provocative style and I enjoy playing it very much against my 10 year old nephew. In top level 20th century competition, though, white record speaks for itself; it is dubious. cheers

Oct-31-07		keypusher: <xrt999> Lasker played against the Evans Gambit more than once. Cg.com has eight examples, and I am sure that's nowhere near complete. Repertoire Explorer: Emanuel Lasker (black) Gbness is presumably talking about Lasker's discussion of the Evans Gambit in his books (<Common Sense in Chess>? Not sure about others) which he claimed it was refuted by ...d6 and ...Bb6. Here are a couple of examples. Chigorin vs Lasker, 1895 Chigorin vs Pillsbury, 1899

Oct-31-07		RookFile: Fischer once made the comment that if a strong player used the Evans Gambit in modern days, he'd catch a lot of grandmasters unprepared for it.

Jump to page # (enter # from 1 to 5)
search thread:
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 2 OF 5 · Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
Nothing in violation of United States law.
No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
No trolling.
The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.

NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.