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Questions tagged [famous-games]

Certain games are famous and well known among chess players, e.g. the Immortal game.

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Who did Nigel Short really play on the ICC in 2001 when he thought he was playing Fischer?

In 2001, Nigel Short went public with the opinion that he had in fact played Bobby Fischer on the Internet Chess Club. This was denied by Fischer himself, and the consensus seems to be that it was not in fact Fischer that he was playing. However,…
user1539
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Where can I find this game with a sacrifice followed by a long series of checks leading to a discovered mate?

I am looking for a chess game and frankly, I really know very little about it. I remember seeing it somewhere on the Internet. The game goes something like this. A player (either White or Black) sacrifices their most important piece, probably the…
Aastik
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Has O-O ever been played without moving the e or g pawns?

Normally the e or g pawn must be moved (to release the bishop) before castling kingside is possible. However, it’s theoretically possible for a knight to have taken the bishop without these pawns ever moving, and thus for short castles to be played…
Brennan Vincent
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Which notable players in chess history successfully used dubious openings?

I am reminded of a famous game between Karpov and Tony Miles where Miles played 1...a6 against Karpov's 1. e4 and still won the game. [FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 1"] [White "Anatoly Karpov"] [Black…
NM Wesley Falcao
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Spectacular queen sacrifice game

I once watched a famous chess game that I can't find anymore and maybe someone could help me find it. The game I watched evolved somehow natural until one moment: player1 sacrifices its queen. The spectacularity in this move consists on the fact…
Jacob Krieg
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Has there been any blunders in resignation?

We know that despite what is shown in the movies and such, most chess games don't end by a "checkmate" move and oftentimes one side realizes that they are losing and resigns before the end. Now this begs the question: Has there been any serious…
polfosol
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A position with the only legal move resulting in checkmate

Theoretically, is it possible that for some position, the only legal move for a side leads to a checkmate (that is, the opposite king gets checkmated)? If so, has this ever occurred in a real game?
HPP_00
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Shortest stalemate in serious tournament game

I am looking for the shortest stalemate that has occurred in a serious chess game (there were no agreements between the players). So far, I have found only compositions, but is there a real game where stalemate has happened within the first 30…
user24344
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The Game of the Century - why didn't Byrne take the rook after he forked Fischer?

I'm guessing that there's a pretty simple explanation for this, but I can't seem to see it. [White "Donald Byrne"] [Black "Robert James Fischer"] [fen ""] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5. Bf4 d5 6. Qb3 dxc4 7. Qxc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Rd1…
Brandon_J
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How is Kasparov vs Shirov 1992 a victory?

There is no check. Was it a victory on time? Or did Shirov resign? In all the discussion over this game it's just accepted that Kasparov won, without anyone mentioning the reason for his victory. And it is so often called a great game, whereas I…
Rohit
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Kasparov's Immortal Game. Flawed? 24...Kb6! Suggest an improvement for White

Kasparov's immortal game vs Topalov is often regarded as one of the best games in chess history. However, after analyzing it, I find that objectively speaking, Kasparov played some bad moves and got into a slightly worse position. Here, in this…
NM Wesley Falcao
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Positions where pawn promotion to queen is worse than to other piece

I'm looking for games from famous grandmasters, in which pawn promotion to a rook, a bishop, or a knight is a better move than queen promotion. I tried to Google some, but I couldn't find anything.
Ginger Bread
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In which tournament did Karpov play his first move with white pieces and offer a draw?

It had to have happened in the 90s, but I can't remember either the tournament or Karpov's opponent (probably some Spanish tournament, like Linares or Dos Hermanas). Karpov was upset with the organization for some reason, and he complained by…
emdio
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Game in James Bond film "From Russia with love"

The beginning of the James Bond film From Russia with love (1963) portrays the end of a game between the fictional characters Kronsteen (Czechoslovakia) and Macadams (Canada) in the last and decisive round of the Venice International Grandmasters…
lodebari
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In Nakamura v. Friedel in 2009, (22. Bc1) why did Friedel resign?

After White's 22. Bc1, it seems like responding with Rd2 would keep the game alive for Black. I assume Friedel's a more insightful player than I am. What am I missing? That is, from an experienced player's viewpoint, why do we assume that staying…
TwoMice
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