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In 1999, Kasparov was one of fourteen players invited to compete in the Wijk aan Zee tournament in the Netherlands, now often known as Tata Steel chess. The tournament was super-strong with Anand, Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, Alexei Shirov, Vassily Ivanchuk and Rustam Kasimdzhanov also challenging. Ultimately, Garry Kasparov would win with a fantastic 10/13 score. But one game stood out and was soon being described as one of the greatest chess games ever played, Kasparov’s Immortal.
Kasparov vs Topalov took place in round 4 with the Bulgarian Super GM expected to give the chess world champion a tough test. The game started uneventfully, with Topalov meeting 1.e4 with …d6, the Pirc Defense. Even 15 moves in, there wasn’t much sign of what was to come. Both Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov had castled queenside, Kasparov’s queen was stuck away from the action on h6 and Black’s pawns on a6, b5, c6 and d6 were doing a great job of keeping White at bay.
But Garry Kasparov soon injected energy into the position with 18.Na5, 19.Bh3 and 20.Qf4+ all improving his piece activity. Topalov was unfazed and closed the position with 21…d4. A knight exchange followed then 23…Qd6 – Black offers the queen exchange and prepares to capture the d5 pawn, going ahead on material with a fantastic position. Was Kasparov lost?
Then came a move that caught the attention of the chess world: 24.Rxd4!! A stunning sacrifice of rook for pawn. Topalov took and the world expected Kasparov to recapture with the queen, giving check. But Garry had other ideas: 25.Re7+!! a SECOND rook sacrifice!
Topalov sinks into deep thought, and sees the second rook sacrifice cannot be taken. Instead, he takes the knight, willingly placing himself in what looks like a tight mating net, yet he always has that one escape square or saving move. Was Kasparov’s brilliancy flawed? No! An incredibly intricate series of quiet and “only” moves, sacrifices and counter-sacrifices result in Kasparov having a queen vs rook and the game ended on move 44.
From move 24, Kasparov’s Immortal sees him sacrifice EVERY piece apart from his queen – yet he still comes out ahead on material. Enjoy this Kasparov vs Topalov analysis, one of the finest chess games ever played!
► Corresponding article from this video with extra goodies: https://www.ichess.net/blog/best-chess-game-ever-kasparov-sacrifices-everything/
►Learn about the Pirc Defense: https://www.ichess.net/blog/pirc-defense/
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