Garry Kasparov's best games

Garry Kasparov dominated world chess for twenty years. His style was pure pressure: initiative, attack and merciless calculation. Here are his best games, with his masterpiece against Topalov open in the viewer above.

Kasparov’s Immortal (Kasparov – Topalov, 1999)

This is one of the most discussed games of all time. Topalov defends with a Pirc Defense, and Kasparov, deep in the middlegame, gives up a rook in a blow few humans would have seen. The idea? Opening lines toward the black king.

What follows is a legendary king hunt: the black king flees from home all the way to the other end of the board, chased by the white pieces, until it falls. Follow the viewer calmly; every check is part of a calculated sequence.

The lesson: when you have the initiative, material takes a back seat. Kasparov gives up a rook because in return he gets something more valuable: an unstoppable attack.

Why you should study him

• Initiative. He always looked for the move that kept his opponent on the defensive.
• Preparation. He revolutionized opening study; he arrived at games with new ideas.
• Calculation. In sharp positions, he saw further and faster than anyone.

Keep exploring

• His champion mindset: Kasparov, preparation and initiative.
• His place among the greats: world champions and best players in history.
• More gems: Fischer’s best games and Carlsen’s.

Replay it a couple of times and you’ll see why, more than 25 years later, it still leaves people speechless.