Immortal Chess Games
The Immortal Chess Games are among the most studied and celebrated games in chess history. Using the MasterInChess Openings System (MICOS), each of these games has been classified by its opening identity, determined strictly by chess notation move order.
Unlike the traditional ECO system, which assigns broad and often ambiguous codes, MICOS identifies the earliest matching opening structure that actually occurred in the game. Deeper or more specific branches may exist that share the same opening start, but all are rooted in a clearly defined MICOS opening identity.
For each immortal game, the corresponding MICOS Code is included directly in the PGN game, allowing the game to be accurately placed within the MICOS Opening Groups and studied in its correct structural context.
This demonstrates that MICOS is not limited to theoretical opening trees — it can classify any chess game ever played, past or future, by its opening identity based on exact move order.
From Year 1600
Greco–NN, Rome 1619
In one of the earliest recorded chess games, Gioachino Greco mates on the eighth move with a queen sacrifice.
1700
1788: Bowdler–Conway, London
Thomas Bowdler offers the first example of a famous double rook sacrifice.
1790: Smith–Philidor, London
François-André Danican Philidor, who was quoted as saying “Pawns are the soul of chess”, demonstrates the power of a superior pawn formation.
1800
1834: La Bourdonnais–McDonnell, 50th Match Game, London
Reuben Fine in The World’s Great Chess Games describes it as the first great immortal game of chess. The victor trades his queen for two minor pieces.
1843: Staunton–St. Amant, Paris
Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant resigns in this unofficial world championship match game with Howard Staunton, in which Staunton remarked, “The latter portion of this game is conducted with remarkable skill by both parties.”
1844: Hoffmann–Petrov, Warsaw
Petrov wins with a queen sacrifice and a king hunt, in a game known as “Petrov’s Immortal”.
1851: Anderssen–Kieseritzky, London
“In The Immortal Game” Kieseritzky neglects his development and Anderssen sacrifices his queen and both rooks for a win.
1852: Anderssen–Dufresne, Berlin
“In The Evergreen Game” Anderssen mates with what Savielly Tartakower called “a combination second to none in the literature of the game.”
1857: Paulsen–Morphy, New York
Morphy gains an advantage in development and transforms it into a powerful kingside attack with a queen sacrifice.
1858: Paul Morphy–Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, Paris
“In The Opera Game” Morphy wins by sacrificing lots of material, mating on the 17th move with his last two officers.
1872: Hamppe–Meitner, Vienna
“In The Immortal Draw” between Carl Hamppe and Philipp Meitner, involving a queen sacrifice.
1883: Zukertort–Blackburne, London
1889: Lasker–Bauer, Amsterdam
A game between Emanuel Lasker and Johann Hermann Bauer was the first famous example of the famous double bishop sacrifice.
1895: Pillsbury–Tarrasch, Hastings
A game from Pillsbury’s victory at the Hastings 1895 tournament.
1895: Steinitz–von Bardeleben, Hastings
This game is famous for its thirteen-move mating combination, which Steinitz didn’t get the chance to play all the way through.
1895: Pillsbury–Gunsberg, Hastings
1895: Pillsbury–Lasker, Saint Petersburg
Lasker won the brilliancy prize for this game.
1900–49
1904: Lasker–Napier, Cambridge Springs
1907: Rotlewi–Rubinstein, Lodz
Rubinstein wins this game with one of the most famous combinations ever played.
1909: Rubinstein–Lasker, Saint Petersburg
Rubinstein’s brilliant play culminates in 17 Qc1!! subsequently forcing Lasker to enter a rook endgame down a pawn which Rubinstein wins in masterly fashion.
1912: Edward Lasker–Thomas, London
With a queen sacrifice, Lasker exposes Black’s king and with a series of checks drives it all the way to the other side of the board before checkmating with an advance of his king.
1912: Levitsky–Marshall, Breslau
Marshall wins this game with what many consider the most amazing move ever played.
1922: Bogoljubov–Alekhine, Hastings
Irving Chernev called this the greatest game of chess ever played, adding: “Alekhine’s subtle strategy involves manoeuvres which encompass the entire chessboard as a battlefield. There are exciting plots and counterplots. There are fascinating combinations and brilliant sacrifices of Queens and Rooks. There are two remarkable promotions of Pawns and a third in the offing, before White decides to capitulate.” (The Chess Companion, Chernev, Faber and Faber Ltd, 1970).
1923: Sämisch–Nimzovich, Copenhagen
“The Immortal Zugzwang Game”.
1924: Capablanca–Tartakower, New York
One of the most famous and instructive endgames ever played.
1924: Richard Réti–José Raúl Capablanca, New York
The game that ended Capablanca’s eight-year run without a single loss in tournament play.
1925: Réti–Alekhine, Baden-Baden
1930: Glucksberg–Najdorf, Warsaw
In this game, dubbed the ‘Polish Immortal’, Black sacrifices all four minor pieces for victory.
1934: Canal–Unknown, Budapest
“The Peruvian Immortal”, sees Peruvian master Esteban Canal demolish his amateur opponent with the sacrifice of two rooks and queen.
1935: Euwe–Alekhine, Amsterdam
This decisive game from the 1935 match for the world championship was dubbed ‘The Pearl of Zandvoort’ by Tartakower.
1938: Botvinnik–Capablanca, Rotterdam
In this game from the AVRO 1938 tournament, Botvinnik obtains a strong initiative against Capablanca and brings the victory home with a long combination.
1938: Parr–Wheatcroft, London
Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld described this as “one of the greatest combinative games on record!” (Fireside Book Of Chess, Simon and Schuster, 1949, pp. 392–93)
1943: Molinari–Roux Cabral, Montevideo
This game from the 1943 Uruguayan Chess Championship, dubbed the “Uruguayan Immortal”, sees Luis Roux Cabral sacrifice the exchange twice, followed by sacrifices of two minor pieces. After 33 moves, all three of his remaining pieces are en prise—and his opponent cannot stop checkmate.
Continue to: Botvinnik–Smyslov, Moscow
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