Name↕ | White↕ | Black↕ | Year↕ | Result↕ | Claim to Fame↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Immortal Game | Adolf Anderssen | Lionel Kieseritzky | 1851 | 1-0 | Anderssen sacrificed both rooks, a bishop and the queen to win |
The Evergreen Game | Adolf Anderssen | Jean Dufresne | 1852 | 1-0 | Brilliant double bishop sacrifice attack |
The Opera Game | Paul Morphy | Duke of Brunswick / Count Isouard | 1858 | 1-0 | Played at the Paris Opera during a Norma performance |
The Game of the Century | Donald Byrne | Bobby Fischer (age 13) | 1956 | 0-1 | 13-year-old Fischer's queen sacrifice masterpiece |
Fischer vs Spassky, Game 6 | Bobby Fischer | Boris Spassky | 1972 | 1-0 | Cold War showdown; Spassky applauded Fischer's brilliance |
Kasparov vs Deep Blue, Game 6 | Deep Blue (IBM) | Garry Kasparov | 1997 | 1-0 | First time a reigning world champion lost a match to a computer |
Kasparov vs Topalov, Wijk aan Zee | Garry Kasparov | Veselin Topalov | 1999 | 1-0 | Considered the greatest game of the modern era; long king hunt |
Karpov vs Kasparov, World Championship 1985 | Various | Various | 1985 | Kasparov 13-11 | Kasparov became youngest world champion at age 22 |
Capablanca vs Marshall (Marshall Attack) | José Raúl Capablanca | Frank Marshall | 1918 | 1-0 | Marshall unleashed his prepared gambit; Capablanca refuted it OTB |
Botvinnik vs Capablanca, AVRO | Mikhail Botvinnik | José Raúl Capablanca | 1938 | 1-0 | Famous Be7! winning combination |
Polugaevsky vs Nezhmetdinov | Lev Polugaevsky | Rashid Nezhmetdinov | 1958 | 0-1 | Queen sacrifice followed by 25 moves of brilliant tactics |
Aronian vs Anand, Wijk aan Zee | Levon Aronian | Viswanathan Anand | 2013 | 0-1 | Anand's stunning ...Nde5! sacrificial combination |
Carlsen vs Karjakin, World Championship | Various | Various | 2016 | Carlsen 3-1 (rapid) | Decided in tiebreaks on Carlsen's 26th birthday |
Short vs Timman, Tilburg | Nigel Short | Jan Timman | 1991 | 1-0 | Famous king march from h1 to h6 to deliver mate |
Niemann vs Carlsen, Sinquefield Cup | Hans Niemann | Magnus Carlsen | 2022 | 1-0 | Triggered the biggest cheating scandal in modern chess |
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Frequently asked questions
How is the Famous Chess Matches list ranked?
The Famous Chess Matches list is ranked by community votes. Every visitor can pick one option over another in head-to-head matchups, and the running totals determine the order you see. No editors or algorithms — just real people voting.
How many entries are in this Famous Chess Matches dataset?
This dataset contains 15 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
Can I download the Famous Chess Matches data?
Yes. The download buttons at the top of the page give you the full 15-row dataset as CSV, JSON, or Excel. Use of the data is permitted under a Creative Commons Attribution license — credit dtbse.com when you republish.
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