A modern immortal
The great attacking games of the nineteenth century were played against opponents who defended badly. Garry Kasparov's win over Veselin Topalov at Wijk aan Zee in January 1999 is different. Both players were among the very best in the world, the defence was tough, and the combination that Kasparov started on move 24 was so deep that it took years of analysis to understand it fully.
Kasparov went on to win the tournament, but this game is what people remember. It is often called the greatest game of the modern era.
The full game
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.f3 b5 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 Bb7 10.a3 e5 11.O-O-O Qe7 12.Kb1 a6 13.Nc1 O-O-O 14.Nb3 exd4 15.Rxd4 c5 16.Rd1 Nb6 17.g3 Kb8 18.Na5 Ba8 19.Bh3 d5 20.Qf4+ Ka7 21.Rhe1 d4 22.Nd5 Nbxd5 23.exd5 Qd6 24.Rxd4!! cxd4 25.Re7+ Kb6 26.Qxd4+ Kxa5 27.b4+ Ka4 28.Qc3 Qxd5 29.Ra7 Bb7 30.Rxb7 Qc4 31.Qxf6 Kxa3 32.Qxa6+ Kxb4 33.c3+ Kxc3 34.Qa1+ Kd2 35.Qb2+ Kd1 36.Bf1 Rd2 37.Rd7 Rxd7 38.Bxc4 bxc4 39.Qxh8 Rd3 40.Qa8 c3 41.Qa4+ Ke1 42.f4 f5 43.Kc1 Rd2 44.Qa7 1-0
The opening: a Pirc with opposite castling
Topalov played the Pirc Defence, and Kasparov chose an aggressive setup with Be3, Qd2 and f3, aiming to exchange the dark-squared bishops with Bh6. After 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 that trade happened, and Black's kingside dark squares lost their main defender.
Black, though, did not castle short. With 13...O-O-O the black king went to the queenside, the side where Black had already pushed ...b5 and ...a6. That decision shaped everything that followed. Black's king was sitting behind pawns that had moved forward, and the a-, b- and c-files were full of loose squares.
Moves 14 to 23: the build-up
Kasparov's knight travelled from e2 to c1, b3 and finally a5, a strong outpost next to the black king. Black's king walked to b8 and then a7 to step out of checks and pins. By move 19 Black struck in the centre with 19...d5, and after 20.Qf4+ Ka7 21.Rhe1 d4 the d-pawn pushed forward, attacking the knight on c3.
22.Nd5 Nbxd5 23.exd5 Qd6 led to the critical position. Black's queen offers a trade on f4, and if White plays quietly, Black will be fine.
White: knight on a5, pawn on d5, queen on f4, pawn on a3, pawn on f3, pawn on g3, bishop on h3, pawn on b2, pawn on c2, pawn on h2, king on b1, rook on d1, rook on e1. Black: bishop on a8, rook on d8, rook on h8, king on a7, pawn on f7, pawn on h7, pawn on a6, queen on d6, knight on f6, pawn on g6, pawn on b5, pawn on c5, pawn on d4. White to move.
24.Rxd4!! and the king hunt
Kasparov gave up a rook for a pawn with 24.Rxd4!!. After 24...cxd4 the c-file and the e-file are both open, and 25.Re7+ drives the black king out from a7. Topalov chose 25...Kb6, and the king began a long walk across the board.
White: rook on e7, knight on a5, pawn on d5, queen on f4, pawn on a3, pawn on f3, pawn on g3, bishop on h3, pawn on b2, pawn on c2, pawn on h2, king on b1. Black: bishop on a8, rook on d8, rook on h8, pawn on f7, pawn on h7, pawn on a6, king on b6, queen on d6, knight on f6, pawn on g6, pawn on b5, pawn on d4. White to move.
From here White kept the initiative with check after check and threat after threat.
- 26.Qxd4+ Kxa5 The king takes the knight on a5, but now it stands on the edge.
- 27.b4+ Ka4 Another pawn joins the attack.
- 28.Qc3! A quiet move that tightens the net around the king. Black uses the moment to grab the d5 pawn with 28...Qxd5.
- 29.Ra7 Bb7 30.Rxb7 The rook removes a key defender, and after 30...Qc4 White grabs the knight with 31.Qxf6.
The black king kept running: a3, then b4, then c3, d2 and finally d1, deep in White's own half of the board.
White: rook on b7, queen on f6, pawn on b4, pawn on f3, pawn on g3, bishop on h3, pawn on c2, pawn on h2, king on b1. Black: rook on d8, rook on h8, pawn on f7, pawn on h7, pawn on a6, pawn on g6, pawn on b5, queen on c4, king on a3. White to move.
The winning ending
After 32.Qxa6+ Kxb4 33.c3+ Kxc3 34.Qa1+ Kd2 35.Qb2+ Kd1, White played 36.Bf1!, attacking the black queen on c4 from a distance. The sequence 36...Rd2 37.Rd7 Rxd7 38.Bxc4 bxc4 39.Qxh8 left White a queen against a rook and pawns. Kasparov finished with 44.Qa7, and Topalov resigned.
White: queen on a7, pawn on f4, pawn on g3, pawn on h2, king on c1. Black: pawn on h7, pawn on g6, pawn on f5, pawn on c3, rook on d2, king on e1. Black to move.
What the engines say
For years after the game, analysts argued about whether 24.Rxd4 was sound and what Black's best defence was. Our own engine check at depth 30 still ranks 24.Rxd4 as White's best move in the position, yet it also suggests that Black, by declining the rook with 24...Kb6, could have defended and even kept a small edge. Finding defences like that at the board, with the clock running and the king under fire, is enormously hard.
That is part of why the game is so special. Nobody could calculate every line to the end at the board. The sacrifice rested on a judgement: that the black king, once pulled into the open, would be very hard to defend.
For club players there is a practical message here too. A sacrifice does not have to be proven correct to be a good practical choice. When the opponent's king is exposed and your pieces are close, the defender has to find many only-moves in a row, while the attacker only needs the defence to slip once.
Lessons for your own games
- King safety beats material. A rook down, White's pieces were all closer to the black king than Black's defenders were.
- Open lines before you need them. 24.Rxd4 opened the c-file and the e-file in one move.
- Quiet moves inside an attack. 28.Qc3 and 36.Bf1 were not checks, but they created threats Black could not meet.
- Opposite-side castling means a race. Whoever opens lines first usually wins.
Practise the ideas
Load the position after 23...Qd6 on the analysis board and see how many of the follow-up moves you can find. Running a game through game review will show you where your own attacks stalled. The Pirc Defence and other replies to 1.e4 are in the opening trainer, and king-hunt themes come up again and again in puzzles. For a guided look at famous games, visit the video section.
Published 2026-11-01 · 22Softwares