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  4. The Immortal Game

The Immortal Game

Adolf Anderssen vs Lionel Kieseritzky · London (casual), 1851 · 1–0
Anderssen mates after sacrificing a queen and two rooks
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Press → or tap the arrows to play through the game — the notes appear at the moments that decided it.
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The most romantic game ever played. Anderssen gives up a bishop, both rooks and the queen — and mates with his three remaining minor pieces. A monument to initiative over material from the age of attacking chess.

The takeaway

Material is only a means. When your pieces are all firing at the enemy king, time and initiative can be worth far more than a rook — or a queen.

Now go make your own.
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Another classic

The Opera Game
Paul Morphy vs Duke of Brunswick & Count Isouard · 1858
Légal's Mate
Sire de Légal vs Saint Brie · 1750
The Evergreen Game
Adolf Anderssen vs Jean Dufresne · 1852
The Game of the Century
Donald Byrne vs Bobby Fischer · 1956
A Queen Sacrifice and Double Check
Richard Réti vs Savielly Tartakower · 1910
Rubinstein's Immortal
Georg Rotlewi vs Akiba Rubinstein · 1907
Kasparov's Immortal
Garry Kasparov vs Veselin Topalov · 1999
The Gold Coins Game
Stepan Levitsky vs Frank Marshall · 1912
Kasparov Beats the Machine
Garry Kasparov vs Deep Blue · 1996
The Machine's Immortal
Deep Blue vs Garry Kasparov · 1997