Originally posted by skimsWhat makes a chessgame great? Brilliant combinations? Startling sacrifices? Positional masterstrokes?
Does anyone have any candidates for the Best Chess Game in the World Ever?
Well you see if the game is truely the greatest the brilliant combinations won't ever be realised as the other player would see them. How can a game be the greatest if one player misses a combination?
Same with sacrifices.
Positonally both players will be playing well. That means neither will earn themselves a positional advantage. So no slowly squeezing a player off the board (ala Karpov or Marozy), no pressure eventually becoming realised.
The greatness of a chessgame lies not in the moves played but in the moves not played. The greatest chess game would not be an exciting affair but instead boring as hell until examined very closely.
Originally posted by twhiteheadThe best chess game in the world shouldn't need context.
A good candidate would be the game in which Deep Blue beat Kasparov and played so well that it made Kasparov loose his next games as well. For a machine to win through 'psychology' against a world champion is truly impressive.
Originally posted by XanthosNZI disagree.
What makes a chessgame great? Brilliant combinations? Startling sacrifices? Positional masterstrokes?
Well you see if the game is truely the greatest the brilliant combinations won't ever be realised as the other player would see them. How can a game be the greatest if one player misses a combination?
Same with sacrifices.
Positonally both players wi ...[text shortened]... ess game would not be an exciting affair but instead boring as hell until examined very closely.
The greatest chess games would involve the largest degree of "balanced imbalance", ie the trading of material for positional factors that are realized long afterwards, like the endgame.
A forced oucome that is unclear to analysts and long debated, the magnitude of the sacrifice and the length to realize the win adds to the greatness.
I wouldn't call that boring.
Back when I was a big chess buff (getting away from it all now), one of the stories that came out was this scenario:
The year is 2156 AD. Two SUPER COMPUTERS are playing for the Section 7, Intergalactic Championship! Of course by this time, the super computers have been able to analyze every possible attack line. They have NOT, however, been able to analyze every position where the player DOES NOT WEAKEN HIS POSITION BY ATTACKING! For example, once a pawn has moved forward the opponent can place their pieces to take advantage of whatever weaknesses were created by the pawn advance. Such analysis is noted and in memory of both super computers for moves ranging from 1 to 1 with an exponent of 18 (it was estimated in the 20th century that the game contained moves to the 19th exponent - the super computers showed they were wrong). 😲
Okay, so now we are looking at time, space, and the development of the super computer, which BTW, 'knows all'.
And the game starts!
White plays 1.Nf3!
A BRILLIANT MOVE based on years of computations!!! White has not made any weakening pawn moves, but continues to lead in development!
Black responds with: 1...Nf6!!
Equalizing development and stopping White from seizing an advantage in the opening.
White plays 2.Nc3!!!
Refusing to be intimidated by Black and maintaining the integrity of White's pawn structure!
Black plays 2...Nc6!!!
WOW! Such a BEAUTIFUL MOVE! Black shows the opponent that it is White who must make the fatal pawn move - which will result in a win in 2,045 moves! Sooner if White misplays the game!
So now it's White's move... the super computer needs to draw on more energy than ever imagined. Lights dim in the surrounding city as the super computer thinks...
And it finds a FANTASTIC MOVE!!! After only analyzing the game from move to 2 to the exponent of 16! White plays: 3.Nb1!!!! <GASP!>
Viewers fall out of their chairs! Grand Masters (who are only kept around to explain to the public what the super computers are doing) fall down to their knees and start crying!
After the turbulence has stopped, one Grand Master in tears explains: "It's an amazing psychological ploy. White informs the opponent that BLACK will be FORCED to make the first pawn weakness, which White will exploit within a few thousand moves and win the game!" Then the old geezers eyes turn glassy and he slumps to the floor.
The game continues...
The super computer now playing the Black pieces needs ALL the resources possible to avoid this sneaky, horrible TRAP set by White! It pulls on all the power and thinks... and thinks.... 10 BILLION moves a second it analyzes until suddenly, it finds a save!!!
And so Black plays: 3...Ng8!!!! 😲
Demonstrating that White CANNOT force a win!
So White plays 4.Ng1!!!
And Black immediately plays (so as not to be caught in ZUGSWANG!)
4...Nb8!!!!!
And a DRAW is reached!
Originally posted by Starryknight14Ady,J (2395) - Waitzkin,J (2480) [B32]
Any of Waitzkin's games.....
New York Manhattan New York (7), 14.10.1998
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5 Nce7 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxb5+ axb5 11.Nxb5 Ra6 12.Ndc7+ Kd7 13.Bd2 Rb6 14.c4 Ba6 15.Ba5 Bxb5 16.Bxb6 Bc6 17.c5 Nf6 18.Na6 1-0
You're right it's inspiring.
Originally posted by buffalobillThanks! 🙂
No single game could ever stand out. But if you're asking for a candidate for the top ten I'd nominate this one. Capablanca v Tartakower who was no slouch. I'm a fan of end games BTW. Here's a previous post of mine: http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=23552