Kasparov’s Immortal

The game, move by move

A Pirc, castled apart

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… d6 d6 — the Pirc Black gives up the centre on the first move and plans to shoot at it from a distance. Topalov played it all his life.
3. 2. d4 d4, taking what is offered
4. 2… Nf6 The knight out
5. 3. Nc3 The knight to c3
6. 3… g6 g6, for the bishop
7. 4. Be3 The bishop to e3
8. 4… Bg7 Bg7 — the long diagonal It comes off in six moves, which is the trade the whole opening is about: Black’s best piece for White’s attacking one.
9. 5. Qd2 The queen to d2
10. 5… c6 c6, preparing b5
11. 6. f3 f3, holding e4
12. 6… b5 b5, the counter-attack
13. 7. Nge2 The second knight out
14. 7… Nbd7 The knight to d7
15. 8. Bh6 The bishop to h6, offering the trade White gives up a bishop for the one piece guarding the dark squares round Black’s king. Everything after this happens on those squares.
16. 8… Bxh6 Taken
17. 9. Qxh6 The queen recaptures on h6
18. 9… Bb7 The bishop to b7
19. 10. a3 a3, quietly
20. 10… e5 e5, hitting the centre
21. 11. O-O-O White castles long Onto the wing Black has just been pushing pawns at. Both kings end up on this side of the board, which is why the finish looks the way it does.
22. 11… Qe7 The queen to e7

Both kings on the queenside

1. 12. Kb1 Kb1, tucking in
2. 12… a6 a6
3. 13. Nc1 The knight steps back to c1
4. 13… O-O-O Black castles long — into the same corner Two kings on the queenside, twelve moves in. Nobody is attacking a castled king from across the board in this game; they are attacking each other from four squares away.
5. 14. Nb3 The knight to b3
6. 14… exd4 The pawn taken on d4
7. 15. Rxd4 The rook recaptures
8. 15… c5 c5, at the rook
9. 16. Rd1 The rook back to d1
10. 16… Nb6 The knight to b6
11. 17. g3 g3
12. 17… Kb8 Kb8
13. 18. Na5 The knight to a5 Where it stands, unmoved and unprotected, for eleven moves — and it is taken by the king on move twenty-six, which is the point of it.
14. 18… Ba8 The bishop to a8, out of the way
15. 19. Bh3 The bishop to h3
16. 19… d5 d5, blocking the diagonal
17. 20. Qf4+ Check from f4
18. 20… Ka7 Ka7 The king steps to a7 behind three pawns. Nine moves later he is on a4 in the open.

The rook on d4

1. 21. Rhe1 The second rook to e1
2. 21… d4 d4 — the pawn that is taken with a rook It looks like a pawn gaining space and shutting the bishop out. It is the square the game turns on.
3. 22. Nd5 The knight to d5
4. 22… Nbxd5 The knights come off
5. 23. exd5 Recaptured
6. 23… Qd6 The queen to d6
7. 24. Rxd4 The rook takes d4 — the move A whole rook for a pawn, and it is not a check and threatens no mate. What it does is open the e-file for the other rook and clear the diagonal to a7, and everything after it is forced.
8. 24… cxd4 Taken — and the analysis says not to Twenty-five years of engines say 24…Kb6 held. Topalov had twenty minutes and took the rook, which is what a person does.
9. 25. Re7+ The second rook, on e7, with check Two rooks given in two moves. The king cannot stay: b8 and a8 are covered and the queen on f4 is looking at his corner.
10. 25… Kb6 Kb6 — out into the open
11. 26. Qxd4+ The queen takes d4, with check
12. 26… Kxa5 Kxa5 — taking the knight The knight that has stood on a5 doing nothing since move eighteen. He has to take it and taking it puts him on the fifth rank.
13. 27. b4+ b4, with check
14. 27… Ka4 Ka4 — the a-file, on move twenty-seven A king on a4 with White’s king on b1 and almost every piece still on the board.
15. 28. Qc3 Qc3 — the quiet move Not a check. In the middle of eleven forced moves Kasparov stops checking and simply threatens mate on b4 and a3 at once, and there is no answer that does not lose everything.
16. 28… Qxd5 The queen takes d5, defending

The king walks to a3

1. 29. Ra7 The rook to a7, with the second threat
2. 29… Bb7 The bishop to b7, blocking
3. 30. Rxb7 The rook takes it
4. 30… Qc4 The queen to c4
5. 31. Qxf6 The knight on f6, taken
6. 31… Kxa3 Kxa3 — taking a pawn
7. 32. Qxa6+ The queen takes a6, with check
8. 32… Kxb4 Kxb4 — and another
9. 33. c3+ c3, with check
10. 33… Kxc3 Kxc3 — a king on c3 He has taken a knight and three pawns and walked five files. He is still not mated and Kasparov is still not out of checks.
11. 34. Qa1+ Check from a1
12. 34… Kd2 Kd2
13. 35. Qb2+ Check from b2
14. 35… Kd1 Kd1 — the first rank The black king reaches White’s own back rank on move thirty-five, having crossed the whole board under check.

Queen against rook

1. 36. Bf1 The bishop to f1, cutting him off
2. 36… Rd2 The rook to d2, defending
3. 37. Rd7 The rook to d7, at the queen
4. 37… Rxd7 Taken
5. 38. Bxc4 The bishop takes the queen on c4
6. 38… bxc4 Recaptured with the pawn
7. 39. Qxh8 The queen takes the rook on h8 The dust settles: a queen and three pawns against a rook and four, and a black king on d1 that has to walk home.
8. 39… Rd3 The rook to d3
9. 40. Qa8 The queen to a8
10. 40… c3 c3, running
11. 41. Qa4+ Check from a4
12. 41… Ke1 Ke1
13. 42. f4 f4
14. 42… f5 f5
15. 43. Kc1 Kc1, walking the king up
16. 43… Rd2 The rook back to d2
17. 44. Qa7 Qa7 — and Black resigned No mate and nothing forced: twenty legal moves, a rook and four pawns against a queen and three, and nothing that stops the queen getting behind them. Topalov could see the rest and did not play it out. This is the position the closing shot holds on, and the card says what Qa7 does rather than claiming a mate that is not there.