The Most Exciting Chess Games Ever

Twenty years ago, New In Chess magazine launched its own Proust Questionnaire, titled "Just Checking". In this column on the last page, the chess players and personalities named their favorites, preferences, moods, life slogans, and so on. One of the questions was always, "What was the most exciting chess game you've ever seen??

Chess greats like Anand, Shirov and Ivanchuk (and probably any other outstanding player you can think of), authors and commentators like Jeremy Silman, Jennifer Shahade and Tania Sachdev nominated memorable games. This anthology presents the most exciting 45 of them.

In addition to the inevitable "usual suspects" such as Kasparov-Topalov (Wijk aan Zee 1999) or the "Immortal" Anderssen-Kieseritzky (London 1851), you will enjoy a wide variety of lesser-known gems. You'll see Ding Liren enjoying an all-out attack, Ivan Saric juggling a Knight and five pawns against two rooks and Sergei Radchenko chasing the white king across the board. Each game is a showcase of the wealth and ingenuity of chess.

Steve Giddins edited this selection, a work he enjoyed immensely: "I hope all readers find here games that make them smile and lift their hearts".