The Library

The greatest games ever played, explained the way a master sees them.

37 games from Paris 1858 to today. Narrated games give a reason for every move, and their key positions go into your review deck.

  1. ★🔊 Narrated
    1851 · London

    Give away everything, still win

    Adolf Anderssen – Lionel Kieseritzky

    Develop your piecesOpen lines help the better-developed sideSacrifices
  2. ★🔊 Narrated
    1852 · Berlin

    Forever green: the queen offer

    Adolf Anderssen – Jean Dufresne

    Open lines help the better-developed sideCastle earlySacrifices
  3. ★🔊 Narrated
    1858 · Paris

    Checkmate during the opera

    Paul Morphy – Duke Karl of Brunswick & Count Isouard

    Develop your piecesOpen lines help the better-developed sidePins
  4. ★🔊 Narrated
    1889 · Amsterdam

    Two bishops gone, king wide open

    Emanuel Lasker – Johann Hermann Bauer

    SacrificesKingside attackRemove the defender
  5. ★🔊 Narrated
    1895 · Hastings

    The rook that would not stop

    Wilhelm Steinitz – Curt von Bardeleben

    Castle earlyFight for the centerRooks on open files
  6. ★🔊 Narrated
    1907 · Berlin

    The roof comes off

    Theodor von Scheve – Richard Teichmann

    Your king's pawn shieldSacrificesBlunder check
  7. ★🔊 Narrated
    1907 · Łódź

    Two bishops aim at one king

    Georg Rotlewi – Akiba Rubinstein

    Good positions create combinationsSacrificesKingside attack
  8. ★🔊 Narrated
    1910 · Vienna

    Queen sacrifice, double check, mate

    Richard Réti – Savielly Tartakower

    Queen out too earlyCastle earlySacrifices
  9. ★🔊 Narrated
    1912 · Breslau (Wrocław)

    The move that rained gold

    Stepan Levitsky – Frank Marshall

    Rooks on open filesKingside attackSacrifices
  10. ★🔊 Narrated
    1912 · London

    A king dragged across the board

    Edward Lasker – George Alan Thomas

    AttractionSacrificesDouble check
  11. ★🔊 Narrated
    1914 · St. Petersburg

    One pawn push, one perfect square

    Emanuel Lasker – José Raúl Capablanca

    Pawn structureOutpostsMove into the holes
  12. ★🔊 Narrated
    1923 · Copenhagen

    White runs out of moves

    Friedrich Sämisch – Aron Nimzowitsch

    Making a planRooks on open fileszugzwang
  13. ★🔊 Narrated
    1924 · New York

    The king marches, pawns roll

    José Raúl Capablanca – Savielly Tartakower

    Rook endgamesActive kingPassed pawns
  14. ★Narration soon
    1938 · Rotterdam

    Botvinnik's unstoppable e-pawn

    Mikhail Botvinnik – José Raúl Capablanca

    Pawn structurePassed pawnsSacrifices
  15. ★Narration soon
    1956 · New York

    A 13-year-old's queen sacrifice

    Donald Byrne – Robert James Fischer

    Castle earlySacrificesDiscovered attacks
  16. ★Narration soon
    1972 · Reykjavík

    Fischer wins with quiet moves

    Robert James Fischer – Boris Spassky

    Pawn structureMaking a planRooks on open files
  17. ★Narration soon
    1985 · Moscow

    Kasparov's monster knight on d3

    Anatoly Karpov – Garry Kasparov

    OutpostsMove into the holesMaking a plan
  18. ★Narration soon
    1991 · Tilburg

    The king walks in for mate

    Nigel Short – Jan Timman

    Active kingRooks on open filesKingside attack
  19. ★Narration soon
    1999 · Wijk aan Zee

    Rook sacrifice, then a king hunt

    Garry Kasparov – Veselin Topalov

    SacrificesAttractionGood positions create combinations
  20. ★Narration soon
    2002 · Moscow

    Judit beats the champion

    Judit Polgar – Garry Kasparov

    Active kingRooks on open filesWinning won games
  21. ★Narration soon
    2004 · Wijk aan Zee

    Young Magnus smashes the castle

    Magnus Carlsen – Sipke Ernst

    SacrificesKingside attackYour king's pawn shield
  22. 🔊 Narrated
    1857 · New York

    Morphy's queen lands on f3

    Louis Paulsen – Paul Morphy

    SacrificesYour king's pawn shieldKingside attack
  23. 🔊 Narrated
    1883 · London

    The queen nobody could take

    Johannes Zukertort – Joseph Henry Blackburne

    Fight for the centerKingside attackSacrifices
  24. 🔊 Narrated
    1904 · Cambridge Springs

    Pillsbury tears open the king

    Harry Nelson Pillsbury – Emanuel Lasker

    Open lines help the better-developed sideSacrificesKingside attack
  25. 🔊 Narrated
    1914 · Moscow

    Capablanca's back-rank surprise

    Ossip Bernstein – José Raúl Capablanca

    Pawn structurePassed pawnsBack-rank mates
  26. 🔊 Narrated
    1918 · New York

    Calm defence beats a secret weapon

    José Raúl Capablanca – Frank Marshall

    DefendingDevelop first, then attackWinning won games
  27. 🔊 Narrated
    1930 · San Remo

    Three heavy pieces in a line

    Alexander Alekhine – Aron Nimzowitsch

    Rooks on open filesPinszugzwang
  28. 🔊 Narrated
    1932 · Hastings

    Menchik punishes a hasty attack

    Mir Sultan Khan – Vera Menchik

    Develop first, then attackDefendingPassed pawns
  29. 🔊 Narrated
    1936 · Nottingham

    The lonely pawn leads an attack

    Mikhail Botvinnik – Milan Vidmar

    Pawn structureOutpostsKingside attack
  30. Narration soon
    1960 · Leningrad

    The knight that crashed f7

    Boris Spassky – David Bronstein

    Open lines help the better-developed sidef7 / f2 attacksSacrifices
  31. Narration soon
    1965 · Bled

    Tal's knight leaps into d5

    Mikhail Tal – Bent Larsen

    SacrificesOpen lines help the better-developed sideKingside attack
  32. Narration soon
    1966 · Moscow

    Two exchange sacrifices, one king

    Tigran Petrosian – Boris Spassky

    SacrificesKingside attackYour king's pawn shield
  33. Narration soon
    1968 · Monte Carlo

    Rooks crash in on the c-file

    Mikhail Botvinnik – Lajos Portisch

    Rooks on open filesSacrificesf7 / f2 attacks
  34. Narration soon
    1974 · Nice

    Space first, then the knockout

    Anatoly Karpov – Wolfgang Unzicker

    Making a planGood & bad bishopsprophylaxis
  35. Narration soon
    2013 · Wijk aan Zee

    Anand's lightning counterpunch

    Levon Aronian – Viswanathan Anand

    Fight for the centerOpen lines help the better-developed sideSacrifices
  36. Narration soon
    2014 · Biel

    Hou's knights hop to victory

    Hou Yifan – Anish Giri

    OutpostsForksBlunder check
  37. 🔊 Narrated
    1892 · Dresden

    The trap behind castling

    Siegbert Tarrasch – Georg Marco

    Fight for the centerPinsLoose pieces

New games are added to the library all the time.