This is my first attempt at posting a FEN, hope it works...
IMO, the most brilliant move ever made on a chessboard was made by Frank Marshall in 1912 against Levitzky. So electrifying was its effect on the spectators that they showered his board with gold pieces.
From this position, Marshall (Black) played:
23. ... Qg3!!
Thereby thrusting his Queen into a nest of pawns. Black's threat is Qxh3 mate: If:
24 Qxg3 then Ne2+ 25 Kh1 Nxg3+ 26 Kg1 Nxf1 and Black is a piece ahead after 27 gxh3
If 24. fxg3 then Ne2+ 25. Kh1 Rxf1 mate
And finally, If 24 hxg3 then Ne2 is mate
Levitzky (White) did not play on. As soon as he recovered from this shock, he resigned!
Anyone ever see a better move than this?
I first saw the story of this game in a book called "The Fireside Book of Chess" (by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld). Originally published in 1949, the copyright was renewed in 1976, and I probably bought the book shortly thereafter.
Being from 1949/1976 it, of course, uses descriptive notation. It is definitely a fun read...the first section has over 100 little stories and anecdotes, and is fun to read. The next section is called "Remarkable Games and Their Stories", from which this game/story comes.
Another "remarkable game" involves Capablance and Marshall. Marshall once discovered an intricate line of play in the Ruy Lopez. It was much too good to use against ordinary Masters (whom he would probably beat anyway). He saved it for TEN years before he unleashed it (against Capa in the New York tournament of 1918).
Capa won that game, but the annotations/commentary given in the book are amazing (it was an amazing line of play...sometime I'll translate it to algebraic and post it in this forum).
Here, for old times sake, is the descriptive notation of Marshall's game which led to the above position:
1 PQ4 PK3
2 PK4 PQ4
3 N-QB3 PQB4 (the book actually uses "Kt" for Knight)
4 N-B3 N-QB3
5 KPxP KPxP
6 B-K2 N-B3
7 O-O B-K2
8 BKN5 O-O
9 PxP B-K3
10 N-Q4 BxP
11 NxB PxN
12 B-N4 Q-Q3
13 B-R3 QR-K1
14 Q-Q2 B-N5
15 BxN RxB
16 QR-Q1 Q-B4
17 Q-K2 BxN
18 PxB QxP
19 RxP N-Q5
20 Q-R5 R(1)-KB1
21 R-K5 R-R3
22 Q-N5 RxB
23 R-QB5 ....
Move 23 is when Marshall played "Q-KN6" (or Qg3).
aw, what the heck, here it is in algebraic:
1) d4 e6
2) e4 d5
3) Nc3 c5
4) Nf3 Nc6
5) exd5 exd5
6) Be2 Nf6
7) 0-0 Be7
8) Bg5 0-0
9) dxc5 Be6
10) Nd4 Bxc5
11) Nxe6 fxe6
12) Bg4 Qd6
13) Bh3 Rae8
14) Qd2 Bb4
15) Bxf6 Rxf6
16) Rad1 Qc5
17) Qe2 Bxc3
18) bxc3 Qxc3
19) Rxd5 Nd4
20) Qh5 Ref8
21) Re5 Rh6
22) Qg5 Rxh3
Here, white can not replay with gxh3, as 23... Nf3 triple-forks White's K on g1, R on e5 and Q on g5, thereby winning the Queen
23) Rc5
23) ... Qg3!!!!!!!!
(White resigns)!!!
Originally posted by TimmyToiletI would give 23. ... Qg3 one exclamation mark no more. It is not a move that requires huge calculation or judgement to play. The longest line given is to 27w. That's only 7 ply.
23...Qg3 deserves 5 maybe 6 exclamation points.
It's just beautiful
Sure it's beautiful but exclamation marks are generally given for brilliance not beauty.
Kasparov - Topalov 1999
I view this as one of the best moves. Kasparov plays 24. Rxd4!!
Of course if we include puzzles then the infamous Qg5 puzzle is pretty spectacular.
Originally posted by ark13Yes, I agree...every chess program I have found the same move.
Absolutely stunning. I think I've seen it before, but this is the first time I've really analysed it. But the sad thing is that Junior found it in less than a second. This is the state of chess.
One thing that was suspicious about the move... Marshall had an electronic ear piece in his ear during this game. Levitzky later accused Marshall of being fed moves by someone using a computer back in Rebecca's office. Marshall claimed he was merely listening to a broadcast of the 1912 World Series (which, incidentally, was won by the Red Sox). This game was played in a bar in Boston. 😉
Originally posted by WulebgrNot surprisingly, that move is listed in the same book (1976 edition) as the SECOND most brilliant move ever made on a chessboard. Upon seeing the brilliance of the move, the spectators then showered the board with yak manure (gold had not yet been discovered in Iceland). Spassky was so stunned by this move and the crowd's reaction, he resigned. He later blamed the manure for his loss of the match.
Game 6, Reykjavik 1972, against WC Boris Spasski, Bobby Fischer played 1.c4!
that was bloody brilliant
Originally posted by XanthosNZFor the record, the book actually used only one exclamation mark. I threw the others in there myself 🙂
I would give 23. ... Qg3 one exclamation mark no more. It is not a move that requires huge calculation or judgement to play. The longest line given is to 27w. That's only 7 ply.
Sure it's beautiful but exclamation marks are generally given for brilliance not beauty.
[fen]b2r3r/k4p1p/p2q1np1/NppP4/3p1Q2/P4PPB/1PP4P/1K1RR3 w - - 0 24[/fen]
Kasparov ...[text shortened]... 4. Rxd4!!
Of course if we include puzzles then the infamous Qg5 puzzle is pretty spectacular.
Originally posted by XanthosNZWow, I just played a few variations on Kasparov's move. None of them were good for black,that's for sure.
I would give 23. ... Qg3 one exclamation mark no more. It is not a move that requires huge calculation or judgement to play. The longest line given is to 27w. That's only 7 ply.
Sure it's beautiful but exclamation marks are generally ...[text shortened]... nclude puzzles then the infamous Qg5 puzzle is pretty spectacular.
I just looked this game up...looks like Black resigned after 44. Qa7. I'll have to play this game through to see how it went. Thanks for pointing this one out.
A lot of people would probably jump at the knight fork (Nc6+, winning the R at d8).
Looks like there are a lot of interesting ways to play this. Kasparov's edge in material (up a bishop) give him a lot of options. Rxd4 is definitely a brilliant move in this situation.
One of my original reasons for posting this thread was to see what other people thought were brilliant moves. I'm still every bit as stunned at Marshall's move today as I was when I first read that book (and had to MANUALLY set the position up on a board and play through it...what a rough childhood!)... But since that book was last published in 1976, I figured there had to be a lot of other truly brilliant moves out there, particularly since Karpov and Kasparov have come along since that time. I thought it would be interesting to see what other moves "stuck" in peoples minds.
I well remember showing Marshall's move to a lot of chess-playing friends in the early 90s, just when computers were starting to become strong players. None of them had ever seen anything like it.
Another nice one: Zuckertort - Blackburne, London 1988:
White played 28.Qb4!
The checkmate in 7 if black accepts the Queen sac is already nice, but whitte had calculated more... The game continued
28. ... R8c5 (if R2c5 then Qxe4)
29.Rf8+! again with checkmate in a few moves if black takes
29. ... Kxh7
30.Qxe4! Kg7
31.Bxe5+! again rook sac (sacking the rook with Rg8+ is even faster)
31. ... Kxf8
32.Bg7+ a bishop sac to finish. If black takes with the queen, then mate on e8, if with the king, then he loses the queen
black resigned.