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Garry Kasparov

1980s – 2000sWorld Champion 1985 – 2000Peak rating 2851203 games

World Champion from 1985 to 2000, renowned for dynamic attacking play, deep opening preparation and sustained dominance at world No. 1.

Garry Kasparov
Photo: Fryta 73 from Strzegom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How Kasparov plays

Kasparov played chess as an attack on every front at once: deep opening preparation, a huge centre whenever he could get one, and sacrifices to open lines towards the king. His games with Black in the Sicilian Najdorf and the King's Indian, and with White in the Queen's Gambit and Scotch, set the standard for a generation of players who grew up studying them.

What to learn from Kasparov

Watch how often a Kasparov win starts with a pawn push that gains space, and how he keeps pieces on the board when he has the initiative. His matches with Karpov are the best lesson in chess history on how to turn a small edge into an attack.

A game to play through

Karpov,A vs Kasparov,G - WCh II 1985 0-1 — the position after move 16. Game 16 of the 1985 World Championship. Kasparov's knight on d3, the 'octopus', paralysed Karpov's position; the diagram shows it just after it arrived.

Garry Kasparov: after 32 half-moves
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Be2 Bc5 12.O-O O-O 13.Bf3 Bf5 14.Bg5 Re8 15.Qd2 b5 16.Rad1 Nd3

The rest of the game is on FoxyChess.

Play through 203 Garry Kasparov games

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Garry Kasparov games on FoxyChess

Watch each game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get.

…and 163 more inside FoxyChess.

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