Peter Leko
Notable Games

Peter Leko

15 celebrated games · 707 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 707 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1995 Leko, Peter vsKramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Classical Variation 48 moves Belgrade Investbank A 15-year-old Leko defeats future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in a Sicilian Richter-Rauzer at Belgrade 1995, an early sign of the youngest grandmaster's arrival among the elite.
  • 1998.05.16 Leko, Peter vsBeliavsky, Alexander G 1-0 Pirc Defense: Classical Variation 35 moves Madrid Magistral 7th A Pirc Defense attacking win over veteran Alexander Beliavsky at the 1998 Madrid Magistral, one of the games chessgames.com lists among Leko's most notable.
  • 1999.02.26 Leko, Peter vsIvanchuk, Vassily 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Szén Variation 40 moves Linares 16th A Sicilian Taimanov victory over Vassily Ivanchuk at Linares 1999, from the year Leko broke through for his first super-tournament win at Dortmund.
  • 1999.06.30 Leko, Peter vsTopalov, Veselin 1-0 Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation 40 moves Frankfurt-West Masters A Pirc Defense win over Veselin Topalov, a world top-ten grandmaster and future FIDE World Champion, at the 1999 Frankfurt-West Masters.
  • 2001.10.18 Leko, Peter vsGhaem Maghami, Ehsan 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Polugaevsky Variation 27 moves WchT 5th A 27-move Sicilian Najdorf victory at the 2001 World Team Championship in Yerevan, one of the games chessgames.com singles out among Leko's notable wins.
  • 2002.07.11 Leko, Peter vsAdams, Michael 1-0 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Jaenisch Variation 45 moves Candidates Tournament Gp2 A Petrov Defense win over Michael Adams at the 2002 Dortmund Candidates Tournament, the event that decided the challenger to World Champion Kramnik.
  • 2002.07.18 Leko, Peter vsTopalov, Veselin 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation, Exchange Variation 81 moves Candidates final Leko outlasts Veselin Topalov in an 81-move Sicilian in the first game of the 2002 Dortmund Candidates final, the match he won to become Kramnik's official World Championship challenger.
  • 2003.03.08 Leko, Peter vsAnand, Viswanathan 1-0 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Main Line 65 moves Linares 20th A Petrov Defense win over Viswanathan Anand in the final round of Linares 2003, the "Wimbledon of Chess" that Leko shared first at ahead of Kramnik, Anand and Kasparov.
  • 2003.03.02 Leko, Peter vsRadjabov, Teimour 1-0 French Defense: McCutcheon Variation, Lasker Variation 32 moves Linares 20th A French Defense attacking victory over Teimour Radjabov at Linares 2003, one of Leko's chessgames.com notable games from his tournament-winning run.
  • 2004.10.02 Leko, Peter vsKramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Main Line 69 moves World-ch Kramnik-Leko +2-2=10 A Queen's Gambit Declined win over World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in Game 5 of the 2004 Classical World Championship match at Brissago, leveling the match.
  • 2004.10.07 Kramnik, Vladimir vsLeko, Peter 0-1 Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Modern Main Line 32 moves World-ch Kramnik-Leko +2-2=10 The famous Marshall Attack: Leko wins with Black against World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in Game 8 of the 2004 Classical World Championship match at Brissago, taking the lead in a match he came within one game of winning.
  • 2005.01.16 Anand, Viswanathan vsLeko, Peter 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation 57 moves Corus A Sveshnikov Sicilian win with Black over Viswanathan Anand in round 2 of the 2005 Corus tournament at Wijk aan Zee, which Leko went on to win outright ahead of Anand, Topalov and Kramnik.
  • 2006.02.19 Leko, Peter vsRadjabov, Teimour 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation, Chelyabinsk Variation 45 moves Morelia/Linares 23rd A Sveshnikov Sicilian victory over Teimour Radjabov at Morelia/Linares 2006.
  • 2007.01.08 Leko, Peter vsGelfand, Boris 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 27 moves World Cup ACP 1st A Sicilian Najdorf attacking win over Boris Gelfand at the 2007 ACP World Cup in Odessa.
  • 2008.01.22 Leko, Peter vsCarlsen, Magnus 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense, Zaitsev Hybrid 40 moves Corus A Ruy Lopez win over a 17-year-old Magnus Carlsen at the 2008 Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee, five years before Carlsen became World Champion.
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