Vassily Ivanchuk
Notable Games

Vassily Ivanchuk

15 celebrated games · 1893 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 1893 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1991 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsKasparov, Garry 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation 38 moves Linares 09th The breakthrough. At Linares 1991 — the elite event Ivanchuk went on to win — the 21-year-old beat reigning World Champion Garry Kasparov in a Moscow Sicilian, a result that helped carry him to world No. 2.
  • 1991 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsKarpov, Anatoly 1-0 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System 35 moves Linares 09th The same Linares 1991 also saw Ivanchuk defeat former World Champion Anatoly Karpov in a Nimzo-Indian, part of the run to first place ahead of both Karpov and Kasparov.
  • 1991 Anand, Viswanathan vsIvanchuk, Vassily 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Lipnitsky Attack 33 moves Linares 09th Playing Black, Ivanchuk outguns Viswanathan Anand in a sharp Najdorf at Linares 1991 — "the battle for e4" — completing a clean sweep of Kasparov, Karpov and Anand at a single tournament.
  • 1995.10.26 Kasparov, Garry vsIvanchuk, Vassily 0-1 French Defense: Winawer Variation, Advance Variation 31 moves Horgen A celebrated win with the black pieces over World Champion Kasparov at Horgen 1995, answering 1.e4 with the French Winawer — the kind of game behind Kasparov's admission that "against Kasparov, Ivanchuk always plays like Ivanchuk."
  • 1996.01.16 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsShirov, Alexei 1-0 Semi-Slav Defense: Botvinnik Variation 35 moves Hoogovens Ivanchuk's "Golden Queen Sacrifice." In the razor-sharp Botvinnik Semi-Slav at Wijk aan Zee 1996 he played 21.Qg7!!, giving up the queen for two pieces and a monster g7-pawn — routinely ranked among the greatest queen sacrifices ever played.
  • 1996.07.29 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsTopalov, Veselin 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation 34 moves Novgorod 3rd A model kingside attack against Veselin Topalov at Novgorod 1996 — a Scheveningen Sicilian crowned by the g6 breakthrough, long admired as one of the finest same-side-castling assaults on record.
  • 1996.08.28 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsMorozevich, Alexander 1-0 French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Boleslavsky Variation 34 moves Donner Memorial "Better Luck to Moro": at the 1996 Donner Memorial in Amsterdam, Ivanchuk answers Alexander Morozevich's French with the classical Steinitz and finishes with a crisp attack, later chosen a chessgames.com Game of the Day.
  • 1999.03.09 Topalov, Veselin vsIvanchuk, Vassily 0-1 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation 25 moves Linares 16th A brisk 25-move win with Black over Veselin Topalov in a Symmetrical English at Linares 1999 — proof that Ivanchuk could punish the elite from either colour.
  • 2007.02.18 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsTopalov, Veselin 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack 41 moves Morelia/Linares 24th At Morelia/Linares 2007 Ivanchuk grinds down Topalov in a Najdorf English Attack — the audacious 15.Nd5 left sitting en prise, then a flawless conversion that ends by winning a piece.
  • 2008.05.12 Aronian, Levon vsIvanchuk, Vassily 0-1 Slav Defense: Quiet Variation, Schallopp Defense 44 moves Sofia MTel Masters 4th Sofia M-Tel Masters 2008: Ivanchuk opened with five straight wins — this Slav victory over Levon Aronian among them — en route to a runaway title, 1½ points clear of Topalov with a 2977 performance.
  • 2010.09.28 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsJobava, Baadur 1-0 Caro-Kann Defense: Maróczy Variation 34 moves Olympiad-39 A crisp Caro-Kann win over Baadur Jobava at the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad, where Ivanchuk anchored board one for Ukraine's gold-medal team.
  • 2010.10.01 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsVachier Lagrave, Maxime 1-0 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation 91 moves Olympiad-39 A 91-move masterclass in technique against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at the same 2010 Olympiad — an English-opening middlegame squeezed into a marathon, textbook endgame win.
  • 2011.06.11 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsRadjabov, Teimour 1-0 King's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation, Modern Defense 35 moves Bazna Kings 5th Round one of the 2011 Kings Tournament in Medias: Ivanchuk beats King's Indian specialist Teimour Radjabov in his own opening, an Averbakh-system win over the Azerbaijani star.
  • 2013.03.29 Carlsen, Magnus vsIvanchuk, Vassily 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation, Bastrikov Variation, English Attack 90 moves Candidates Tournament London Candidates 2013, round 12: with Black, Ivanchuk defeats favourite and eventual winner Magnus Carlsen in a 90-move Taimanov Sicilian — one of only two games Carlsen lost, and a defeat that threw the title race into chaos.
  • 2013.04.01 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsKramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System 47 moves Candidates Tournament The dramatic final round of the 2013 London Candidates: Ivanchuk, already out of contention, defeats co-leader Vladimir Kramnik — who needed a win for first — and, with Carlsen also losing, hands Carlsen the tournament and a world-title match on tiebreak.
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