Here is a list of five of the greatest chess matches to have ever been played:

1.

Bobby Fischer (W) v Boris Spassky, Reykjavik, 1972

The 1972 World Chess Championship match between American challenger Bobby Fischer and Soviet Union’s defending champion Spassky is often called the ‘match of the 20th century’. With political overtones due to the Cold War, Fischer’s victory in game 21 of the championship ended 24 years of Soviet domination of the sport. The 40-move game and Fischer’s corresponding victory is seen as a historic moment amidst the Cold War tensions, making Fischer an instant celebrity back home, even leading to celebration known as Bobby Fischer Day upon his return. The game and the rivalry have also inspired several musical, documentaries and movies, such as Tobey Maguire’s Pawn Sacrifice (2014)

2.

Anatoly Karpov v Garry Kasparov (W), Moscow, 1985

Karpov entered the World Chess Championship match at a FIDE rating of 2720 with Kasparov not far behind at 2700, with the final match of the championship, match 24, a must-win for Karpov to retain his world title which he had held from 1975 onwards. Often called by Kasparov as the ‘game of his life’, the young Russian turned the game on its head with a far-sighted rook play on his 23rd move. This eventually led to decisive errors from Karpov on move 36 and move 40, leading to his loss after 42 moves. As a result, Kasparov became the thirteenth and youngest world champion aged 22, a title he held till 1993.

3.

Deep Blue (W) v Garry Kasparov, New York, 1997

The 1997 six-game chess match between world chess champion Garry Kasparov and IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue was a rematch after the machine’s defeat in Philadelphia in 1996. The match was a historic moment in chess, as it was the first time that a computer defeated a reigning world chess champion. The victory was seen as a sign of how far artificial intelligence had come and how it was catching up with the intellectual capabilities of human intelligence. The 19-move game also inspired the 1997 documentary titled ‘The Man v The Machine’ and revealed the additional pressure for a player when playing against an unyielding machine.