Advantages & Importance of Playing & Analyzing Grandmaster (GM) Chess Games

Playing through and Analyzing GM Games (especially Annotated Games) is very Important:

1. Easiest and Simplest way to learn new Topics and Concepts in Chess.

2. You can improve your Tactical ability by understanding how GMs create such tactics, how they calculate, what kind of blunders they make, how to punish opponent's mistakes.

3. Openings - Learn how GMs play certain openings and certain variations, why and how the GM is playing a particular variation.

4. Positional Chess - in certain types of positions, how GMs are selecting a particular move, why they selected that move, how they bring their Pieces to good Sqs, how they Convert a Better Position to a Win.

Playing through Grandmaster chess games is important for improving your chess because it exposes you to high-level strategic ideas, tactical patterns, and positional understanding, allowing you to learn from the best players in the world and identify areas where you can improve your own game, especially when you actively analyze and understand the reasoning behind their moves; essentially, it provides a roadmap to better chess thinking by observing expert decision-making processes. 

Key benefits of studying Grandmaster games:

Strategic insights:

Learn complex strategic concepts like pawn structures, piece placement, and king safety by observing how Grandmasters navigate critical situations. 

Tactical awareness:

Develop your tactical vision by identifying and analyzing intricate tactical motifs and combinations employed by Grandmasters. 

Opening repertoire:

Gain knowledge about different opening principles and variations by studying how Grandmasters play specific openings. 

Understanding positional play:

Learn to assess subtle positional advantages and disadvantages by observing how Grandmasters exploit subtle imbalances in the position. 

Developing intuition:

Repeated exposure to high-quality chess decisions helps improve your chess intuition and ability to recognize good moves on the board. 

Important points to remember when studying Grandmaster games:

Choose annotated games:

Look for games with detailed annotations from strong players to understand the thought process behind each move. 

Focus on specific aspects:

Depending on your current playing level, focus on studying specific aspects of the game like opening principles, middlegame strategy, or endgame technique. 

Active analysis:

Don't just passively watch the game; actively try to analyze the position and think about alternative moves, comparing them to the Grandmaster's choices. 

Consider your playing level:

If you are a beginner, studying older Grandmaster games might be more accessible than modern games, as the complexities may be less extreme. 

Below are two good Online Collections

https://www.chess.com/library/collections/the-best-chess-games-of-all-time-annotated-KWuSgD8A

https://gameknot.com/best-annotated-games.pl

Here is a link for PGN File of GM Games Collections: https://www.pgnmentor.com/files.html

Below are links of Game Collections from Chessgames.com

Most Instructive Chess Games> https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1039534

Annotated Games> https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1009580

TVCHESS3JAQUES's favorite games> https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1035660

Here are very useful links on the best Chess Books on Game Collections

https://www.chess.com/blog/joelcato/instructive-game-collections

https://www.chessbox.in/learn-chess/top-50-popular-chess-books-you-must-have-in-your-collection/

https://kaabilkids.com/blog/chess-books-every-chess-player-should-read/

https://www.chess.com/blog/SamCopeland/25-books-guaranteed-to-improve-your-chess

Here are some good Books to buy

https://www.amazon.in/MAMMOTH-WORLDS-GREATEST-CHESS-REISSUE/dp/1472146220

https://www.amazon.in/MAMMOTH-WORLDS-GREATEST-CHESS-GAMES/dp/1849013683/ref=asc_df_1849013683/

https://www.amazon.in/Most-Instructive-Games-Chess-Played/dp/0486273024

1000 Best Short Games> https://www.amazon.in/dp/0671538012

For more information on the Best Chess Coaching, contact us on www.nageshchess.com

 

Guess the Move

Guess the Move

Study in Lichess
https://lichess.org/study/WROs5G3a/FvH58neI

Related Websites
https://chesstempo.com/guess-the-move/  (requires free registration)
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/guessthemove
https://www.chessguessr.com/

Video
How to Play "Solitaire Chess" or "Guess the Move"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8bpFF4nnPE

Software
http://innokuo.altervista.org/chesshero.html

Brilliant GM Game by Anatoly Karpov

Below is a brilliant GM Game by former World Champion Anatoly Karpov.

White: Joel Lautier

Black: Anatoly Karpov

Linares (Round 8), 1995

Result: 0-1

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. f3 Nbd7 10. Bd3 c5 11. Ne2 Rc8 12. Qb3 h6 13. Bh4 cxd4 14. exd4 d5 15. c5 Ba8 16. Ba6 Rc7 17. Bg3 bxc5 18. Bxc7 Qxc7 19. Qc3 e5 20. Bd3 exd4 21. Nxd4 Re8+ 22. Kf1 Qb6 23. Nf5 d4 24. Qd2 Ne5 25. Re1 Re6 26. Bb1

Bb7 27. Kf2 d3 28. Rhf1 c4+ 29. Kg3 Nh5+ 30. Kh3 Ng6 31. g3 Bc8 32. Re4 Qc5 33. g4 Ngf4+ 34. Rxf4 Re2 35. Qc1 Nxf4+ 36. Qxf4 Bxf5 37. gxf5 Rxb2 38. Re1 Qf2 39. Qg3 Qxg3+ 40. hxg3 Rxb1 White resigns 0-1

Click here to play through this game: my Lichess Study page, Chessgames

Read about the Linares Tournaments on Wiki

HOW TO LEARN CHESS OPENINGS USING 365CHESS.COM

HOW TO LEARN CHESS OPENINGS USING 365CHESS.COM
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1. Go to www.365chess.com
2. Click on the "Opening Explorer" option in the Menu.
3. Click on the moves under "Next Move" to play through the opening moves on the display board.
4. You will get an idea of which is the more popular move by looking at the number of games played under "# of Games". 
5. You will get an idea of which is the stronger move by looking at the percentage under "Winnings percentage".
6. You may get a message that you have to Login to continue. You can Register a free account on 365chess.com to play through the remaining moves.
7. After playing through the moves go through the GM games under "Recent games" and "Top Games by Average ELO", to understand how the masters played after the opening moves. 

8. If you already know the ECO Code, go to "ECO Codes", select the Code in the drop-down list and click on 'Go' button. You will land on the respective Opening Page. On this Page, select the moves under "Possible continuations" to learn the opening.

HOW TO SEARCH FOR GM GAMES ON CHESSGAMES.COM USING ECO CODE

HOW TO SEARCH FOR GM GAMES ON CHESSGAMES.COM USING ECO CODE
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ECO: Encyclopedia of Chess Openings

1. Get the ECO Code of the Opening moves/variation.
2. Go to www.chessgames.com
3. On the home page of this website, come to the "ADVANCED SEARCH" section.
4. Type the ECO Code in the Text Box against the "ECO code is" option.
5. To get better results, you may enter some other options such as "Year is", "Number of moves is" and "Result is". This will help you to get fewer games which are more appropriate to what you are searching for.
6. Click on "Find Chess Games" button. The list of all games matching the search criteria will be displayed.
7. Select any game from the list and play through it to understand how the masters played the Middle Game phase after the Opening moves.

NOTE: Several pages of search results (games list) may be displayed, click on the Page Navigation buttons (this is at the bottom right of the page) to open next/previous/last/first pages in the search results.

GREATEST CHESS GAMES OF ALL TIME

Click Here for a list of Greatest Chess Games of All Time on Chessgames.com

CHESS GAMES WHICH YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

LINK COLLECTION TO CHESS GAMES AROUND THE INTERNET WHICH YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

Rook and Pawn Endgame

White: Emanuel Lasker
Black: Siegbert Tarrasch
World Championship Match 1908

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. Bd3 de4 6. Be4 c5 7. dc5 Bc3 8. bc3 Qa5 9. Bf6 gf6 10. Qd4 e5 11. Qe3 Qc7 12. Ne2 Nd7 13. Qf3 Ke7 14. c6 Nc5 15. cb7 Bb7 16. Bb7 Qb7 17. Qe3 Rac8 18. O-O Qe4 19. Rab1 Rhd8 20. Ng3 Qe3 21. fe3 Rd2 22. Rf2 Rcd8 23. Rb5 Rd1 24. Rf1 Na4 25. Ne4 Nb6 26. Ra5 Nc8 27. Rc5 Nb6 28. Rc7 Kf8 29. Nf6 Rf1 30. Kf1 Kg7 31. Ng4 Rd5 32. Ra7 h5 33. e4 Rc5 34. Ne3 Rc3 35. Ke2 Nc4 36. Nf5 Kh8 37. Rf7 Rc2 38. Kd3 Rc1 39. Ne3 Ne3 40. Ke3 Rc3

41. Kf2 Rc2 42. Kg3 h4 43. Kh3 Re2 44. Rf5 Re4 45. Rg5 Kh7 46. Rg4 Re3 47. Kh4 Ra3 48. Kg5 Ra2 49. Kf5 Re2 50. h3 Kh6 51. g3 Re3 52. h4 Kh7 53. Rg5 Re1 54. g4 Kh6 55. Kf6 Kh7 56. Re5 Rf1 57. Kg5 Rf7 58. h5 Ra7 59. Rb5 Rg7 60. Kf4 Ra7 61. g5 Kg7 62. Kf5 Rf7 63. Kg4 Ra7 64. h6 Kg6 65. Rb6 Kh7 66. Kh5 Ra5 67. Rb7 Kg8 68. Re7 Rb5 69. Kg6 Rb6 70. Kf5 Rb5 71. Kf6 Rb8 72. g6 Ra8 73. Re5 Kh8 74. Kg5 Rg8 75. Rb5 Re8 76. h7 Black Resigned. 1-0.

Click here to play through the complete game

Pawn Chain Strategy, Fischer vs Panno 1970

PAWN CHAIN STRATEGY

This is a common pawn structure in which each pawn is supporting another; it has the head and the base.
Attack the Base of the Pawn Chain.

Example Game
W: Fischer
B: Panno
Buenos Aires 1970

1. e4 c5 sicilian defence
2. Nf3 e6
3. d3 Nc6
4. g3 g6
5. Bg2 Bg7
6. O-O Nge7
7. Re1 d6
8. c3 O-O
9. d4 cd4
10. cd4 d5
11. e5 white has closed the center and a pawn chain has been created. White-> e5 is the head, d4 is the base. Black-> d5 is the head, e6 is the base.
11..... Bd7? better is ....Nf5 followed by Qb6
12. Nc3 Rc8
13. Bf4 Na5
14. Rc1 b5
15. b3 b4
16. Ne2 Bb5
17. Qd2 Nac6
white now begins a strong king side attack
18. g4! a5? better is ....Bxe2
19. Ng3 Qb6
20. h4 Nb8
21. Bh6 Nd7
22. Qg5! Rxc1
23. Rxc1 Bxh6
24. Qxh6 Rc8
25. Rxc8+ Nxc8 black has no counterplay on the Qside
26. h5! Qd8
27. Ng5 Nf8
28. Be4!! Qe7
29. Nxh7 Nxh7
30. hxg6 fxg6
31. Bxg6 Ng5
32. Nh5 Nf3+
33. Kg2 Nh4+
34. Kg3 Nxg6
35. Nf6+ Kf7
36. Qh7+ Black resigned
1-0
Play through this game on Chessgames

Knight vs Bishop -> Grandmaster EndGame

Mato Damjanovic vs Robert James Fischer
Buenos Aires (1970); English Opening (A31)

After 37 moves, both Queens were exchanged and the below position was reached with White to play.

Black's N is more stronger because White's B is a bad bishop (has less mobility due to many white pawns on white squares).
38. Ke3 Kf6 39. Kd3 Nb6 40. Bc6 Ke7 41. h4?! h6 42. Ke3 Nc8 43. Kd3 Nd6 44. Ke3 Kd8 45. Kd3 Kc7 46. Ba4 Kb6 47. Ke3 Kc5 48. Bd7 Kb6 49. Ba4 Kc7 50. Kd3 Kd8 51. Bc6 Ke7 52. Ke3 Ke6 53. Kf3 Kf6 54. g4? g5 55. h5 Ke7 56. Ke3 Kd8 57. Kd3 Kc7 58. Ba4 Kb6 59. Bd7 Kc5 60. Ba4 Nc8! finally black identifies the winning plan 61. Be8 Ne7 62. Ke3 Ng8 63. Bd7 Nf6 64. Bf5 Kb5 65. Kd3 a4 66. ba4 Ka4 67. Kc4 Ka3 68. Kc5 Ka2 69. Kb4 Kb2 70. Kc5 Kc3 71. Kd6 Kd4 72. Ke6 Ne4 73. Kf7 Nf2 74. Kg6 e4 75. Kh6 e3 76. Kg7 e2 77. h6 e1Q 78. h7 Qe7 79. Kg8 Ne4 White Resigns 0-1

To play through this game, ClickHere

Grandmaster Game

White: Jose Raul Capablanca
Black: Edward Friederich Schrader
Casual game, 1909
Four Knights Game(C49)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Nd4 7. Nd4 ed4 8. Ne2 c6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bb3 Qb6 11. Bg5 Ne8 12. Ng3 h6 13. Bh4 g5 14. Nf5 gh4 15. Nh6 Kh7 16. Qh5 Ng7 17. Qh4 Qd8 18. Qh3 Qg5 19. Ng4 Kg8 20. f4 Qg6 21. f5 Qg5 22. e5 Nh5 23. Qh5 Qh5 24. Nf6 Kg7 25. Nh5 Kh6 26. Nf6 a5 27. Rf3 a4 28. Rh3 Kg5 29. Rf1 ab3 30. Rh5#

Play through this game here

Grandmaster Game: Fischer vs Berliner

[Event "New York ch-US"]
[Date "1960.12.23"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Hans Berliner"]
[ECO "B03"]

1. e4 Nf6 

2. e5 Nd5 

3. d4 d6 

4. c4 Nb6 

5. exd6 cxd6 

6. Nc3 g6 

7. Bd3 Bg7 

8. Nge2 Nc6 

9. Be3 O-O 

10. O-O e5 

11. d5 Ne7 

12. b3 Nd7 

13. Ne4 Nf5 

14. Bg5 f6 

15. Bd2 Nc5 

16. Nxc5 dxc5 

17. Bxf5 Bxf5 

18. f4 exf4 

19. Nxf4 Qd6 

20. Nh5 Rae8 

21. Nxg7 Kxg7 

22. Bf4 Qd7 

23. Qd2 Rf7 

24. Bh6+ Kg8 

25. Rae1 Rfe7 

26. Rxe7 Qxe7 

27. h3 Qe4 

28. Qf2 Qe7 

29. g4 Bd3 

30. Rd1 Be4 

31. d6 Qe5 

32. Bf4 Qc3 

33. d7 Rd8 

34. Qe2 Qf3 

35. Qxf3 Bxf3 

36. Bc7 1-0

Play through the game on Chessgames

How to use the King effectively in the Endgame

White: M. Tal
Black: G. Lisitsin
USSR Championship 1956
Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation (ECO Code B71)

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 g6
6. f4 Nc6
7. Nxc6 bxc6
8. e5 Nd7
9. exd6 exd6
10. Be3 Be7
11. Qf3 d5
12. 0-0-0 Bf6
13. Bd4 0-0
White has a slightly better position due to the space advantage but Black has counter chances
14. h4 Rb8
15. Qf2 Rb4
16. Bxf6 Nxf6
17. a3 Qb6
18. Qxb6 Rxb6
Both players have reached the Endgame early. It is instructive to observe how Tal takes advantage of Black's dark square weaknesses during the rest of the game. Also the best pieces to occupy weak squares are Knight and King.
19. Na4! Rb7 
20. Bd3 Nh5 
21. Rhf1 Re7 
22. f5 gf5 
23. Rfe1 Rfe8 
24. Re7 Re7 
Now the White King moves up the board to occupy the weak dark squares
25. Kd2! Ng3 
26. Kc3 f4 
27. Kd4 Bf5 
28. Rd2 Re6 
29. Nc5 Rh6 
30. Ke5! Bd3 
31. cd3 Rh4 
32. Kd6 Rh6 
33. Kc7 Nf5 
The White King is fully participating in the fight and is now an important attacking piece
34. Kb7 Nd4 
35. Rf2 a5 
36. Rf4 Ne6 
37. Rg4 Kf8 
38. Kc6 Nc5 
39. Kc5 Re6 
40. Kd5 Rb6 
The position has changed to a winning position for White, he is a pawn up with a passer on d3. All this was possible due to effectively using the King
41. b4 ab4 
42. ab4 Ke7 
43. Kc5 Rf6 
44. Rd4 Rf5 
45. Kc6 Rf6 
46. Kc7 Rf5 
47. Re4 Kf6 
48. Kc6 Rf2 
49. g4 h5 
50. gh5 Kg5 
51. b5 f5 
52. Rb4 f4 
53. b6 f3 
54. b7 Black Resigns
1-0
Play through this game on Chessgames
Below is an instructive Video on important points to use the King effectively

Bobby Fisher's Gem of a Chess Game

Studying each and every one of Bobby's victories yields a fascinating and wonderfully instructive peak into the inner workings of a chess legend. In this article, I would like to explore one game in particular that is representative of Bobby's genius: the sixth match-game. We will break the game down into its three phases, and try to come as close as possible to understanding what made Bobby Fischer tick.

Using the King actively

In the endgame, when the number of pieces on the board are fewer, it is important to use the King actively. Since the danger of mate is lesser, the King can also help the other pieces in fighting. In the below position, White has to play and win

1. Kxc3 Kb8 
2. Kb4 Kb7 
3. Kc5 Kc7 
4. h3 good waiting move. White should not play 4. h4? Kd7 5. Kb6 c5 6. Kc5 Kc7 when Black will get the opposition and draw the game
4... Kd7 
5. Kb6 c5 
6. Kxc5 Kc7 
7. h4 Kb7 
8. Kd6 Kb8 
9. Kc6 Ka7 
10. Kc7 Ka8 
11. Kb6 Kb8 
12. Kxa6
1-0

Click here to view more examples: Link1, Link2
Two good game collections on Chessgames: Collection1, Collection2
Below is a complex but instructive video

Silman's favourite positional chess games

Below are a series of instructive articles by IM Jeremy Silman on Chess.com. In his own words,
When discussing great games, many chess fans always think of slashing attacks and outrageous combinations. While every world-class player tossed out more than a few epic combinations at some point in his career, positional masterpieces are far harder to find.
In this series, I’ll take a look back at the classic games that affected me profoundly, and those games were almost always positional in nature.
Part1, Part2, Part3, Part4, Part5, Part6, Part7, Part8, Part9, Part10, Part11, Part12, Part13

Example Games for Opening Middlegame and Endgame Rules

Click Here to play through example games to illustrate the Opening Rules, Middlegame Rules and Endgame Rules

Picturesque Positions

Click here to view chess games which have some Picturesque Positions compiled by Benjamin Lau on Chessgames

Download Great Grandmaster Games of Chess

You can download or print great GM Games of Chess at the below link. Clicking on the Download button opens the file in PDF format (save this using "Save File As" option).

Click Here to Download and Print GM Games

Most Instructive Chess Games for Beginners

One of the enjoyable ways of learning chess is to play through annotated (analyzed) chess games. By understanding how the master thinks, we can improve our own game. Below are a few excellent lists of most instructive chess games for beginners.

Compilation on CWBlog

50 Chess Games for Beginners

Most Instructive Chess Games

Best Annotated Games on Gameknot

List of great games on Wiki