Grandmaster games · Russia v The Rest of the World (Match of the Century II) 2002
Polgár Beats Kasparov in the Berlin
A queenless Berlin ending, a knight on f5 that never moves, and the first win of Judit Polgár's career over the world number one.
The setting
In September 2002 Moscow hosted a rapid match between Russia and the Rest of the World, at 25 minutes plus ten seconds a move. Kasparov played for Russia and Polgár for the World team. In round five Polgár had White against Kasparov and won in 42 moves. The World team won the match, 52 to 48.
Why study it
The Berlin endgame is supposed to be dry. This game shows how a small space advantage on the kingside becomes a win: a pawn on e5 that cramps everything, a knight on f5 that cannot be driven away, and a king that walks to safety while the rooks take the seventh rank. It also shows Kasparov's mistakes: three moves that each cost little, and the sum was decisive.
Live it from inside a mind
Each player speaks in the first person, in a voice of their own: what they see, what they fear, the lines they calculate, why they choose. Switch minds at any move.
Judit Polgár
White · Hungary · 2681 at the time · peak 2735
26 years old and the strongest woman player in history, a Grandmaster since the age of 15. This was a rapid game, and it gave Polgár a first win over Kasparov.
Garry Kasparov
Black · Russia · 2838 at the time · peak 2851
World champion from 1985 to 2000 and still the world number one at 39. Kasparov played for Russia in this match.
Round five of Russia against the Rest of the World, in Moscow, at 25 minutes plus ten seconds a move. I have White against Kasparov, the world number one. I do not expect to out-prepare Kasparov, so I want a position in which I can use space and activity, and keep making small threats that all have to be answered.
Round five of Russia against the Rest of the World, in Moscow, at 25 minutes plus ten seconds a move. I have Black against Polgar, a player I respect and one who is dangerous in any position with pieces. I choose the Berlin, a structure I know well from the other side, and I expect a queenless middlegame in which my bishops and my king's safety should hold.
The game in 6 chapters
- 1
The Berlin endgame moves 1–8
Kasparov chooses the Berlin Defence, the opening that Kramnik used against Kasparov in 2000. The queens come off on move 8 and Black's king stays on d8.
- 2
Development and the rim moves 9–15
Black's h6 and Be7 prepare a knight trade, and White's Ne2 and Nd4 attack the bishop on f5. Kasparov's bishop goes to h7, the edge of the board.
- 3
g4 and Nf5 moves 16–19
Polgár plays g4, Kg2 and Nf5, and the knight forks e7 and g7. Black's bishop is tied to g7 and the h-file opens too late.
- 4
The h-file and the checks moves 20–25
Black opens the h-file and checks on h3, but White's king steps to g3. Then f6 and Bxf5 trade the knight at the cost of the e5 pawn.
- 5
e5 falls moves 25–30
Re1 pins the pawn on e5 and Bxe5 wins it. Kd7 allows the pin on the d-file, and White wins the bishop on d6.
- 6
Rooks on the seventh moves 31–42
Rexd6+ takes a second pawn, the king walks to e4 out of the checks, and both rooks land on the seventh rank. Rxg7 ends the game.