Playing with the initiative · For club players · 20 min read
The Initiative in Chess: Kasparov v Anand 1995, Checked
Kasparov gave a pawn, then a whole rook, and kept Anand answering threats until the queens came off a pawn up. Stockfish 19 says the sacrifice was not what won: two queen moves were.
- threat
- target
- The king left at home
In short
- The initiative is the power to make threats one after another, so that the opponent spends every move answering instead of carrying out plans of their own.
- In game 10 of the 1995 world championship, Kasparov gave up a pawn on move 14 and a whole rook on move 17 to keep Black's king in the centre and Black's queen busy far away on a1.
- Stockfish 19 rates the position after the rook sacrifice at under a pawn for White: dangerous for Black, not lost. The game turned on two of Anand's choices: taking the rook, and then 19...Qc3 instead of 19...Qb2.
- Kasparov cashed in at the right moment: with 22.Bf6 and 23.Bxe7 the threats were traded for an endgame a clean pawn up, which Kasparov won without giving Black a second chance.
- To use the initiative: keep every move a threat, bring the last piece in with gain of time, and turn the attack into something permanent before it runs out.
How we know what we say
- Verified From the record: Stockfish's numbers, the players' own notes or interviews, or a cited source.
- Inferred Read from the moves and the position: a reasoned reconstruction, not the player's words.
- Speculative A guess about mood, intent or practical motives: plausible, not proven.
Part 1The setting: a level match on the 107th floor
In September 1995 Garry Kasparov, the 32-year-old champion, defended the Professional Chess Association title against Viswanathan Anand, 25, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center in New York. The first eight games were all drawn. In game 9 Anand won, and took the lead. [3][5] Verified
| Games | Results | Match score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 8 | eight draws | 4–4 |
| 9 | Anand wins | 4–5 |
| 10 | Kasparov wins | 5–5 |
| 11, 13, 14 | Kasparov wins | 8½–5½ after game 14 |
| Final | 18 games | 10½–7½ |
Game 10 was played the next day. Anand repeated the Open Ruy Lopez, the defence that had given a hard-fought draw in game 6. Kasparov later said the new plan was found on the Friday night and worked on with a team of analysts all weekend. [2][3] Verified
This game was won basically at home.
Part 2What is the initiative in chess?
The initiative is the ability to make threats that the opponent must answer, one after another. While you have it, you choose what the game is about and your opponent only reacts. It is not the same as being better: a player with the initiative can be a pawn or even a piece down and still be winning, as long as the threats keep coming.
The initiative feeds on three things: a lead in development (more pieces in play), open lines (files and diagonals that lead to targets), and a target that cannot run, most often a king that has not castled. It dies when the defender gets one quiet move to castle, trade queens or return the material, and then the extra material counts.
- threat
- target
- Uncastled king
- pawn chain or line of force
- key square
- Castled and safe
- pawn chain or line of force
Compare the two numbers above the boards: about level on the left, Black about a pawn and a half better on the right. Material is the same in both: what differs is whether White has something to attack and the pieces to attack it with. The initiative is temporary by nature, so the side that has it must use it or lose it.
Part 3The opening: the Open Ruy Lopez and a pawn given on move 14
Anand chose the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez, 5...Nxe4, where Black takes the e4 pawn and gets free piece play in return for a slightly loose position (the closed Ruy Lopez, which keeps more pieces and pawns on the board, is covered in Openings). After 10...d4 Kasparov played 11.Ng5, the line Lichess names the Karpov Gambit, and after 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.bxc3 Qd3 the players had reached the position of game 6 again. [1][2][4] Verified
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 d4 11.Ng5 dxc3 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.bxc3 Qd3 +0.76White slightly better
The opening as played, the same 13 moves as game 6. Stockfish gives White an edge of most of a pawn at the end: Black's queen is active, but the king's cover on the light squares is thin. Verified
- target
- Squares e5 takes
- pawn chain or line of force
In game 6 Kasparov had retreated the knight with 14.Nf3, and Anand went on to give an exchange for two passed pawns and draw. In game 10 Kasparov had something else ready, and played the first 21 moves in under six minutes. Anand, according to Jason Luchan's report, spent 45 minutes on move 15 alone. [2][3][4] Verified
Part 4The plans: open lines against extra material
After 14.Bc2 Qxc3 15.Nb3 Nxb3 16.Bxb3 Black is a pawn up and has traded a pair of knights, which usually helps the defender. But look at what is left. White's light-squared bishop is back on the b3–g8 diagonal, the dark-squared bishop is ready for g5 or h6, and Black's king, queen and kingside pieces have not moved. Inferred
- plan
- target
- White's targets
- pawn chain or line of force
- plan
- target
- Black's escape route
One position, two clocks. White's plan needs every move to be forcing; Black's plan needs only two or three free moves. That is the race in every game about the initiative, and the numbers above the boards show that, here, White starts ahead.
Part 5The critical moments
Four decisions shaped the game before the turning point: two by Kasparov at home and two by Anand at the board. Try each position before opening the answers.
Critical moment 1 of 5 · Move 14, White to play
Save the pawn, or give it to gain time?
- target
- key square
Black's queen on d3 attacks c3 and gets in the way of White's development. In game 6 White retreated the knight. What else is there, and what is it worth to drive the queen away at once?
Think it through on the boardWeigh the candidates
| Move | Stockfish | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 14.Nf3 | +0.18about equal | The game 6 move. It keeps the pawn's defender at home but lets Black castle long in comfort: Stockfish rates it about half a pawn below the game move. Verified |
| 14.Qf3 | 0.00about equal | Offers to trade queens, which takes the sting out of Black's queen but also out of White's attack: Stockfish calls the result level. Verified |
What Kasparov played
14.Bc2+0.68White slightly better
Kasparov played 14.Bc2, hitting the queen and giving up the c3 pawn. After 14...Qxc3 15.Nb3 the knight on c5 is attacked and the c1 bishop's diagonal opens towards the kingside, all with gain of time.
Stockfish's first choice too. Depth 29.
What it revealed
The pawn buys tempi. Black's queen spends moves on c3 and later a1, far from its own king, while White's pieces come out with threats. This is the first loan in a game that runs on credit.
- Verified Kasparov played 14.Bc2 and the moves after it at speed: the first 21 moves took less than six minutes on Kasparov's clock.[3]
- Verified Stockfish agrees with Kasparov: 14.Bc2 is its first choice here, ahead of the game 6 move 14.Nf3.
Critical moment 2 of 5 · Move 15, Black to play
Forty-five minutes on one move
- threat
- target
White's knight on b3 attacks the knight on c5, and the c1 bishop can come to d2 with a gain of time against the queen. Black is a pawn up. How should Black meet the coming threats?
Think it through on the boardWeigh the candidates
| Move | Stockfish | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 15...Rd8 | +0.57White slightly better | Stockfish's choice, and the move of the earlier correspondence game Berg v Nevesteit, 1990: the rook takes the open d-file before White's bishop can use it. Verified |
| 15...Qxe5 | +0.76White slightly better | Grabs a second pawn and is nearly as good as Rd8 by Stockfish's count, better than the game move, though the queen stands on the e-file where White's rook can arrive with gain of time. Verified |
| 15...Ne4 | +8.96White completely winning | A blunder: the c2 bishop guards e4, so 16.Bxe4 simply wins the knight. Verified |
What Anand played
15...Nxb3+0.84White slightly better
After 45 minutes Anand traded knights with 15...Nxb3, and after 16.Bxb3 played 16...Nd4 to challenge the bishop. It is a natural defensive idea: trade pieces when under attack.
Stockfish preferred 15...Rd8 (+0.64); the game move gave up about 0.2 pawns. Depth 24.
What it revealed
The trade removed a defender as well as an attacker: the c5 knight could have come back to d7 or e6. Anand's long think and the result show how hard it is to defend against preparation that the defender has not seen.
Critical moment 3 of 5 · Move 17, White to play
Defend the rook, or let it go?
- target
- key square
Black's queen on c3 attacks the a1 rook, and the knight on d4 attacks the b3 bishop. White can save material, or ignore both threats. What keeps the initiative?
Think it through on the boardWeigh the candidates
| Move | Stockfish | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 17.Bd2 | −0.17about equal | Hits the queen and saves the rook with a gain of time, but after 17...Qd3 Black offers a queen trade and the attack is over: Stockfish rates it about level, slightly better for Black. Verified |
| 17.Bxe6 | 0.00about equal | Takes a pawn at once, but the threat is gone before it starts and Black keeps both options, ...Qxa1 and ...Nxb3: Stockfish calls it level. Verified |
| 17.Qh5+ | −0.85Black slightly better | A check, but after 17...g6 the queen has to retreat and Black takes the rook with a tempo to spare: Stockfish rates Black about a pawn better. Verified |
What Kasparov played
17.Qg4+0.96White clearly better
Kasparov played 17.Qg4, attacking e6 and g7 and leaving the rook on a1 to be taken. If Black takes it, Black's queen is in the corner, far from its king, and White's bishops and queen are three moves from the black king.
Stockfish's first choice too. Depth 26.
What it revealed
This is the move Kasparov's team had found over the weekend. A rook is the price of two tempi: the queen's trip to a1 and back. Kasparov judged at home that two tempi against an uncastled king were worth more.
Critical moment 4 of 5 · Move 17, Black to play
Take the rook, or finish developing?
- threat
- target
- key square
White offers the a1 rook. Black can take it, or spend the move getting the king's side developed so that castling comes next. Which gift is bigger: the rook, or the tempo?
Think it through on the boardWeigh the candidates
| Move | Stockfish | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 17...Be7 18.Be3 | +0.87White slightly better | Stockfish's choice. Black develops and prepares to castle; White regains material but keeps under a pawn of advantage. Verified |
| 17...Qxb3 | +9.49White completely winning | A blunder: the b3 bishop is protected by the a2 pawn, so 18.axb3 wins the queen. Verified |
| 17...Nxb3 | +10.84White completely winning | Removes the dangerous bishop, but 18.Qxe6+ breaks open the king's position, and Stockfish finds a winning attack. Verified |
What Anand played
17...Qxa1+1.97White clearly better
Anand took the rook, 17...Qxa1. Black is now a rook and a pawn up, and the queen is on a1, as far from its king as it can be.
Stockfish preferred 17...Be7 (+0.96); the game move gave up about 1.0 pawns. Depth 24.
What it revealed
Taking was not a blunder, but it is what the initiative asks of the defender: to accept, the defender must find only moves for the next five or six turns. Declining would have cost nothing in material and kept the king's position together.
What Stockfish adds Stockfish 19 rates 17...Be7 at under a pawn for White and 17...Qxa1 at nearly two pawns: accepting the rook cost Black about a pawn of evaluation, which is the price of the two tempi the queen now needs to come back.
- Verified Stockfish prefers declining the rook with 17...Be7 to every capture.
- Inferred The rook on a1 cannot run away, so Black loses nothing by delaying the capture one move; the white threats against e6 and g7, by contrast, arrive next move.
- Speculative Faced with a world champion who was blitzing out the moves, Anand may have felt that only taking the material gave Black something concrete to defend.
Part 6The turning point: where does the queen go?
After 18.Bxe6 Rd8 19.Bh6 the f1 rook attacks the queen on a1, and the bishop on h6 threatens g7. Black is a rook up, but the queen must move again, and the question is where it can still help the king.
Critical moment 5 of 5 · Move 19, Black to play
The queen must move: which square still helps?
- threat
- target
- key square
The f1 rook attacks Black's queen, and White threatens to take on g7 and then h8. Black is a rook up. Where should the queen go to bring the attack to an end?
Think it through on the boardWeigh the candidates
| Move | Stockfish | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 19...Qb2 20.Bxg7 Qe2 | +1.79White clearly better | Stockfish's choice. From b2 the queen reaches e2 next, attacking f1 and offering a trade on g4; once the queens are off, White's attack is over. Verified |
| 19...Qxa2 | +10.17White completely winning | A blunder: the bishop on e6 guards a2, so 20.Bxa2 wins the queen. Verified |
| 19...Qxf1+ 20.Kxf1 | +8.05White completely winning | Gives the queen back for the f1 rook to stop the attack at once, but Black is left with too little for the queen: Stockfish rates it as lost. Verified |
What Anand played
19...Qc3+3.38White winning
Anand played 19...Qc3, protecting nothing on the kingside. After 20.Bxg7 Qd3 21.Bxh8 Qg6 22.Bf6 Be7 23.Bxe7 Qxg4 24.Bxg4 Kxe7, White had won back the rook with interest.
Stockfish preferred 19...Qb2 (+1.77); the game move gave up about 1.6 pawns. Depth 24.
What it revealed
The difference between b2 and c3 is one square on the second rank: from b2 the queen reaches e2 and offers the trade on g4 with gain of time; from c3 the queen needs two moves to get back to the kingside (d3, then g6), and White uses them to take g7 and h8.
What Stockfish adds Stockfish 19 rates 19...Qb2 at under two pawns for White and 19...Qc3 at more than three: the largest single swing of the game, and the move after which Black is lost rather than worse.
- Verified Stockfish shows the defence: 19...Qb2 20.Bxg7 Qe2, and after 21.Bxh8 Qxg4 22.Bxg4 the queens are off: White is still clearly better, but Black's pieces are active and there is a game to play.
- Verified The move was still inside Kasparov's preparation, which went to move 21: Luchan wrote that by the time Kasparov left the home analysis, the position was already winning.[4]
- plan
- target
- outpost
- White's majority
25.Rc1 c6 26.f4 a5 27.Kf2 a4 28.Ke3 b4 29.Bd1 a3 30.g4 Rd5 31.Rc4 c5 32.Ke4 Rd8 33.Rxc5 Ne6 34.Rd5 Rc8 35.f5 Rc4+ 36.Ke3 Nc5 37.g5 Rc1 38.Rd6 +7.95White completely winning
The rest of the game. The king walks to e4, the rook wins the c-pawn, and the kingside pawns advance; Anand resigned after 38.Rd6. Verified
Part 7What Anand could have done
Against the initiative, the defender's best friend is time, and the cheapest way to buy it is to give material back or trade the attacker's best piece. Anand had two clear chances to do that, and Stockfish's defences share one idea: the queen comes home or comes off. Inferred
17...Be7 18.Be3 Nxb3 19.Qxg7 Rf8 20.axb3 Bd6 21.Bh6 Qxe5 22.Qxe5 Bxe5 23.Rae1 +0.76White slightly better
The first chance, 17...Be7: Black develops instead of taking the rook. White wins back material and keeps the bishops, but the queens come off and Black is still a pawn up in an ending where White is only a little better. Verified
- threat
- key square
19...Qb2 20.Bxg7 Qe2 21.Bxh8 Qxg4 22.Bxg4 Be7 23.e6 Rd5 24.Rd1 Bc5 +1.70White clearly better
Stockfish's defence after 19.Bh6. White still takes g7 and h8, but Black's queen forces the trade on g4, and although White keeps an edge of about a pawn and a half, Black's pieces are active and the fight goes on. Verified
Part 8A different angle: won at home, or lost at the board?
The usual account of this game is Kasparov's own: a crushing piece of home preparation, a pawn and then a rook thrown in, and the challenger swept away. Jason Luchan, who covered the match, called it the most devastating piece of home cooking ever served up in a championship match. [3][4] Verified
Stockfish 19 tells a more interesting story. The rook sacrifice itself was sound but not crushing: after 17.Qg4 the engine gives White less than a pawn. The two largest drops in Black's position came from Anand's moves, 17...Qxa1 and 19...Qc3, both made at the board under the pressure of a world champion blitzing out moves from memory. Verified
| Move | Played by | Stockfish's choice | What it cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13...Qd3 | Anand | 13...Nxb3 | about half a pawn |
| 15...Nxb3 | Anand | 15...Rd8 | a fraction of a pawn |
| 17...Qxa1 | Anand | 17...Be7 | about a pawn |
| 19...Qc3 | Anand | 19...Qb2 | more than a pawn and a half |
| 14.Bc2, 17.Qg4 | Kasparov | the same moves | nothing |
There is a lesson for the defender too. Anand's choices were the most natural ones on the board: take the rook, keep the queen central. The engine's choices are the unnatural ones: leave the rook, put the queen on a dull square on the second rank. Against the initiative, the natural move is often the one the attacker has prepared for. Inferred
And one caution about hindsight. Engines in 1995 were far weaker than Stockfish 19, so the team's verdict on the sacrifice likely rested largely on human judgement; that it holds up as a lasting edge three decades later is a mark of how well that judgement worked. Speculative
Part 9How to keep the initiative in your own games
You will rarely sacrifice a rook on move 17 after a weekend of preparation. But club games are full of smaller versions of this one: a pawn given for development, a queen that has gone pawn-grabbing, a king that has not castled. The recipe is the same, and so is the danger of letting it fizzle out. The Opera Game shows the same idea against a king in the centre, and the positional pawn sacrifice shows a slower version of it.
The initiative recipe
- Count the tempiHow many moves does your opponent need to castle or bring the queen home? If it is two or more, and your pieces are already out, you may have the initiative.
- Make every move a threatDevelop with attacks on something: a piece, a pawn, a square next to the king. Kasparov's 14.Bc2, 15.Nb3, 17.Qg4 and 19.Bh6 all attacked something.
- Bring in the last piece with a gain of timeThe decisive extra attacker is often the piece that has not moved yet, like the c1 bishop going to h6 and uncovering the rook's attack on a1.
- Give material only for timeA pawn or a rook is worth giving if it costs the opponent moves. Ask what the opponent has to spend to take it, and what you do with those moves.
- Cash in before it runs outWhen the threats are about to stop, turn them into something that lasts: material back, a better endgame, a weak pawn. Kasparov traded queens on move 23 with a pawn and a better minor piece in hand.
- Is the enemy king uncastled, or its cover broken?
- Can my next move create a threat and develop a piece?
- What does my opponent have to spend to take the material?
- Which trade turns my attack into a lasting advantage?
Your turnPractise it
Set each position up, decide your plan before you look, then play it out against Stockfish to see whether it holds.
White to play after 16...Nd4: Black's queen attacks the a1 rook and the knight attacks the b3 bishop. Find the move that keeps the initiative.
Hint
Which two black pawns can the white queen attack at once, and does the a1 rook matter if Black's king never gets safe?
A good answer
17.Qg4, attacking e6 and g7 and leaving the rook on a1. It is Kasparov's move and Stockfish's first choice too.
White to play after 18...Rd8: White is a rook down. Bring the last piece into the attack with a gain of time.
Hint
Which white piece has not moved, and what would its move uncover?
A good answer
19.Bh6, threatening Bxg7 and uncovering the f1 rook's attack on the queen on a1. Stockfish's first choice, as in the game.
Black to play after 19.Bh6: the queen on a1 is attacked. Find the square that ends White's attack soonest.
Hint
Look for a square from which the queen can reach e2 next move.
A good answer
19...Qb2, planning ...Qe2 to attack f1 and offer the queen trade on g4. Stockfish rates it far better than the game's 19...Qc3.
White to play after 21...Qg6: White has won back the rook. How do you turn the attack into a winning endgame?
Hint
Black's queen has offered itself on g6 to trade. Which bishop move makes the trade cost Black the most?
A good answer
22.Bf6, attacking the d8 rook and so Black must block with ...Be7; after 23.Bxe7 and the queen trade on g4 White is a pawn up with bishop against knight. Stockfish's first choice, as in the game.
Part 10What to take from this game
- The initiative is a series of threats, not a single move: Kasparov attacked something on almost every move from 14 to 23.
- Material is a loan while the threats last: the rook given on move 17 came back, with interest, by move 24.
- Defend by bringing the queen home or trading it: 19...Qb2 and ...Qe2 would have ended the attack.
- The natural move is often the prepared one: taking the rook was what White wanted.
- Cash in at the right moment: 22.Bf6 and 23.Bxe7 turned the attack into a winning endgame.
Questions readers ask
What does the initiative mean in chess?
The initiative is the ability to make threats that your opponent must answer, move after move, so that you decide what happens on the board. It usually comes from a lead in development, open lines and a target such as an uncastled king. It is temporary: once the threats stop, it is gone.
Is the initiative worth a pawn?
Often, yes, if it lasts. A pawn given to gain two or three tempi against an uncastled king is a common and sound investment. Kasparov gave a pawn and then a rook in this game, and Stockfish still rated White better. But if the opponent can castle or trade queens next move, the initiative is worth nothing.
How do you keep the initiative in chess?
Make every move a threat or a developing move with a threat, bring your last piece into play with a gain of time, and avoid slow moves. When the attack is about to run out, convert it: win material back, trade into a better endgame, or create a lasting weakness.
How do you defend against the initiative?
Buy time. Bring the queen and pieces back towards the king, trade the attacker's queen if you can, and give material back when it stops the attack. In this game, 17...Be7 instead of taking the rook, or 19...Qb2 with ...Qe2 to trade queens, would have kept Black fighting.
Was Kasparov's rook sacrifice against Anand sound?
Yes, but it was not winning by force. Stockfish 19 also chooses 17.Qg4 and rates the position after it at less than a pawn for White. The game was decided by Black's later choices, above all 19...Qc3, where 19...Qb2 would have let Black trade queens: still worse, but fighting, instead of lost.
Sources and method
The game score was checked against two independent sources. Every position, line and candidate in this article was replayed for legality, and every engine number was produced by Stockfish 19 WASM Multithreaded for this article (depth 19 to 40, deepest at the critical moments), not copied from elsewhere. What the players thought is reconstructed from the moves, their published notes and later analysis; it is labelled as verified, inferred or speculative, and nothing is presented as a quotation unless a source is cited for it.
- Kasparov v Anand, PCA World Championship, New York 1995, game 10: game score (Lichess study)
- PGN Mentor, Garry Kasparov's games: games 6 and 10 of the 1995 match (PGN download)
- Associated Press, "Kasparov zips to victory in 10th game", Deseret News, 27 September 1995 (report, quotes and moves)
- Jason Luchan, "Kasparov versus Anand 1995 World Chess Championship Match" (chabris.com)
- World Chess Championship 1995 (Wikipedia)
- Raymond Keene, chess column on game 10, The Spectator, 30 September 1995
Read next
Game 11 of the 2024 World Championship: a pawn given for the b-file, a worse position rescued, and what Stockfish 19 says about when the sacrifice is sound.
King in the Centre: Morphy's Opera Game, Checked by StockfishMorphy's famous 1858 win against two amateurs, and what Stockfish 19 says about when the uncastled king was really lost.
Hanging Pawns: Fischer's Winning Side of the Structure, CheckedTen years before Reykjavik, Fischer owned the hanging pawns in the same Queen's Gambit and won. Stockfish 19 shows where the game was really lost, and it is not where the books look.
Turn reading into skill
Strategy sticks when you use it. Practise real positions with Stockfish's verdict at once, or play the plans out from any diagram above.