Draft:Brilliant move (chess)

In chess, a brilliant move, typically annotated with a double exclamation mark "!!", is a particularly strong and usually difficult-to-find move. Brilliant moves typically require a high level of skill to pull off and may significantly improve the player's position. Examples of moves that earn this double exclamation mark include the main patterns in brilliancies (games that contain spectacular, deep and beautiful strategic ideas, combinations, or original plans), counter-intuitive moves that prove very powerful, and sound sacrifices of significant material. Some moves also earn three or more exclamation marks "!!!" by a few annotators.

Examples

Rotlewi vs. Rubinstein, 1907

Dubbed Rubinstein's immortal game by Hans Kmoch, this game was played on December 26. There are two notably brilliant moves, both rook sacrifices and the earlier one a queen sacrifice. White's queen is positioned to prevent ...Qxh2# with Black's queen protected by a knight. Rubinstein played 22...Rxc3!! offering a queen sacrifice and attacking White's side of the board with a rook. White takes the offered queen with 23. gxh4, but this is followed by 23...Rd2!!, an additional rook sacrifice. For the remaining moves 24. Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25. Qg2 Rh3! Black declines the offered White queen. White resigned.

Levitsky vs. Marshall, 1912

A game known as the "Gold Coin Game" as it was rumoured the audience showered coins on the chess board after the move was made. The game was played in Breslau on July 20 during the master's tournament of the DSB Congress.

White has an overloaded g2 pawn tasked with preventing the knight fork 22...Nf3+ and defending the bishop. Black instead sacrifices his rook by playing 22...Rxh3!! After 23. Rc5, Black plays 23...Qg3!! moving his queen into a square where three pieces can capture the queen, but all ways of capturing it lose. Capturing the queen with the h pawn results in 24.hxg3 Ne2#, a partially smothered checkmate. Using the f pawn results in 24.fxg3 Ne2+! 25.Kh1 Rxf1#, a back-rank checkmate. White's best chance is to use his queen to capture the rival queen. 24.Qxg3 Ne2+! 25.Kh1 Nxg3+ 26.Kg1 (if 26.fxg3 Rxf1#) Nxf1 27.gxh3 Nd2 with an easily won endgame, or 26...Ne2+ Kh1 followed by moving the rook on h3 away. 23...Qg3 is sometimes given three exclamation marks "!!!". Other similar moves have been made in which a queen sacrifice results in a lost game for the defending player.

Byrne vs. Fischer, 1956

Known as "Game of the Century" 13-year-old future world champion Bobby Fischer defeated Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City on October 17. Byrne errs his development with 11. Bg5? intending to prevent a centre development by Fischer instead of allowing castling. As Black, Fischer forks White's knight and a queen, also a knight sacrifice, with 11...Na4!!. Should White accept the offer with 12. Nxa4? Black gains a significant advantage with 12...Nxe4! played in the actual game a move after. This prompts murmur among other competing grandmasters in the tournament.

After 17. Kf1, many masters observing this game considered Black lost, having stepped into a trap. Fischer counterattacked with a queen sacrifice, the move that earned the game its fame - 17...Be6!!. All variations result in a won game for Black. Black accepts the queen offer with 18. Bxb6? 18... Bxc4+ beginning a windmill series of discovered checks against White's king and winning material back from White. White is left with a useless queen while Black's pieces relentlessly attack White's king, resulting eventually in a pure mate.

Other moves also marked brilliant by some annotators include 13... Nxe4! and 15... Nxc3!

Kasparov vs. Topalov, 1999

At the Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee Chess Tournament 1999 Kasparov as White played Topalov as Black. Generally, there are four moves described as brilliant - 24. Rxd4!!, 25. Re7+!!, 36. Bf1!! and 37. Rd7!!

See also

• Blunder (chess)