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The 10 Best Games Of The 1970s

The 10 Best Games Of The 1970s

SamCopeland
NM Sam Copeland
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NM Sam Copeland has picked the 10 best games of recent decades. Take a look at his picks for the 1970s and learn from the greatest games of an amazing era!

  • Fischer takes the world title!
  • Spassky obliterates Larsesn's namesake opening.
  • The first defeat of world champion Karpov.
  • Maybe the greatest game ever by a club-level player!

Fischer Takes The Title: The Best Games Of The 1970s

The 1972 World Chess Championship match between Fischer and Boris Spassky was a tremendous contest that ultimately concluded Fischer's untouchable 1970-1972 period (and even his career...). Game six was a breaking point and a model demonstration of how to defeat hanging pawns.
21 min
5 Challenges

Boris Spassky's Magic Miniature: The Best Games Of The 1970s

In 1970, the U.S.S.R. and the rest of the world played an epic chess match narrowly won by the U.S.S.R. by the score of 20.5-19.5. On first board, Boris Spassky won this stunning victory over Bent Larsen in round two, defeating the great Dane in only 17 spectacular moves.
17 min
5 Challenges

The Chess Game Known As Mona Lisa: The Best Games Of The 1970s

Eduard Gufeld's game against Bagirov is widely adored by players of all levels for the ambitious play from both players and thrilling conclusion. Gufeld has termed this chess game his Mona Lisa, and the name has stuck!
16 min
5 Challenges

Kasparov's Trainer Smashes Keres Attack: The Best Games Of The 1970s

The Sicilian Defense requires great precision from both sides. Watch how Kasparov's trainer and Sicilian specialist, GM Gennadi Timoschenko, vigorously punishes Pokojowczyk's errors in this thrilling game!
14 min
5 Challenges

Anatoly Karpov Explains The Sicilian Dragon: The Best Games Of The 1970s

World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov is not usually known for his attacking play, but don't miss how he dismantles Viktor Korchnoi in the 1974 Candidates Final in this Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack! Karpov himself explains!
17 min
5 Challenges

Karpov's 1st Loss As World Chess Champion: The Best Games Of The 1970s

Anatoly Karpov's 1st defeat as the newly crowned World Chess Champion was a stunner! Don't miss his battle with Ulf Andersson in which the Swede improbably positionally outplays Karpov with the black pieces in a style and opening the presages Garry Kasparov's greatest game against Karpov a decade later!
16 min
5 Challenges

An INSANE Chess Move: The Best Games Of The 1970s

Emil Diemer was a deeply troubled chess player. He was the co-author of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, a committed madman, forbidden to play chess by his doctors, and disturbingly, the official chess reporter of the Third Reich. For a good summary of his troubled life, see the link below. In this game, he plays according to his aggressive principle, but at the critical moment, it is Trommsdorf who plays an INSANE move and SHOULD have won the game.
19 min
5 Challenges

The Greatest French Defense Ever Played: The Best Games Of The 1970s

The following game against Sammy Reshevsky is one of the great masterpieces in the French Defense, possibly the greatest chess game ever won by the black side. Reshevsky plays theoretically, but the theory of the time proves flawed as Vaganian finds a series of four utterly brilliant sacrifices to blow Reshevsky off the board.
18 min
5 Challenges

A Chess MASTERPIECE But The Players Are 1500: The Best Games Of The 1970s

Do you desire to play a true chess masterpiece but feel you just aren't strong enough? Don't miss this brilliant battle between two true chess amateurs (1500 players) as Black plays the game of a lifetime, a game that would be the envy of many grandmasters!
15 min
5 Challenges

Is This The Most Crushing Isolated Pawn Attack Ever: The Best Games Of The 1970s

In the 1975-76 Hastings tournament, two English future grandmasters (the first English grandmasters in fact!) did battle in an exciting isolated pawn chess game. Keene came out the winner and produced an attacking masterpiece in the process!
10 min
5 Challenges

The 10 Best Games Of The 1970s

Master Games
10 Lessons
163 Minutes
50 Challenges
Released April 26, 2022

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