RookHabitHISTORY YOU CAN PLAY

ONE STORY. ONE POSITION. YOUR DECISION.

History hasn’t happened yet.

Take the seat they once took. What would you play?

1851
2023
THE ARCHIVE

YOUR FIRST STORY STARTS HERE

Paris, 1858. Your move.

08 decisions to discover ↗
White · your turn1858
. . . . k b . r
p . . n . p p p
. . . . q . . .
. . . . p . B .
. . . . P . . .
. Q . . . . . .
P P P . . P P P
. . K R . . . .

Drag a piece or tap its starting and destination squares.

BEFORE THE MOVE

How would you bring the rook into the attack?

Morphy has White against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard. Black has more material, but its king is still in the centre. You arrive just before move 16.

Keyboard: arrow keys between squares; Enter to select.

JOURNEYS

Follow an idea through time.

Paris, 1858. Your move. · position before the decisionVienna, 1910. The king has not castled. · position before the decisionBelgrade, 1970. A pawn takes the lead. · position before the decision
1858 → 1970

When the lines open

3 connected decisions →
Moscow, 1925. Facing Lasker. · position before the decisionNew York, 1956. You are thirteen. · position before the decisionWijk aan Zee, 1999. The king is on a7. · position before the decision
1925 → 1999

Beyond material

3 connected decisions →
Łódź, 1907. A rook enters. · position before the decisionBelgrade, 1970. A pawn takes the lead. · position before the decisionLinares, 1998. Few pieces remain. · position before the decision
1907 → 1998

Change the protagonist

3 connected decisions →

THE CHRONOLOGY

Games that left a mark.

45 games · video and board

  1. Key position from the game1851▶ 0:47
    Londres

    Adolf Anderssen — Lionel Kieseritzky

    The Immortal Game ↗

  2. Key position from the game1852▶ 0:39
    Berlín

    Adolf Anderssen — Jean Dufresne

    The Evergreen Game ↗

  3. Key position from the game1857▶ 1:03
    New York

    Louis Paulsen — Paul Morphy

    Morphy trades his queen for a coordinated attack ↗

  4. Key position from the game1858▶ 0:34
    París

    Paul Morphy — Duke of Brunswick / Count Isouard

    A night at the opera ↗

  5. Key position from the game1883▶ 0:33
    Londres

    Johannes Zukertort — Joseph Blackburne

    The rook can wait ↗

  6. Key position from the game1889▶ 0:40
    Ámsterdam

    Emanuel Lasker — Johann Bauer

    Both bishops ↗

  7. Key position from the game1893▶ 0:26
    Nuremberg

    Siegbert Tarrasch — Romberg

    Sacrifice queen and rook; mate with the minor pieces ↗

  8. Key position from the game1895▶ 0:36
    Hastings

    Wilhelm Steinitz — Curt von Bardeleben

    Steinitz’s finishing combination ↗

  9. Key position from the game1898▶ 0:20
    Riga

    S. Lurie / E. Wagenheim — J. Bastin / O. Bolotow

    The rook hides a check ↗

  10. Key position from the game1907▶ 0:40
    Łódź

    Gersz Rotlewi — Akiba Rubinstein

    The queen can wait ↗

  11. Key position from the game1910▶ 0:20
    Viena

    Richard Reti — Savielly Tartakower

    A queen for a double check ↗

  12. Key position from the game1912▶ 0:41
    Londres

    Edward Lasker — George Thomas

    The king never returns ↗

  13. Key position from the game1912▶ 0:55
    Breslau

    Stepan Levitsky — Frank Marshall

    One queen, three captures ↗

  14. Key position from the game1925▶ 0:41
    Moscú

    Carlos Torre Repetto — Emanuel Lasker

    Carlos Torre’s windmill ↗

  15. Key position from the game1928▶ 0:30
    London

    Alexander Alekhine — A. Fletcher

    Alekhine’s knight windmill ↗

  16. Key position from the game1934▶ 0:29
    Zúrich

    Alexander Alekhine — Emanuel Lasker

    The queen opens a file ↗

  17. Key position from the game1953▶ 0:35
    Zúrich

    Efim Geller — Max Euwe

    The rook that turns the attack ↗

  18. Key position from the game1956▶ 0:31
    Leningrad

    Tal, Mihail — Tolush, Alexander V

    Tal offers a rook and wins queen and knight ↗

  19. Key position from the game1956▶ 0:52
    Nueva York

    Donald Byrne — Bobby Fischer

    Fischer was thirteen ↗

  20. Key position from the game1957▶ 0:42
    The Hague

    C. Chaurang — B. J. Moore

    A rook, a queen and a bishop windmill ↗

  21. Key position from the game1958▶ 1:05
    Sochi

    Lev Polugaevsky — Rashid Nezhmetdinov

    Nezhmetdinov leaves his queen ↗

  22. Key position from the game1958▶ 0:40
    Nueva York

    Bobby Fischer — Samuel Reshevsky

    The retreat that opened the trap ↗

  23. Key position from the game1959▶ 0:34
    Bled

    Mikhail Tal — Pal Benko

    Tal clears a path for the queen ↗

  24. Key position from the game1960▶ 1:05
    Leningrado

    Boris Spassky — David Bronstein

    Go ahead. Promote. ↗

  25. Key position from the game1962▶ 0:24
    Rostov-on-Don

    Rashid Nezhmetdinov — Oleg Chernikov

    No queen. Still attacking. ↗

  26. Key position from the game1963▶ 0:30
    New York

    Fischer, Robert James — Benko, Pal C

    Fischer offers a rook to block a pawn ↗

  27. Key position from the game1963▶ 1:11
    Nueva York

    Robert Byrne — Bobby Fischer

    Two knights for the diagonals ↗

  28. Key position from the game1965▶ 0:53
    Bled

    Mikhail Tal — Bent Larsen

    A bishop for one square ↗

  29. Key position from the game1966▶ 0:45
    Moscú

    Tigran Petrosian — Boris Spassky

    The knight collects everything ↗

  30. Key position from the game1967▶ 0:52
    Sousse

    Fischer, Robert James — Myagmarsuren, Lhamsuren

    Fischer prepares a bishop and gives up the queen ↗

  31. Key position from the game1970▶ 0:31
    Zagreb

    Fischer, Robert James — Uhlmann, Wolfgang

    The knight tour that wins a rook ↗

  32. Key position from the game1970▶ 0:42
    Belgrado

    Bent Larsen — Boris Spassky

    One pawn does everything ↗

  33. Key position from the game1973▶ 0:59
    Kirovabad

    Vladimir Bagirov — Eduard Gufeld

    The queen needed a route ↗

  34. Key position from the game1983▶ 1:06
    Nikšić

    Kasparov, Garry — Portisch, Lajos

    Kasparov gives up both bishops and builds the net ↗

  35. Key position from the game1985▶ 0:42
    Wijk aan Zee

    Beliavsky, Alexander G — Nunn, John DM

    Nunn sacrifices a rook and connects his attackers ↗

  36. Key position from the game1998▶ 0:45
    Linares

    Veselin Topalov — Alexei Shirov

    A bishop for a tempo ↗

  37. Key position from the game1999▶ 1:00
    Wijk aan Zee

    Garry Kasparov — Veselin Topalov

    The king crosses the board ↗

  38. Key position from the game2003▶ 0:46
    Hoogeveen

    Judit Polgar — Anatoly Karpov

    Two bishops to open the king ↗

  39. Key position from the game2004▶ 1:07
    Wijk aan Zee

    Magnus Carlsen — Sipke Ernst

    Magnus, before the title ↗

  40. Key position from the game2007▶ 0:48
    Barcelona

    Michal Krasenkow — Hikaru Nakamura

    Hikaru gives up his queen and builds a king hunt ↗

  41. Key position from the game2013▶ 0:54
    Wijk aan Zee

    Levon Aronian — Viswanathan Anand

    Take either knight ↗

  42. Key position from the game2015▶ 1:05
    Danzhou

    Wei,Yi — Bruzon Batista,Lazaro

    Wei Yi draws out the king and builds the net ↗

  43. Key position from the game2016▶ 0:45
    New York

    Carlsen, Magnus — Karjakin, Sergey

    Magnus: one queen, two mating routes ↗

  44. Key position from the game2017▶ 1:05
    Tianjin

    Bai,Jinshi — Ding,Liren

    One more attacker ↗

  45. Key position from the game2023▶ 0:41
    Speed Chess Championship

    Magnus Carlsen — Hikaru Nakamura

    Magnus refuses to lose ↗

THE PEOPLE

Before they were a name on a score.

Meet the players ↗
Paul Morphy · c. 1859
1837–1884

Paul Morphy

Time is a piece, too.

Bobby Fischer · 1972
1943–2008

Bobby Fischer

A teenager changes the board.

Boris Spassky · 1956
1937–2025

Boris Spassky

An attack has many forms.

Garry Kasparov · © 2007
1963–

Garry Kasparov

Calculate beyond the first capture.

Portrait credits
  • Paul Morphy (c. 1859) — D. J. Pound · Cleveland Public Library / DPLA. Original · Public domain
  • Bobby Fischer (1972) — Bert Verhoeff / Anefo · Nationaal Archief. Original · CC0
  • Boris Spassky (1956) — Herbert Behrens / Anefo · Nationaal Archief. Original · CC BY-SA 3.0 NL
  • Garry Kasparov (© 2007) — © 2007 S.M.S.I., Inc. · Owen Williams, The Kasparov Agency. Original · CC BY-SA 3.0

Original files are preserved; framing and a paper tint are applied on screen. Displayed versions retain each portrait’s license.

FOR TEACHERS

A story can fill a lesson.

Biographies, a position to discuss and worksheets with and without solutions. Open a lesson, project the board and let the class decide.

Enter the classroom →