Drag a piece or tap its starting and destination squares.
BEFORE THE MOVE
How would you start the king hunt?
Kasparov has White against Veselin Topalov. The black king is on a7. The white rook on d1 can reach d4, a square that looks dangerous.
WHAT HAPPENED
24. Rxd4 allows …cxd4. Kasparov answers with 25. Re7+: the second rook enters and the attack continues with queen and minor pieces. This sequence is only the beginning of the hunt.
Attack / checkProtectionPlan
Video and complete game ↗Another historic decision →Keyboard: arrow keys between squares; Enter to select.
FOR THE TEACHER
The lesson, step by step.
01Meet the story4 min
Introduce Kasparov and place the 1999 game in his career.
02Read the board8 min
Observe the white rooks and the black king. Each team draws a possible attacking route.
03Find your move10 min
Reveal Rxd4. Follow …cxd4 and Re7+; pause to propose a king defence.
04Explain the idea8 min
Explain what changed between the starting position and the continuation. Compare lines on the board.
Before you start
Notation, checks and calculation of two or three moves.
A projector or chessboard, paper and pencils. One worksheet per pair.
Build a variation and follow how a sacrifice activates another piece.
To close the lesson
What must a sacrifice achieve to be worthwhile?
If there is time
Follow the complete game and mark every square the black king visits.
Explore the sources
Portrait credits
- 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.