Fantasy Chess Match: Anatoly Karpov vs Paul Keres

Match 8: Anatoly Karpov vs Paul Keres

Game 1 – Keres’ Brilliant Assault (Keres 1–0)

Keres sacrifices on f7 and overwhelms Karpov with dynamic brilliance.

Game 2 – Karpov’s Compression (1–1)

Karpov plays a positional masterpiece, freezing Keres’ activity until he collapses.

Game 3 – The Balanced Dance (1.5–1.5)

A tense positional struggle ends in a fair draw.

Game 4 – Keres Lights the Board (Keres 2.5–1.5)

A rook lift and a bishop sacrifice create chaos—Keres mates Karpov in style

Game 5 – Karpov Strikes Back (2.5–2.5)

Karpov returns with immaculate technique, winning an endgame where Keres is squeezed to death.

Game 6 – Perpetual Fire (3–3)

Keres sacrifices material for a perpetual attack. Karpov cannot escape—brilliant draw.

Game 7 – Karpov’s Slow Suffocation (Karpov 4–3)

Karpov forces a quiet position where his technique reigns supreme. Keres slowly runs out of moves.
A final positional zugzwang ends the match.

Result: Karpov wins 4–3

Fantasy Chess Match Rules

Round of 16
Match 1: Garry Kasparov vs Alexander Alekhine
Match 2: Wilhelm Steinitz vs Paul Morphy
Match 3: Bobby Fischer vs Hikaru Nakamura
Match 4: Mikhail Botvinnik vs Fabiano Caruana
Match 5: Magnus Carlsen vs Mikhail Tal
Match 6: Wesley So vs José Raúl Capablanca
Match 7: Emanuel Lasker vs Viswanathan Anand