Throughout our entire lives, we keep looking for the best. The best colleges, best workplaces, best vacation spots, etc. The list is endless. Of course, in our chess universe we also follow this same trend and search for the best games and best players of all time.
I wonder, why is no one looking for the worst? [Ed. Note: We are sometimes!] Well, there is no point to search for the worst chess player since he is well known. At least, it is if we trust U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1972, who called GM Bobby Fischer and introduced himself as “the worst chess player in the world… calling the best player in the world”.
But what about the worst chess game ever played? You might wonder why we would even need to look for such a horrible game. Well, besides the obvious human curiosity, there is a clear utility such a game might provide. Say you are a beginning chess player: Which game would you rather prefer to analyze, one by two super GMs played with nearly 100% accuracy, or the following game, which I saw as a kid in one of my first chess books?Walter Thomas Mayfield vs. William Robert Trinks1-0 60th US Open Omaha, NE USA 01 Aug 1959 Round: 12 ECO: B0087654321abcdefgh1. e4g52. c3f53. h5#
I don’t know about you, but I smiled when I saw this game for the first time. Meanwhile, the near-perfect game played by two super-GMs would have just bored me at that time. Besides, learning that outrageous game, where Black got checkmated in just three moves, assured that I would never lose a game the same way, as happened in the Chess Olympiad not so long ago:Rhoda Masiyazi (1920) vs. Akua Kosife Esse1-0 Chess Olympiad (Women) Tromso NOR 05 Aug 2014 Round: 4.59 ECO: B0087654321abcdefgh1. e4g52. d4f63. h5#
So, what criteria should we use to determine the worst game ever played? If it is just educational value that demonstrates what you should never do in chess, then the following “game” would be close to the top of my list of worst ever:
To be fair, these horrible king moves didn’t lead to excessive damage (most of us would still lose to GM Magnus Carlsen even after he plays 2. Ke2??). Should we then consider the degree of damage caused by a bad move? If so, not many games can compete with such ultimate blunders as the following well-known examples.Mikhail Chigorin vs. Wilhelm Steinitz0-1 Steinitz – Chigorin World Championship Rematch Havana CUB 28 Feb 1892 Round: 23 ECO: C3487654321abcdefgh1. e4e52. f4exf43. f3f64. e5h55. e2g66. d4g77. O-Od68. c3O-O9. e1dxe510. xh5gxh511. dxe5xd112. xd1c613. xf4f514. e3e415. f3fe816. g5g617. d5xe518. xc7xc719. xc7ac820. g3d421. c3e2+22. f2h423. d6d424. cxd4c2+25. g1ee226. ae1xg2+27. h1g728. e8f529. e6+f630. e7ge231. d5cd232. b4??xh2+Deep Fritz (Computer) vs. Vladimir Kramnik1-0 Kramnik – Deep Fritz Bonn GER 27 Nov 2006 Round: 2 ECO: D2087654321abcdefgh1. d4d52. c4dxc43. e4b54. a4c65. c3b46. a2f67. e5d58. xc4e69. f3a510. g5b611. c1a612. e2h613. e3xc414. xc4d715. b3e716. c1O-O17. O-Ofc818. e2c519. fd2c620. h5xa421. xc5xc522. dxc5xe323. fxe3xc524. xf7+h825. f3f826. e4d727. b3b628. fd1f729. f1a730. xf8+xf831. d4a432. xe6xe3+33. h1xc134. xf8e3??35. h7#
We are all guilty of saying something like “I just played the worst game in the whole history of chess” after losing an especially painful game. GM Tigran Petrosian probably thought the same way after he made an outrageous blunder in a very important tournament.Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian vs. David Bronstein0-1 Amsterdam Candidates Amsterdam NED 28 Mar 1956 Round: 2 ECO: E6687654321abcdefgh1. c4f62. c3g63. g3g74. g2O-O5. f3c56. O-Oc67. d4d68. dxc5dxc59. e3d710. c1d411. d1e512. h6a513. xg7xg714. h1b815. d2a616. e3e617. a4h518. h4f519. d5h720. b3f721. f3d822. c3h823. e4fxe424. d2g725. xe4h826. d2f827. a5d428. b4cxb429. xb4f530. ad1d431. e1c632. a3d433. b2c634. eb1d435. d6f536. g5??xd6
I just don’t think it is fair to call a game ‘the worst ever” based on a single blunder, no matter how bad it was. For example, the Petrosian game above is actually an excellent example of constricting an opponent. As a matter of fact, if not for the tragic blunder, it would have been added to Petrosian’s collection of positional masterpieces.
It is obvious that in order to be considered “the worst ever,” a game should be played consistently badly, from beginning to end. Take the following game, for example:Mikhail Chigorin vs. David Janowski0-1 Hastings Hastings ENG 31 Aug 1895 Round: 20 ECO: C2687654321abcdefgh1. e4e52. c3f63. d3d54. exd5xd55. e2c66. d2e77. O-O-OO-O8. f3e69. ge2f510. h3d611. xd5xd512. c3a513. a3xa314. b1xb2+15. xb2a2+16. c1d4
When one of the world’s best grandmasters performs like an amateur player, we know that the game is very bad. By the way, my apologies to amateur players—I know that many of you can play better than that!
Yet even games where truly bad moves were played from beginning to end might not always be good material for our contest. Take, for example, the following notorious game:Yifan Hou vs. Babu M R Lalith0-1 Tradewise Gibraltar Catalan Bay GIB 28 Jan 2017 Round: 10.17 ECO: A0087654321abcdefgh1. g4d52. f3e53. d3h4+4. d2h55. h3hxg4
It is a well-known fact that this game was played under protest, as was this infamous contest:Robert Huebner (2590) vs. Kenneth S Rogoff (2430)1/2-1/2 WchT U26 19th fin-A Graz 1972 Round: 8.1 ECO: A1587654321abcdefgh1. c4f62. f3g63. g1g74. a4O-O5. xd7xd76. g4xd2+7. xd2xg48. b4a59. a4xa110. b2c611. h8g712. h4axb4
And I don’t even want to know what kind of events forced two masters to produce the following recent gem:Mihnea Costachi vs. Evgenij Novikov0-1 Titled Tuesday Blitz July 6 2021 06 Jul 202187654321abcdefgh1. f3f62. f2f73. g3g64. h4d55. g3e56. e4c57. exd5h68. d3+f59. c4e410. e2d6+11. f4g412. d3e813. dxe4xe414. d3xd515. ec3f5+16. xg4xf4+17. xf4d6+18. g4xg2#
As you can see, it is not easy to determine the worst chess game ever played. Therefore, when IM Ali Mortazavi tweeted that he would like to nominate the worst game of chess I was quite skeptical. However, upon looking at the game, I think he has a valid point. Judge for yourself:Vishal_09 (2424) vs. BigAl1 (2484)0-1 Rated Bullet game 29 Oct 2021 Opening: Caro-Kann Defense: Forgacs Variation ECO: B1587654321abcdefgh1. e4c62. d4d53. c3dxe44. xe4f65. xf6+exf66. c4d67. h5d7??Black: How about a checkmate in one move?8. e3??White: the game is too exciting to end it at this point.8… b6??How about now?9. d3??Nope, still not interested!9… O-O??You didn’t like the “Scholar’s mate”, what about the good old Qxh7 checkmate?10. f3??Come on man, I haven’t even finished my development yet!10… g611. h4d512. h6??Would you like to attack my King for a change?12… e8+13. d1b614. c4xb215. b1??You took the b2 pawn which is frequently ‘poisoned’. Can I trap you Queen somehow?15… c3#Black wins by checkmate.
While blunders are an integral part of bullet chess, here it was a bit too much. Six consecutive blunders of checkmate in one within three moves, by players rated above 2400 must be the world record. Seven blunders like this in a game that lasted just 15 moves is also a tough record to beat!
