Adolf Anderssen vs Lionel Kieseritzky · London, 1851 · King's Gambit Accepted · 1-0
Played during the 1851 London tournament, this is widely considered the greatest attacking chess game ever played. Anderssen sacrificed both rooks and his queen — material totalling a queen and two rooks — to deliver checkmate with just three minor pieces. The game earned the name 'The Immortal Game' because of its audacity: Anderssen gave up nearly all his heavy pieces and won anyway. Move 11 Rg1 is particularly shocking — a rook sacrifice that simply ignores the enemy queen capturing on a1. Move 18 Bd6 offers a second rook to a queen that cannot be refused without ruining Black's structure. The final combination, culminating in a bishop-and-knight checkmate on move 23, remains one of chess history's most celebrated finishes.