Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997: Move by Move
Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997 — Deep Blue vs Garry Kasparov, New York, 1997 (Game 6). IBM's Deep Blue sacrificed a knight on move 8 and crushed the reigning World Champion — the first time a computer beat a champion in a match. Here is the whole game, move by move, with the key positions on a board and what each one teaches.
The game at a glance
Played more than 29 years ago, Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997 remains one of the most studied games in chess. Game 6 of the 1997 rematch between Garry Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue is one of the most historically significant games ever played. Kasparov, the reigning World Champion, chose a slightly offbeat Caro-Kann line and walked into a known trap. Deep Blue responded with 8.Nxe6!!, a knight sacrifice so natural-looking and yet so machine-precise that Kasparov was visibly shaken. He resigned after only 19 moves. It was the first time a reigning World Champion lost a match to a computer under standard tournament conditions — a turning point for artificial intelligence.
Here is the complete game in one line, so you can replay it on any board:
How it began
The game was an Caro-Kann Defence. The opening is a Caro-Kann Defence. On move 7 Kasparov played the dubious 7...h6?, a known inaccuracy in this exact position. Deep Blue, drawing on its opening book, immediately exploited it with a piece sacrifice on e6 that drags the black king into the open and leaves it permanently stranded.
The turning point
This is the position where the game turns — it is White to move. Study it before reading on: where is the enemy king, and which pieces can reach it?
The critical moments:
- 8. Nxe6 — !! — Deep Blue sacrifices a knight on move 8. The move looks eerily human, and it wins because the black king can never find safety afterwards.
- 10. Bg6+ — the bishop check seals the black king in the centre. Kasparov's position is already beyond repair.
- 19. c4 — Kasparov resigned. A landmark moment in the history of chess and computing.
The finish
After 8.Nxe6! fxe6 9.Bg6+ Kd8 the black king is stuck on d8 for the rest of the game, its rooks unable to connect. Deep Blue methodically increased the pressure until Kasparov, seeing no defence, resigned on move 19 — a stunningly short loss for the best human player alive.
What you can learn from it
This game is a cautionary tale about opening preparation: Kasparov mixed up a move order in a sharp line and was punished instantly. It also popularised a hard truth — engines calculate tactics flawlessly. The modern lesson is to use that strength: let an engine (or an engine-backed tool like Chess DNA) show you the tactical mistakes in your own games, because the machine will never miss them.
The best way to absorb a classic is to play it out move by move and ask, at each turn, why — why this piece, why this square, why not something safer. The same questioning habit is what turns your own games into lessons. If tactics like these slip past you in your games, read how chess pattern recognition works and why you keep blundering. To see where these ideas come from in the opening, browse the openings library and the opening-traps library.
Analyse your own games like this
You do not need to play an immortal game to improve — you need to understand your own. Chess DNA analyses your real Chess.com and Lichess games the way commentators analyse these classics: it finds the exact moments you gained or lost the advantage, names the tactical patterns behind them, and shows you the fixes. It is free and takes about a minute to connect your games and see your own turning points.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997?
Game 6 of the 1997 rematch between Garry Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue is one of the most historically significant games ever played. It was played by Deep Blue (White) against Garry Kasparov (Black) at New York, 1997 (Game 6), opening with the Caro-Kann Defence. The full game runs: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 h6 8.Nxe6 Qe7 9.O-O fxe6 10.Bg6+ Kd8 11.Bf4 b5 12.a4 Bb7 13.Re1 Nd5 14.Bg3 Kc8 15.axb5 cxb5 16.Qd3 Bc6 17.Bf5 exf5 18.Rxe7 Bxe7 19.c4.
Who won Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997?
Deep Blue won (1–0). Garry Kasparov was on the losing side. The game is remembered less for the result than for how it was won — a textbook example of computer chess that is still taught today.
Why is Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997 so famous?
IBM's Deep Blue sacrificed a knight on move 8 and crushed the reigning World Champion — the first time a computer beat a champion in a match. This game is a cautionary tale about opening preparation: Kasparov mixed up a move order in a sharp line and was punished instantly. That combination of drama and instructive content is why it has been reprinted and analysed for generations.
What opening was played in Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997?
It was a Caro-Kann Defence (ECO B17). The opening is a Caro-Kann Defence. On move 7 Kasparov played the dubious 7...h6?, a known inaccuracy in this exact position. Deep Blue, drawing on its opening book, immediately exploited it with a piece sacrifice on e6 that drags the black king into the open and leaves it permanently stranded.
Can studying Deep Blue vs Kasparov, 1997 help me improve at chess?
Yes. Replaying annotated classics trains your pattern recognition — you absorb how strong players develop, sacrifice and attack. The trick is to guess each move before you see it and ask why. Then apply the same questions to your own games; a tool like Chess DNA can point out the exact moments where those patterns would have helped you.
