Lékó - Fireless and Boring?

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Lékó - Fireless and Boring?
Compiled by SwitchingQuylthulg

Of the current crop of grandmasters, Péter Lékó is known as both one of the greatest positional masters and a genius in the endgame; this is not to say he's weak at tactics, quite the opposite! Lékó can be considered a throwback into the era when positional mastery and deep manoeuvering were valued more than the ability to memorize opening lines or blitz out moves, and his style is often compared to that of the late Bobby Fischer. Lékó entered the chess world as a prodigy and came tantalizingly close to making more than good of that promise when leading with one over Kramnik in their 2004 World Championship Match with just one game to go. As a result of his positional style, beyond the grasp of most chess amateurs and a level above even most grandmasters, Lékó is often underestimated as a player or considered to be boring and drawish. The games in this collection feature both positional and tactical masterpieces, as well as some otherwise notable Lékó successes, and prove that he's quite capable of winning as well as drawing!

"My cousin Sammy told me a true slugger - a Szeged slugger - will always swing for the fences, and that is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to knock Kramnik out of the room with my 'home run punch.' My trainer and I have been developing it in camp. I just hope Vladimir's head is screwed on tight or it may end up on top of the demonstration board!"

"I will knock Kramnik senseless. He is going down in game five. And he is going down HARD!"

- Péter Lékó after game 4 of the Kramnik-Lékó World Championship Match (at least according to <offramp>...)

♖ Note that several other Lékó game collections exist or have existed, and I have shamelessly stolen from them to make my job of finding notable Lékó games easier :)

Leko vs Kramnik, 1995
(B64) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 48 moves, 1-0
Bareev vs Leko, 1995
(E12) Queen's Indian, 42 moves, 0-1
Leko vs G Bakhtadze, 1995
(B17) Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation, 22 moves, 1-0
Van Wely vs Leko, 1995
(D92) Grunfeld, 5.Bf4, 48 moves, 0-1
Polgar vs Leko, 1996
(B17) Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation, 61 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Adams, 1996
(C92) Ruy Lopez, Closed, 60 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Hodgson, 1996
(B07) Pirc, 22 moves, 1-0
Kramnik vs Leko, 1998
(D70) Neo-Grunfeld Defense, 45 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Adams, 1999
(C89) Ruy Lopez, Marshall, 30 moves, 1-0
Kasparov vs Leko, 2000
(D97) Grunfeld, Russian, 47 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Bareev, 2000
(B18) Caro-Kann, Classical, 50 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Adams, 2001
(C42) Petrov Defense, 49 moves, 1-0
Kramnik vs Leko, 2001
(A30) English, Symmetrical, 44 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Morozevich, 2001
(B98) Sicilian, Najdorf, 42 moves, 1-0
Leko vs E Ghaem Maghami, 2001
(B96) Sicilian, Najdorf, 27 moves, 1-0
Shirov vs Leko, 2002
(B33) Sicilian, 47 moves, 0-1
Shirov vs Leko, 2002
(B31) Sicilian, Rossolimo Variation, 31 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Beliavsky, 2002
(C95) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer, 39 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Topalov, 2002
(C42) Petrov Defense, 48 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Topalov, 2002
(B45) Sicilian, Taimanov, 81 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Grischuk, 2002
(C42) Petrov Defense, 47 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Morozevich, 2002
(C61) Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defense, 47 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Radjabov, 2003
(C12) French, McCutcheon, 32 moves, 1-0
Polgar vs Leko, 2003
(B33) Sicilian, 44 moves, 0-1
Leko vs F Vallejo Pons, 2003
(B48) Sicilian, Taimanov Variation, 43 moves, 1-0
Radjabov vs Leko, 2004
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 45 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Kramnik, 2004
(D37) Queen's Gambit Declined, 69 moves, 1-0
Kramnik vs Leko, 2004
(C89) Ruy Lopez, Marshall, 32 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Anand, 2004
(B48) Sicilian, Taimanov Variation, 68 moves, 1-0
Karjakin vs Leko, 2004
(B33) Sicilian, 49 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Kasimdzhanov, 2005
(B42) Sicilian, Kan, 48 moves, 1-0
Leko vs L Bruzon Batista, 2005
(C99) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...cd, 25 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Svidler, 2005
(B90) Sicilian, Najdorf, 57 moves, 1-0
Anand vs Leko, 2005
(B33) Sicilian, 57 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Short, 2005
(C95) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer, 37 moves, 1-0
F Vallejo Pons vs Leko, 2006
(E32) Nimzo-Indian, Classical, 40 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Radjabov, 2006
(B33) Sicilian, 45 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Ivanchuk, 2006
(C84) Ruy Lopez, Closed, 39 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Mamedyarov, 2006
(C72) Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, 5.O-O, 37 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Kamsky, 2006
(C97) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 46 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Aronian, 2006
(C69) Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation, 63 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Gelfand, 2006
(D18) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Dutch, 79 moves, 1-0
Svidler vs Leko, 2007
(C78) Ruy Lopez, 38 moves, 0-1
M Gurevich vs Leko, 2007
(E32) Nimzo-Indian, Classical, 53 moves, 0-1
M Gurevich vs Leko, 2007
(E32) Nimzo-Indian, Classical, 40 moves, 0-1
Leko vs M Gurevich, 2007
(C11) French, 50 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Bareev, 2007
(B17) Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation, 41 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Morozevich, 2007
(B67) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7, 33 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Carlsen, 2008
(B33) Sicilian, 62 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Shirov, 2008
(B90) Sicilian, Najdorf, 45 moves, 1-0
Adams vs Leko, 2008
(C69) Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation, 61 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Caruana, 2008
(B67) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6 Defense, 8...Bd7, 93 moves, 1-0
V Akopian vs Leko, 2009
(D47) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 61 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Gelfand, 2009
(C42) Petrov Defense, 43 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Grischuk, 2010
(E04) Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3, 53 moves, 1-0
Ivanchuk vs Leko, 2011
(C89) Ruy Lopez, Marshall, 41 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Topalov, 2011
(D85) Grunfeld, 41 moves, 1-0
Leko vs Ivanchuk, 2012
(C11) French, 42 moves, 1-0
C Li vs Leko, 2012
(E06) Catalan, Closed, 5.Nf3, 75 moves, 0-1
Leko vs J Gustafsson, 2012
(C78) Ruy Lopez, 45 moves, 1-0
I Sokolov vs Leko, 2013
(E53) Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, 26 moves, 0-1
Leko vs Y Wang, 2014
(C42) Petrov Defense, 71 moves, 1-0
62 games

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