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What is the shortest known on the board game played between GM rated players that ended with a checkmate? "Shortest" does not mean the game has to be very short.

Note: Edited this question twice clarifying some ambiguity.

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    Just to clarify, you are looking for the shortest game between two players who have official GM titles. Does the time control matter to you? Could the game be blindfold?
    – Akavall
    Commented Jan 3, 2013 at 20:43

2 Answers 2

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Keres-Arlamowski 1950, comes very close

[FEN ""]
[Event "Szczawno Zdroj"]
[Date "1950"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Keres"]
[Black "Edward Arlamowski"]

1. e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qe2 Nbd7 6.Nd6# 1-0

I heard Mr Arlamovski was an IM at the time - but given Keres' level, and the fact that there were many fewer IM's back then - probably puts the game into the GM level category.

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  • Thanks, but what if we restrict to games that are "really" GM level? I was just curious.
    – Masked Man
    Commented Jan 1, 2013 at 2:45
  • 2
    can't think of any; I suspect most GM's would actually resign before getting mated :)
    – Joe
    Commented Jan 2, 2013 at 21:24
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    Note that Arlamowski fell into exactly the trap from this answer: chess.stackexchange.com/a/653/167, except that White has played Nf3 instead of d4.
    – ETD
    Commented Jan 3, 2013 at 22:43
  • What a sucker! Hah, but good find :D +1
    – Travis J
    Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 8:44
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Reti-Tartakower, Vienna 1910, must be a good candidate, although Tartakower resigned one move before checkmate.

[FEN ""]
[Event "Vienna"]
[Date "1910"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Richard Reti"]
[Black "Savielly Tartakower"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qd3 e5 6. dxe5 Qa5 7. Bd2 Qxe5 8. O-O-O Nxe4 9. Qd8+ Kxd8 10. Bg5++ (10. Bg5++ Ke8 (10... Kc7 11.Bd8#) 11.Rd8#) 1-0
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  • Though this was a rapid game, I think.
    – BlindKungFuMaster
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 8:09
  • @BlindKungFuMaster: According to this link (chesshistory.com/winter/extra/retitartakower.html) it was an off-hand game, but not rapid.
    – Dag Oskar Madsen
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 16:25
  • What I was remembering, probably from the same source: " The term ‘lightning game’ was used on page 23 of The Chess Player’s Bedside Book by R. Bott and S. Morrison (London, 1966), but on what grounds?"
    – BlindKungFuMaster
    Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 17:30
  • Tartakower played Kc7 and allowed the beautiful mate Bd8 instead of resigning.
    – Peter
    Commented Mar 31, 2015 at 8:15
  • @Peter Any source to document that Tatarkower played 10...Kc7 ?
    – Evargalo
    Commented Jan 2, 2019 at 9:40

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