Among the countless brilliant games played in Wijk aan Zee, one move stands out above all others. In the 1996 edition, Vassily Ivanchuk played the legendary Qg7!! against Alexei Shirov in the razor-sharp Botvinnik Variation of the Slav.
At a time when strong chess engines barely existed, this opening was a playground for creativity. Players analysed together, searched for new ideas, and relied on imagination rather than computer evaluations. Ivanchuk’s queen move shocked the chess world: the queen was deliberately placed on a square where it could be captured immediately, yet it unleashed a stunning coordination between White’s minor pieces and rooks. The video shows why this move was so revolutionary, how it perfectly reflected the spirit of the pre-computer era, and why it is still regarded today as one of the most spectacular ideas ever seen at the highest level. Qg7!! became more than just a move - it became a symbol of creative freedom, bold calculation, and the pure joy of discovery that shaped an entire generation of chess players.