What Is the Longest Chess Game Ever Played?
How long can a chess game possibly last? The record-holder is a 269-move marathon that took over 20 hours. Here are the stories behind chess's longest games.
The record: 269 moves
The longest recorded tournament game is Nikolić vs Arsović (Belgrade, 1989), which lasted 269 moves over approximately 20 hours and 15 minutes. The game ended in a draw. Ironically, it was this game (and others like it) that led to the strict enforcement of the 50-move rule. See our 50-move rule guide.
Other marathon games
Other notably long games include: Pilnik vs Czerniak (1950, 191 moves), and multiple correspondence chess games exceeding 200 moves. In correspondence chess, games can last for months or even years in elapsed time, though the number of moves is typically lower.
What limits game length?
Modern rules prevent games from going on forever: the 50-move rule, threefold/fivefold repetition, and insufficient material rules all create upper bounds. Mathematically, the theoretical maximum length of a chess game has been calculated at approximately 5,949 moves.