The Game of the Century usually refers to a chess game played between Donald Byrne and the 13-year old Bobby Fischer in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament in New York City on October 17, 1956. It was nicknamed "The Game of the Century" by Hans Kmoch in Chess Review. Kmoch wrote, "The following game, a stunning masterpiece of combination play performed by a boy of 13 against a formidable opponent, matches the finest on record in the history of chess prodigies." Other experts, such as Larry Evans, have suggested different games as candidates for the "Game of the Century" sobriquet – for example, the game between Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov at the Wijk aan Zee Corus tournament in 1999.

The term "Game of the Century" is rather hyperbolic. Byrne's play (11. Bg5?; 18.

Bxb6?) was weak; had a strong grandmaster rather than a 13-year-old played Black, it would still be an outstanding game, but probably not the Game of the Century.[according to whom?] Many players[who?] consider the game inferior to later games of Fischer's, such as his stunning win over Donald's brother Robert at the 1963 U.S. Chess Championship. Donald Byrne (1930–1976) was one of the leading American chess masters at the time of this game. He had won the 1953 U.S. Open Championship, and would later represent the United States in the 1962, 1964, and 1968 Olympiads.

He became an International Master in 1962, and would likely have risen further if not for ill health. Robert "Bobby" Fischer (1943-2008) was at this time a promising young master. Following this game, he had a meteoric rise, winning the 1957 U.S. Open on tiebreaks, winning the 1957-58 U.S. (Closed) Championship (and all seven later championships he played in), qualifying for the Candidates Tournament and becoming the world's youngest grandmaster at age 15 in 1958.

He won the world championship in 1972, and is considered one of the greatest chessplayers in history. In this game, Fischer (playing Black) demonstrates noteworthy innovation and improvisation. Byrne (playing White), after a standard opening, makes a seemingly minor mistake on move 11, losing tempo by moving the same piece twice.

Fischer pounces, with brilliant sacrificial play, culminating in an incredible queen sacrifice on move 17. Byrne captures the queen, but Fischer gets far too much material for it – a rook, two bishops, and a pawn. At the end, Fischer's pieces coordinate to force checkmate, while Byrne's queen sits, helpless, at the other end of the board.

Graham Burgess, John Nunn, and John Emms suggest three lessons to be learned from this game, which can be summarized as follows:

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