Immortal Game
The so-called immortal game is one of the most famous in the history of chess - and probably the most famous chess game ever. She was discharged on June 21, 1851 in London as a freelance game of chess masters Adolf Anderssen between Lionel and Kieseritzky.
In the course of the game the first player sacrificed a runner, both towers and the lady. Finally Anderssen sat with his remaining three minor pieces matt his opponent.
Origin and distribution
Location of the event was the Café Simpson, the leading local chess the British capital. Both opponents were previously during the first international chess tournament, the tournament to London in 1851, successive hit, which took place against the backdrop of the Great Exhibition in London. The later tournament winner, Anderssen had off in the first round his living in Paris and coming from the Baltic counterparty with which he then fought out more free games at Simpson.
Kieseritzky published the game, which had immediately attracts attention, in July 1851 in his chess magazine La Regence. In the same month Bernhard Horwitz, Josef Kling and published the game in the London organ The Chess Player. The game of course is stated differently in the two sources, notably absent in the Kieseritzky Matt conclusion. The English version was 1852 input in the second edition of the game of chess manual. In August 1855, Conrad Bayer analyzed the game in the Viennese chess newspaper under the heading " An immortal game ". The term has been adopted in many other languages (English Immortal game).
According to Kling and Horwitz opened the game different from the modern rules of the game with the black pieces. Anderssen and Kieseritzky subject is then 1 e7 - e5 e2- e4 2 f7 - f5, etc. In the parallel event tournament in London half the games opened with black. For the descriptive English notation, this makes no difference.
The famous game and its spectacular combination Matt were often reproduced. My final example, plays in the science fiction film classic Blade Runner a role. A sequence of moves shown there corresponds to the immortal part ( in the German dubbing is English notation incorrectly translated). Because of the multiple piece sacrifice and Matt conclusion it is also suitable for living chess demonstrations.
Comments on the game
1 e2- e4 e7 - e5 2 f4 - f2
The King's Gambit. At times Anderssen's a very popular opening. White sacrifices a pawn and receives compensation as a fast character development. Over time, many opportunities have been discovered for the black side to make successful resistance to the attack of white. Nowadays very few grandmasters play this opening. At the highest level, the former world champion Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer occasionally ventured this train.
2 ... e5xf4
Kieseritzky accepts the pawn sacrifice and thus represents the opening of the White concept to the test. There is also the possibility of rejection, eg by 2 ... Bf8 - c5.
3 Lf1 - c4 Qd8 - h4
The King Bishop Gambit allowed this lady chess that forces the white king to a train, which he lost to the castling the right. Black has, however, this advantage bought with a price: His lady is now in distress and has to spend for it to disappear from the kingside a series of moves.
4 Ke1 -f1 b7 - b5?
The Bryan - Gambit, named after the American Thomas Jefferson Bryan, a chess player from the first half of the 19th century. Black sacrifices a pawn to get his hand to faster development. This sequel is deemed not sufficient to completely solve the problems of the Black.
5 Lc4xb5 Ng8 - f6 6 Sg1 -f3
White develops his knight and threatened at the same time the black lady who must take their part now.
6 ... h6 7 Dh4 - d2 -d3
Robert Huebner recommends in his comprehensive analysis at this point 7 Nb1 - c3 for white.
7 ... Nf6 - h5
It threatens ... Sh5 - g3 .
8 Nf3 - h4
Bartholomew Macieja criticized this train and recommends 8 Th1 - g1.
8 ... g5 DH6 - 9 - f5 c7 - c6 Sh4
An attack on runner. Macieja believed that Kieseritzky overlooked the following train of Anderssen and recommends ... g7- g6 here 9.
10 g2 - g4 Sh5 - f6 11 Th1 g1!
A witty piece sacrifice that Black should not have accepted.
11 ... c6xb5?
Hübner and Macieja go independently to the conclusion that the development of neglect and accept this sacrifice was wrong. Both recommend at this point ... h7 - h5 11.
12 h2 - h4
This Anderssen comes his opponent before.
12 ... g6 DG5 - 13 h4 h5 - g5 Qg6 14 Dd1 -f3
Anderssen has set up two threats:
- Lc1xf4, which would catch the black lady indisposed (she has no field available )
- E4 e5, which at the same time an attack on the knight to f6 and the tower a8 means ( by the lady ).
14 ... Nf6 - g8
A sad, but forced retreat.
15 Lc1xf4
Macieja considers this to be inaccurate. In his view, would be the victory after 15 Nb1 - c3! , With the threats Lc1xf4 16, 16 Nc3 -d5 or 16 Sc3xb5 to achieve faster.
15 ... f6 16 DG5 - Nb1 - c3 - c5 Bf8
Black develops his bishop with a simultaneous attack on the tower g1, but he is already a lost cause.
17 Nc3 -d5
Richard Réti recommends 17 d3- d4! at this point and Macieja agrees with him. Also 17 Lf4 - d6! together with Nc3 -d5 keeps the Polish grandmaster for won.
17 ... Df6xb2
Black captured a pawn and threatens the white rook on a1.
18 Lf4 - d6
This train, which is dubbed by most commentators as brilliant, shiny and similar and usually decorated with two exclamation marks, meets with Hübner, Kasparov and Macieja to concerns. Hübner thinks there is at least three better moves, all of which led to victory: 18 d3- d4 -e3 Lf4 18th and 18th Ta1 - e1. Kasparov joins the German analyst. Macieja sets after 18 Lf4 - d6 even two question marks and analyzed in detail the way to victory by 18 Lf4 -e3. The Soviet master Sergei Belawenez (1910-1942) showed in 1938 that the train 18 Ta1 - e1 also leads to victory.
18 ... Lc5xg1?
In 1879, Wilhelm Steinitz called 18 ... Db2xa1 as the best train for black, with the result 19 Kf1 - e2 Da1 - 20 Ke2 b2 -d2 Lc5xg1. Hübner, Macieja and Kasparov are now giving 21 e4 e5 Bc8 - a6! as a forced sequence of moves in with the following versions:
- 22 Sf5xg7 Ke8 -d8 23 Df3xf7 Kd8 - c8 ( Hübner and Kasparov ) and, after Kasparov's opinion White hold the line drawn. Macieja other hand, sees black in a winning position after 23 ... Ng8 - h6.
- 22 Nd5 - c7 Ke8 -d8 23 Df3xa8 ( Hübner and Kasparov stated; Macieja analyzed here only 23 Sc7xa6 ) 23 ... b6 24 - Lg1 Da8xb8 La6 - c8 25 Sc7 -d5 LB6 - a5 26 kd2 -e3 Db2 c1 together with perpetual check and a draw.
19 e4 e5!
After this " silent" train the fate of black is sealed. Anderssen, with rotor and tower material in the residue, allows Kieseritzky to beat now even his other tower with chess. But the white victory can not be prevented.
19 ... Db2xa1 20 Kf1 - e2
In Kieseritzky the notation ends at this point. Some modern authors have therefore been suggested Black 've given up at this point the game. Kling and Horwitz, however, report that the game was in fact carried out with 20 ... a6 Sb8 - Anderssen and then "matt sat in three moves ."
20 ... a6 Sb8 -
Mikhail Chigorin bother ... to investigate the possible defense 20 Bc8 - a6. His analyzes are found to be of Macieja by small additions to be correct. Also 20 ... a6 would Bc8 - Black can not save, but would still have been the toughest defense in this position.
21 Sf5xg7 Ke8 -d8 22 Df3 - f6
After Anderssen had sacrificed a runner and two towers, he crowns his fireworks now with a queen sacrifice. Matt is no longer be averted.
22 ... Bd6 Sg8xf6 23 - e7 matt.
Swell
- Lionel Kieseritzky: La Regence, July 1851
- Kling and Horwitz: The Chess Player, July 1851
Literature on the game (selection)
- Conrad Bayer: " An immortal game ", in: Wiener chess magazine, August 1855, pp. 293-297
- Wilhelm Steinitz: The Field, 1879
- Mikhail Chigorin: Schachmatni Wjestnik [ The Schachbote ], 1879
- Hermann von Gottschall: Adolf Anderssen, the veteran German chess art, Leipzig 1912
- Richard Réti: The master of the chessboard, 1930
- Piotr Romanowski: Medium Game, Moscow 1963
- Robert Hübner: ChessBase Magazine 1989 ( issue 11, pp. 91-99; Issue 12, pp. 91-98 )
- Tomasz Lissowski and Bartholomew Macieja: Zagadka Kieseritzky'ego [ The Riddle Kieseritzkys ], Warsaw 1996
- Garry Kasparov: Moi Velikie predschestwenniki [ My great predecessor ], Volume 1, Moscow 2003
- Michael Mertineit: " The Immortal Game", frame by frame - movie, Hamburg 2006