Louis Paulsen

Hermann Louis ( Ludwig) Paulsen ( born January 15, 1833 in Good wet ground in Blomberg, Principality of Lippe, † August 18, 1891 ibid ) was one of the strongest chess player of the 19th century from Germany.

Scion of a family of chess

He came from a chess enthusiastic landowner family (his father, Dr. Carl Paulsen was a farmer and potato growers). His older brother Wilfried Paulsen (1828-1901) was also a chess master. However, this occurred tournaments out only occasionally and focused on continuing his father's farm.

The middle brother Ernst played much weaker, he emigrated in 1854 to the United States. The older sister Amalie ( later Amalie Lellmann ) ( 1831-1869 ) learned the game of chess and brought it to an above-average skill level, but limited himself to inspire Louis and so to further his career.

Chess career

Paulsen himself went in 1854 also in the USA and arrived there soon a high reputation as a chess player. In large part, he had the advantage of his ability in the blind game. After six years he returned to Europe where he fought against the most famous players with success. In New York tournament of 1857, Louis Paulsen had to give only the one-time best players in the world, Paul Morphy, beaten. In the years 1871, 1878 and 1880, he won the championship of the West German Chess Federation and 1877 of the Central German Chess Federation.

Because of its unspectacular, unlike many other players of his time more defensive -oriented style of play Paulsen was not as well known as Adolf Anderssen, although he had to have against this a positive balance. He played three matches against his famous countryman, one of which ( London 1862) 4-4 ( 3-3 = 2) draw ended, but two (both in Leipzig) Paulsen could decide for themselves: 5.5 to 4.5 ( 5-4 = 1) in 1876 and from 5.5 to 3.5 ( 5-3 = 1) 1877. His best historical Elo rating was 2710 in October 1862. He was for several years the number one in the world.

Paulsen died in 1891 from diabetes.

Aftereffect

Ludwig Rellstab tried the chess Paulsen's historical significance with reference to the judgment of the first world chess champion to assess. Steinitz had praised acknowledged how much he owed Paulsen, and wrote in 1890: " Anderssen and Paulsen were my actual teacher for a considerable time. " With the London 1862 tournament Steinitz Anderssen and Kolisch got to know personally and later recalled: " When I first met, I expressed myself very unfavorably from about Paulsen's style of play.. However, these two champions defended Paulsen against my general criticism, and that got me thinking " Steinitz called Louis Paulsen as an outstanding pioneer of modern chess school ," Paulsen called attention first to the fact that two bishop against bishop and knight or two knights superior have. "

According to him - or originally after his older brother Wilfried - is the Paulsen Variation in the Sicilian Defense ( 1.e2 -e4 c7 - c5 -f3 e7 - e6 2.Sg1 3.d2 -d4 c5xd4 4.Sf3xd4 a7 - a6 ) named.

The chess club in the city of Detmold is named in his honor " chess community Detmold DSK 62 / SC Paulsen 1900 eV ". The club member Horst Paulussen has established itself as a biographer Paulsen care of his memory and his legacy to the task. From him comes the book Louis Paulsen 1833-1891 and the game of chess in Lippe 1900-1981, A contribution to the history of the German Chess Game ( Detmold in 1982, published by Lippischen Heimatbund, publishing Topp and Möller).