Immortal game
The so-called immortal game is one of the most famous in chess history - and probably the most famous game of chess at all. It was played on June 21, 1851 as a free game between the chess masters Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky in the London Café Simpson's on the boulevard "The Strand".
In the course of the game , the attractive Anderssen sacrificed a bishop and both rooks . After all, he is said to have sacrificed the lady and checkmated with the three remaining minor pieces ; However, it is unclear whether the game was actually brought to an end in this way or whether it had already been terminated by giving up.
The game has had chess analysts around the world since its first publication in 1851 and has been the subject of numerous and extensive analyzes.
Origin and Distribution
The venue was Café Simpson’s , the leading chess bar in the British capital. Both opponents had previously met during the first international chess tournament , the tournament in London in 1851 , which took place against the backdrop of the London World's Fair . The later tournament winner Anderssen had thrown his opponent, who lives in Paris and who comes from the Baltic States , out of the tournament with 2.5 to 0.5 in the first round . Then both played several free games at the Simpson (here Kieseritzky won 10 to 6). The next game is one of those games.
Kieseritzky liked it so much that he published it in his chess magazine La Régence in July 1851 . His notation ended after 20. Ke2. In the same month Bernhard Horwitz and Josef Kling published the game in the London organ The Chess Player , but gave the moves up to the (possible) mate. This version found its way into the second edition of the Handbuch des Chessspiels in 1852 . In August 1855 , Conrad Bayer analyzed the game in the Wiener Schachzeitung under the heading "An immortal game". This name was eventually adopted in many other languages (English immortal game ).
According to Kling and Horwitz, the game was opened with the black pieces, contrary to the modern rules of the game. Anderssen and Kieseritzky therefore drew 1. e7 – e5 e2 – e4 2. f7 – f5 etc. In the parallel London tournament, half of the games were opened with Black. This makes no difference for the descriptive English notation .
The game and its mate combination has been reproduced many times, for example in the science fiction film Blade Runner .
Notes on the game
1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. f2 – f4
The King's Gambit was a very popular opening in Anderssen's time. White sacrifices a pawn and receives a quick piece development as compensation . In the course of time, many possibilities have been discovered for the black side to successfully resist White's attack. Very few grandmasters play this opening these days. Ex- world champions Boris Spasski and Bobby Fischer occasionally dared to take this move at the highest level . The American Hikaru Nakamura and the Englishman Nigel Short also play the King's Gambit from time to time.
2.… e5xf4
Kieseritzky accepts the pawn sacrifice and thus puts the opening concept of the white man to the test. There is also the possibility of rejection , e.g. B. through 2.… Bf8 – c5.
3. Bf1-c4 Qd8-h4 +
The king's bishop's gambit allows this queen's chess, which forces the white king to make a move, thereby losing the right to castling . Black bought this advantage dearly: His queen is now in trouble and has to spend a number of moves to disappear from the kingside . 3.… Nb8 – c6 is a simple alternative with which Black keeps all options open.
4. Ke1 – f1 b7 – b5!?
Position after Black's 4th move |
This pawn sacrifice is called the Bryan Gambit after the American Thomas Jefferson Bryan, a chess player from the first half of the 19th century. In his textbook on chess, Jacques Mieses attributes the invention of this counter-gambit to Kieseritzky. For his part, Black sacrifices a pawn in order to achieve rapid development. The most popular move these days is 4.… d7 – d6
5. Bc4xb5 Ng8-f6 6. Ng1-f3
White develops his knight and at the same time threatens the black queen, who in turn now has to move.
6.… Qh4 – h6 7. d2 – d3
In his comprehensive analysis, Huebner recommends 7. Nb1 – c3 for White. 7. d2 – d4 is also good.
7.… Nf6 – h5
The threat is… Nh5 – g3 +.
8. Nf3 – h4 ?!
Both Macieja and Hübner criticize this move and recommend 8. Rh1 – g1!
8.… Qh6 – g5
Here (and also two moves later) Macieja and Hübner recommend… g7 – g6. Sooner or later White should have withdrawn his knight.
9. Nh4 – f5 c7 – c6 ?! 10. g2 – g4 ?!
Huebner recommends 10. Bb5 – a4.
10.… Nh5 – f6 ?! 11. Rh1 – g1!
Position after White's 11th move |
A witty piece sacrifice that Black would have better not have accepted.
11.… c6xb5?
Hübner and Macieja independently come to the conclusion that it was wrong to neglect the development and to accept this sacrifice. At this point, both recommend 11.… h7 – h5.
12. h2-h4
Anderssen is ahead of his opponent.
12.… Qg5 – g6 13. h4 – h5 Qg6 – g5 14. Qd1 – f3
Anderssen made two threats:
- Bc1xf4, which would catch the black queen indisposed (she has no more square available),
- e4 – e5, which means a double attack on the knight f6 and the rook a8 (by the queen).
14.… Nf6 – g8
Kieseritzky wants to give his lady a place of retreat without giving back his multi-figure, but it is not wholesome for his development.
15. Bc1xf4 Qg5-f6 16. Nb1-c3 Bf8-c5
Finally a development move with a simultaneous attack on tower g1, but it is already too late. White's development advantage is too great.
17. Nc3-d5
Richard Réti recommends 17. d3 – d4! at this point and Macieja joins him. Also 17. Bf4 – d6! In addition to Nc3 – d5, the Polish grandmaster believes they have won. In fact, almost every move wins here.
17.… Qf6xb2
Position after Black's 17th move |
Black captures a pawn and threatens the white rook on a1.
18. Bf4 – d6 ?!
This move, dubbed by most commentators as ingenious , shiny and similar, and usually adorned with two exclamation marks, meets with concerns from Hübner, Kasparow and Macieja. Hübner believes there are at least three better moves that all lead to victory: 18. d3 – d4, 18. Bf4 – e3 and 18. Ra1 – e1. Kasparov joins the German analyst. Macieja even places two question marks after 18. Bf4 – d6 and analyzes in detail the way to victory with 18. Bf4 – e3. The Soviet master Sergei Belawenez (1910–1942) proved in 1938 that the move 18. Ra1 – e1 also leads to victory.
18.… Bc5xg1
In 1879 Wilhelm Steinitz named 18.… Qb2xa1 + as the best move for Black with the result 19. Kf1 – e2 Da1 – b2 20. Ke2 – d2 Bc5xg1. Hübner, Macieja and Kasparow now give 21. e4 – e5 Bc8 – a6! as a forced sequence of moves with the following two variants:
- 22. Nf5xg7 + Ke8 – d8 23. Qf3xf7 Kd8 – c8 (Huebner and Kasparow) and in Kasparov's opinion White can hold the position in a draw . Macieja, on the other hand, sees Black in the winning position after 23.… Ng8 – h6.
- 22. Nd5 – c7 + Ke8 – d8 23. Qf3xa8 (given by Hübner and Kasparow; Macieja only analyzes 23. Nc7xa6) 23.… Bg1 – b6 24. Da8xb8 + Ba6 – c8 25. Nc7 – d5 Bb6 – a5 + 26. Kd2– e3 Qb2 – c1 + plus permanent chess and a draw.
At best, these variants lead to a draw. However, there is one more move
- 22. Bd6 – b4 !, which poses the strong threat Nf5 – d6 +. The best alternative for Black is to sacrifice the queen: 22.… Qb2xe5 23. Nf5 – d6 + Qe5xd6 24. Bb4xd6 Nb8 – c6. It turns out that after 25. Nd5 – c7 + Ke8 – d8 26. Qf3xf7 (easiest) 26.… Ng8 – e7 27. Ng7xa8 Ba6 – b7 28.Na8 – c7 White's initiative still leads to a technical win - the black king is too bad, the pawn g7 and the queenside pawns are weak, while the white g- and h-pawns are already well advanced.
Consequently, Anderssen's 18. Bf4 – d6 was not the strongest move, but he did not give away the win.
19. e4 – e5!
After this “silent” move, Black's fate is sealed. Anderssen, with the bishop and rook materially behind, allowed Kieseritzky to beat his other rook with check. But White's victory cannot be prevented.
19.… Qb2xa1 + 20. Kf1 – e2
With Kieseritzky, the notation ends at this point. With Kling and Horwitz , however, the game continues. It should be noted that in his analysis of the game, Huebner laconically states '1: 0', but nevertheless analyzes the following variants.
20.… Nb8 – a6
Mikhail Chigorin took the trouble to examine the possible defense of 20.… Bc8 – a6. After minor additions, Macieja found his analyzes to be correct. 20.… Bc8 – a6 could not have saved Black either, but would have been the toughest resistance in this position.
21. Nf5xg7 + Ke8-d8 22. Qf3-f6 +
Position after White's 22nd move |
After having sacrificed a runner and two towers, Anderssen now crowns his fireworks with a queen sacrifice . The mate can no longer be averted.
22.… Ng8xf6 23. Bd6 – e7 mate.
swell
Literature on the game (selection)
- Conrad Bayer : “An immortal game” , in: Wiener Schachzeitung , August 1855, pp. 293–297.
- Wilhelm Steinitz : The Field , 1879.
- Michail Chigorin : Schachmatni Wjestnik [The Chess Messenger ], 1879.
- Hermann von Gottschall : Adolf Anderssen, the old master of German chess art , Leipzig 1912.
- Richard Réti : The Masters of the Chessboard , 1930.
- Pyotr Romanovsky : Mittelspiel , Moscow 1963.
- Robert Hübner : ChessBase Magazin 1989 (Issue 11, pp. 91–99; Issue 12, pp. 91–98).
- Tomasz Lissowski and Bartłomiej Macieja : Zagadka Kieseritzky'ego [The Kieseritzky's Riddle], Warsaw 1996.
- Garry Kasparov : Moi welikie predschestwenniki [My Great Predecessors], Volume 1, Moscow 2003.
- Michael Mertineit: "The Immortal Game", frame by frame - film, Hamburg 2006.
See also
Web links
- Adolf Anderssen versus Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritsky (in English) on ChessGames.com
- Anderssen's Immortals on IslandOfGames.com
- Anderssen-Kieseritzky, "The Immortal" on ChessBase.de
- Kieseritzky's original article on Google Books
Individual evidence
- ^ Dagobert Kohlmeyer : 160 years of "Immortals". In: de.chessbase.com. June 21, 2011, accessed March 21, 2021.
- ^ Jean Dufresne's textbook on the game of chess, edited by Jacques Mieses. Philipp Reclam Junior, Eighth Edition, 1910.