Adolf Anderssen

by Bill Wall

Karl Ernst Adolf

(Adolph) Anderssen was
born in Breslau, Prussia
(now Wroclaw, Poland)
on July 6, 1818. He
came from a poor
family.

He learned chess from

his father in 1827 at the
age of 9 and filled up his
school books with chess Bill Wall
diagrams. He lived with
his mother and spinster
sister. He never married.
Anderssen attended the
Adolf Anderssen Elisabeth-Gymnasium in
(1818-1879) Breslau. Another brother Chess is a test of wills. —
moved to the United Keres
States, and a sister lived
in Silesia.

In 1836, he got a copy

and made a study of
Fifty Games between
Labourdonnais and
McDonnell, written by
William Lewis (1787-
1870) in 1835.

In 1842 he published a
book of 60 chess
problems called
"Aufgaben Fur
Schachspieler: Nebst
Ihren Losungen"
(Exercises for Chess
Players: with solutions).
In 1846 he was a
contributing editor of
Schachzeitung der
Berliner
Schachgesellschaft
(changed to Deutsche
Schachzeitung —
German Chess Player —
in 1872), the first chess
magazine in Germany,
founded by Ludwig
Bledow in July, 1846.

In 1847, he graduated
from Breslau University
at the age of 29 and
became a mathematics
and German Language
instructor at the
Friedrichs Gymnasium
in Breslau, and later a
professor of
Mathematics at the
University of Breslau.

From 1847 to 1851,

Anderssen was a tutor
for a private family in
Pomerania, between
Germany and Poland.

In 1848 he drew a match

with Daniel Harrwitz
(1823-1884), who was
also born in Breslau,
winning 5 games and
losing 5 games. This
helped him get invited
to the first international
chess tournament in
1851, representing
Germany. Howard
Staunton offered to pay
for Anderssen's travel
expenses if Anderssen
failed to a win a
tournament prize.

To prepare himself for

the international
tournament, in early
1851 he played over 100
games with some of the
strongest players in
Europe, including Carl
Mayet, Ernst Falkbeer,
Max Lange, and Jean
Dufresne.

On July 15, 1851

Anderssen won the 1851
London International,
defeating Lionel
Kieseritzky (2.5-0.5),
Josef Szen (4-2),
Howard Staunton (4-1),
and Marmaduke Wyvill
(4.5-2.5). The victory
earned Anderssen the
title of unofficial world
champion. This was the
first International Chess
Tournament. Anderssen
was one of the
representatives of the
Berlin chess club. His
first place prize was a
silver cup and 183
British pounds. The total
prize fund was 355
British pounds (almost
$400,000 in today's
money). He owed 1/3 of
his winnings to Josef
Szen after a private
agreement that if either
were to gain first prize,
he would share it with
the other.

The chess event was

held in conjunction with
the Great Exhibition of
the Works of Industry of
all Nations in the
Crystal Palace in Hyde
Park, London. The chess
event started on May 26,
1851 and ended July 15,
1851. 16 masters (Lowe,
Wyvill, H. Kenedy,
Mayet, Lowenthal,
Williams, Mucklow, E.
Kennedy, Anderssen,
Kieseritzky, Szen,
Newham, Staunton,
Brodie, Bird, and
Horwitz) played in a
knockout tournament
organized and played at
the St. George Chess
Club at 5 Cavendish
Square, London. All the
chess players had to pay
their own expenses. The
entrance fee was 5
British pounds. The
Exhibition opened on
May 1 and closed on
October 15, 1851.

Anderssen never visited

the Great Exhibition
while he was in London.
When asked why he did
not go to see the Great
Exhibition, Anderssen
replied, "I came to
London to play chess."
After 1851, there wasn't
a major tournament until
1857.
Anderssen defeated
Kieseritsky in brilliant
style in a friendly game
played at the Simpson's-
in-the-Strand tavern.
This King's Gambit
Accepted is known as
the "Immortal Game."
Anderssen mated
Kieseritsky in 23 moves.
He had sacrificed a
bishop, 2 rooks, and his
queen before
checkmating. The
ending of the game was
used in The Blade
Runner. A chess game
was played between
Tyrell and Sebastian. A
diagram from the game
appears on the German
75 pfenning currency
coupon.

In 1851 the strongest

chess player in the
world was A.
Anderssen. In the same
year, A. Anderson
(1799-1861) was the
strongest checker
(draughts) player in the
world.

In 1852 Anderssen
mated J. Dufresne in 24
moves in a Berlin
tournament using an
Evans Gambit. Steinitz
called it the "Evergreen
Game, "a blossom in
Anderssen's wreath of
laurels."
In 1852, he wrote a
second collection of
chess problems.

In 1855, he became a
professor at the
University of Breslau.

In 1857, Anderssen
played at Manchester,
but got knocked out in
the 2nd round.

On December 25, 1858

Anderssen went to Paris
to play Paul Morphy. He
lost the match of 11
games (he won 2, drew
2, lost 7) in 9 days.
Anderssen had not
played chess for 6 years
and travelled to Paris on
his vacation time, even
though it had been
stipulated earlier that the
match was to be held in
Breslau. After this
offical match, the two
players played 6 offhand
games. Anderssen won
1 and lost 5 of these
games.

The first game of the

Morphy-Anderssen
match began on April
12, 1859, at the Hotel
Breuteuil in Paris.

At the London Chess

Club in August, 1861 he
defeated I. Kolisch with
4 wins, 2 draws, and 3
losses. This was the first
match played with a
time limit. An hourglass
(sandglass) gave each
player 2 hours to make
24 moves (5 minutes a
move). Anderssen's
prize was 10 guineas.

In June, 1862 he took

first place in the 1862
London International,
winning 12 out of 13
games (losing only to
John Owen). This was
the first round-robin
tournament in which
everyone plays
everyone. 2nd through
6th were Paulsen, Owen,
MacDonnell, Dubois,
and Steinitz.

In 1864 he was co-editor

of the Neue Berliner
Schachzeitung, with
Neumann.

In January 1865 Breslau

University awarded
Anderssen with an
honorary degree, Doctor
of Philosophy, for his
work as a mathematics
teacher and for chess.

In July, 1866 in London

he lost a match with
Wilhelm Steinitz,
winning 6 and losing 8.
This was the first time
mechanical clocks were
used. Steinitz later
claimed that this was the
beginning of his world
championship reign,
even though there was
no suggestion of any
title at stake.

In 1868 Anderssen
defeated Zukertort in a
match with 8 wins, 3
losses, and 1 draw.

In August, 1869 he won

at the Hamburg Chess
Congress and, later, at
the Barmen Chess
Congress (with a perfect
score).

In August, 1870, at the

age of 52, he won an
international tournament
in Baden-Baden ahead
of Steinitz and
Blackburne.

In 1871 he won at
Crefeld. In April, 1871
Anderssen lost a match
against Zukertort, losing
5 games, and winning 2
games, with no draws.

In 1872, he was the

editor of Deutsche
Schachzeitung and
remained editor until
1878.

He won at Leipzig in
1876.

In 1877 he took 2nd at

Leipzig (won by
Paulsen). This
tournament was
organized by a group of
German chess fans to
commemorate the 50th
anniversary of
Anderssen's learning the
chess moves (in 1827).
This is the only
tournament ever
organized to
commemorate a
competitor.

In 1878 he played in his

last tournament, taking
3rd place at Frankfurt at
the age of 60.

He died in Breslau on
March 13, 1879 of a
stroke. His obituary ran
19 pages in the May,
1879 issue of "Deutsche
Schachzeitung." He took
part in 12 tournaments
between 1851 and 1878
and won the first place
prize in 7 of these events
(London 1851, London
1862, Hamburg 1869,
Barmen 1869, Baden
1870, Crefeld 1871,
Leipzig 1876). He
appeared on the prize
list of all 12
tournaments he entered.

During World War II,

bombing raids damaged
his grave in Breslau.

In 1957, the Polish

Chess Federation re-
buried Anderssen in a
new grave at the
Osobowicki Cemetery.

Here are some of

Anderssen's shortest
games.

1. C. Mayet -
Anderssen, Berlin 1851
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6
5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Bg4
7.h3 h5 8.hxg4 hxg4
9.Nxe5 g3 10.d4 Nxe4
11.Qg4 Bxd4 12.Qxe4
Bxf2+ (13.Rxf2 Qd1+)
0-1

2. Anderssen -
Schallopp, Berlin 1864
1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.Nf3
dxe4 4.Nxe5 Bd6 5.Bc4
Bxe5 6.fxe5 Qd4 7.Qe2
Qxe5 8.d4 Qxd4 9.Nc3
Nf6 10.Be3 Qd8 11.O-O
h6 12.Bc5 Nbd7
13.Qxe4+! (13...Nxe4
14.Bxf7 mate) 1-0

3. Anderssen - L.
Eichborn, Breslau 1854
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
f5 4.Qe2 fxe4 5.Nc3
Nf6 6.Nxe4 Nxe4 7.Bd5
c6 8.Bxe4 Qe7 9.c4 g6
10.d4 Bh6 11.c5 Kd8
12.Bd2 b6 13.Nf3 Ba6
0-1

4. G. Neumann -
Anderssen, Berlin 1865
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5
6.d4 exd4 7.O-O dxc3
8.Qb3 Qf6 9.e5 Qg6
10.Nxc3 Bxc3 11.Qxc3
Nd8 12.Ba3 Nh6
13.Rfe1 b6 14.Bd5 Bb7
15.e6 (15...fxe5 16.Ne5,
threatening 17.Qxc7;
15...dxe6 16.Qxc7
mates) 1-0

5. Anderssen - D.
Rosenthal, Vienna 1873
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5
6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d3
8.Qb3 Qf6 9.Re1 Nge7
10.Bg5 Qg6 11.Bxe7
Kxe7 12.e5 Kf8
13.Nbd2 Bb6 14.Ne4
Nd8 15.Qa3+ Ke8
16.Nf6+ (16...gxf6
17.exf6+ mates) 1-0

6. Riemann - Anderssen,
Breslau 1876
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
Qh4+ 4.Kf1 d5 5.Bxd5
Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.e5
Bxc3 8.exf6 Bxf6 9.Nf3
Qh5 10.Qe2+ Kd8
11.Qc4 Re8 12.Bxf7
Qxf3+ 13.gxf3 Bh3+
14.Kf2 Bh4+ 15.Kg1
Re1+ 16.Qf1 Rxf1 mate
0-1

7. D. Harrwitz -
Anderssen, Breslau
1848
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
Qh4+ 4.Kf1 Bc5 5.d4
Bb6 6.Nf3 Qe7 7.Nc3
Nf6 8.e5 Nh5 9.Nd5
Qd8 10.g4 fxg3 11.Bg5
f6 12.exf6 gxf6 13.Ne5
O-O 14.Qxh5 fxg5+
15.Nf6+ Kg7 16.Qxh7+
Kxf6 17.Ng4 mate 1-0

8. Paul Morphy -
Anderssen, Paris 1858
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3
Nc6 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nb5
d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Ke3 f5
8.N1c3 f4 9.Nd5 fxe3
10.Nbc7+ Kf7 11.Qf3+
Nf6 12.Bc4 Nd4
13.Nxf6+ d5 14.Bxd5+
Kg6 15.Qh5+ Kxf6
16.fxe3 Nxc2+ 17.Ke2
(17...Qxc7 18.Raf1 Ke7
19.Rf7+) 1-0

9. J. Zukertort -
Anderssen, Breslau
1865
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3
g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.O-O Qe7
6.Nc3 gxf3 7.d4 d6
8.Nd5 Qd7 9.Qxf3 Nc6
10.Qxf4 Nd8 11.Qg3 c6
12.Qxg8 Rxg8 13.Nf6+
Ke7 14.Nxg8+ Ke8
15.Nf6+ Ke7 16.Nxd7
Bxd7 17.Bg5+ 1-0

10. J. Zukertort -
Anderssen, Breslau
1865
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3
g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.O-O Qe7
6.Nc3 gxf3 7.d4 d6
8.Nd5 Qd8 9.Qxf3 Nc6
10.Qxf4 Be6 11.Nxc7+
Qxc7 12.Bxe6 Bh6
13.Bxf7+ Kf8 14.Qh4
Bxc1 15.Raxc1 Nd8
16.Bh5+ Kg7 17.Qg5
mate 1-0
11. Anderssen - Mayet,
Berlin 1855
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3
g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ng5 d5
6.exd5 h6 7.Bb5+ c6
8.dxc6 bxc6 9.Nxf7
Kxf7 10.Bc4+ Kg7
11.Qe2 Nf6 12.d3 Bb4+
13.Kd1 Bd6 14.Nc3 g3
15.Qf1 Bg4+ 16.Kd2
Qb6 17.Nd1 Re8 0-1

12. J. Zukertort -
Anderssen, Breslau
1865
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3
g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Ne5
Qh4+ 6.Kf1 f3 7.d4 Nf6
8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Bxf7+ Kd8
10.Bb3 Nxe5 11.dxe5
fxg2+ 12.Kxg2 Qh3+
13.Kf2 Bc5+ 14.Ke1
Qh4+ 15.Kd2 Nh5
16.Rf1 Qxh2+ 17.Qe2
Ng3 0-1

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