Annotation of the Evergreen Game

The players are Adolf Anderssen, playing white again and making an appearance for the second time on this hall-of-fame list, versus J. Dufresne, with the black pieces. The opening was the Evans Gambit, which is often listed by various teaching sites as a favorite of Romantic players (because it "favors development over material," and gives the tempo of the game to the sacrificing player). I like the idea of the Evans Gambit, in that the black bishop, in taking the pawn on b3, comes under assault for the next couple moves and allows the white bishop to develop to a3 (or b2) - but, as must be pointed out, it is risky because it is cedes material before the results of the risk can be clearly calculated. Nevertheless, it is interesting and quick. Just as in the Immortal Game, Anderssen here mates his opponent despite sacrificing a good deal of material, and ends up mating black through a pleasing combination of checks from major and minor material. There are a couple alternate positions I did not resolve fully, because I had trouble grasping the resulting arrangements of pieces; if someone feels like continuing the position I would love to see the results! One of the basic takeaways from this particular annotation is that it is often essential to the position of a center game to pin pieces against an exposed king, whenever possible. I will highlight this when it comes around. Enjoy!