This is the famous "Immortal Game", played between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritsky during a break in the First International Tournament played in London, England during the Great Exhibition of 1851. The following description is abstracted from several Wikipedia articles, including this etching of the Crystal Palace where the tournament was held:
The very bold sacrifices made by Anderssen to finally secure victory have made it one of the most famous chess games of all time. This game is acclaimed as an excellent demonstration of the style of chess play in the 19th century, where rapid development and attack were considered the most effective way to win, where many gambits and counter-gambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and where material was often held in contempt. Anderssen gave up both rooks and a bishop, then his queen, checkmating his opponent with his three remaining minor pieces. It has been called an achievement "perhaps unparalleled in chess literature".
The tournament was organized by Howard Staunton and featured many of the top players of the day. Here's a list of the players and their tournament results (note that the tournament was won by Anderssen):
Here's the Immoratal Game PGN:
As always, play through this game, taking on the role of Anderssen. Try to guess each move Anderssen made in the game and award yourself 3 points for each guess (I realize the full PGN is displayed above...try not to peek!). Or, use the chessgames.com Guess-the-Move chess training tool to score the game for you. Report your scores and thoughts on the game by replying to this forum thread. I'll summarize everyone's particpation in the Roll Call posting.
This is the famous "Immortal Game", played between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritsky during a break in the First International Tournament played in London, England during the Great Exhibition of 1851. The following description is abstracted from several Wikipedia articles, including this etching of the Crystal Palace where the tournament was held:
The very bold sacrifices made by Anderssen to finally secure victory have made it one of the most famous chess games of all time. This game is acclaimed as an excellent demonstration of the style of chess play in the 19th century, where rapid development and attack were considered the most effective way to win, where many gambits and counter-gambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and where material was often held in contempt. Anderssen gave up both rooks and a bishop, then his queen, checkmating his opponent with his three remaining minor pieces. It has been called an achievement "perhaps unparalleled in chess literature".
The tournament was organized by Howard Staunton and featured many of the top players of the day. Here's a list of the players and their tournament results (note that the tournament was won by Anderssen):
Here's the Immoratal Game PGN:
As always, play through this game, taking on the role of Anderssen. Try to guess each move Anderssen made in the game and award yourself 3 points for each guess (I realize the full PGN is displayed above...try not to peek!). Or, use the chessgames.com Guess-the-Move chess training tool to score the game for you. Report your scores and thoughts on the game by replying to this forum thread. I'll summarize everyone's particpation in the Roll Call posting.