Immortal Game
The Immortal Game was a chess game played by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky on 21 June 1851 in London, during a break of the first international tournament. The bold sacrifices Anderssen made have made it one of the most famous chess games of all time. Anderssen gave up both rooks and a bishop, then his queen, checkmating his opponent with his three remaining . In 1996, Bill Hartston called the game an achievement "perhaps unparalleled in chess literature". Overview. Anderssen was one of the strongest players of his time, and many consider him to have been the world 's strongest player after his victory in the London 1851 chess tournament. Kieseritzky lived in France much of his life, where he gave chess lessons and played games for five francs an hour at the Café de la Régence in Paris. His strength was shown most favourably when giving great odds to weak players; against masters, he was less convincing. The Immortal Game was an informal one, played during a break in a formal tournament in London. Kieseritzky was very impressed when the game was over, and telegraphed the moves of the game to his Parisian chess club. The French  chess magazine "La Régence" published the game in July 1851. The Austrian Ernst Falkbeer nicknamed it "The Immortal Game" in 1855. This game is acclaimed as an exemplar of the 19th-century romantic style of chess, where rapid and attack were considered the most effective way to win, many gambits and countergambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and was often held in contempt. These games, with their rapid attacks and counterattacks, are often entertaining to review, even if some of the moves are no longer considered optimal. In this game, Anderssen won despite sacrificing  a bishop (on move 11), both rooks (starting on move 18), and the queen (on move 22) to produce checkmate against Kieseritzky, who lost only three pawns. Anderssen later demonstrated the same kind of approach in the Evergreen Game. Some published versions of the game have errors, as described in the annotations. Annotated game. White: Adolf Anderssen Black: Lionel Kieseritzky Opening: Bishop's Gambit ("ECO" C33) 1. e4 e5 2. f4 2... exf4 3. Bc4 3... Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5 (diagram) 5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3 6... Qh6 7. d3 7... Nh5 8. Nh4 Qg5 9. Nf5 c6 10 . g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 (diagram) 11... cxb5? 12. h4! 12... Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3 14... Ng8 15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5 17. Nd5 17... Qxb2 (diagram) 18. Bd6! 18... Bxg1? 19. e5! 19... Qxa1+ 20. Ke2 20... Na6 21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+! (diagram) 22... Nxf6 23. Be7# Savielly Tartakower called this "a beautiful game".