[Event "Berlin 'Evergreen'"]
[Site "Berlin"]
[Date "1852.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderssen, Adolf"]
[Black "Dufresne, Jean"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C52"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2370"]
[Annotator "Pinski"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1852.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle ""]
[Source ""]
[SourceDate ""]
[SourceVersion ""]
[SourceVersionDate ""]
[SourceQuality ""]
{This is one of the most famous games in chess history. It is known as the
Evergreen Game. The Players Adolf Anderssen (1818–79) was undoubtedly one of
the strongest players of his era and indeed he was crowned unofficial World
Champion after handsomely winning the great London Tournament of 1851, which
had the distinction of being the first international chess tournament ever
held. A teacher of mathematics by profession, Anderssen began to take chess
much more seriously after his London triumph. He kept his status as the
world’s strongest player until 1858, before losing convincingly in a match
to the brilliant young American, Paul Morphy. Morphy’s sudden retirement
from the game, however, meant that Anderssen could once more take up the
mantle as the leading player. Despite his numerous work commitments, he stayed
active on the chess front, playing matches against many of his nearest rivals.
In 1870 he won the strongest ever tournament at that time, in Baden-Baden,
ahead of players such as Steinitz and Blackburne. Anderssen was certainly a
chess player at heart. At London in 1851, he was asked why he had not gone to
see the Great Exhibition. “I came to London to play chess” was his curt
reply. Jean Dufresne (1829–93) was born in Berlin. When a hearing defect
forced him to give up his career as a journalist, he devoted himself to chess
and chess writing. Although not one of the leading players of his time, he was
strong enough to score some successes against masters, and his writings proved
influential: his Kleines Lehrbuch des Schachspiels was a popular beginners’
guide, from which several generations of Germans learned their chess. Nowadays,
outside Germany at least, he is mostly remembered as Anderssen’s opponent in
the Evergreen Game. The Game Like the “Immortal Game”, this encounter did
not take place under tournament conditions, but was a friendly game, just for
the pleasure of playing chess. It has certainly given a great deal of pleasure
to generations of enthusiasts ever since, and to this day articles appear now
and then in chess magazines with some new nuance in the analysis of
Anderssen’s great combination. The game starts with a sharp Evans Gambit –
one of the most popular openings of the day. Dufresne chooses a somewhat
offbeat sideline, losing a little time to frustrate the smooth development of
White’s position. Anderssen achieves a powerfully centralized position, and
while Black tries to generate play on the flanks, White wrenches attention
back to Black’s king, stranded in the centre, with a stunning (though, it
must be said, unnecessary) knight sacrifice. Dufresne, though, has
considerable counterplay against the white king, making for a thrilling finale.
When he misses his best chance to stay in the game, Anderssen pounces with a
dazzling queen sacrifice to force an extremely attractive checkmate.} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d3 $6 8. Qb3 {
White should build up his attack.} Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 {In case you are thinking
that Black’s play looks very old-fashioned, consider that this position has
been taken on, with success, as Black by Grandmaster Beliavsky, though his
opponent did not play Anderssen’s next move. Still, Beliavsky prepares his
openings extremely thoroughly, so it is reasonable to assume that after 10.
Re1 he has an improvement for Black that he considers viable.} 10. Re1 Nge7 11.
Ba3 b5 $2 {The extra move does little good for Black – in the coming play
the white queen seems better placed at a4 anyway. This is the first truly
“nineteenth-century” move of the game, and is reminiscent of
Kieseritzky’s 4...b5 in the Immortal Game. Rather than try to defend
carefully, and to return the pawn, if necessary, in due course to deaden
White’s initiative, Black lashes out with a counter-sacrifice of a pawn. To
a modern player, the logic is hard to see. Black’s only consolation for
White’s lead in development is his extra pawn (the one of d3 cannot survive
in the long term), and healthy, unweakened pawnstructure. These advantages are
thrown away on a whim, Black hoping for some sort of counterattack on the
b-file and a8–h1 diagonal. While it is true that Black does secure some
counter-threats, to start a tactical shoot-out from a strategically inferior
position is a policy doomed to failure. However, such logic was foreign to
ordinary masters in the 1850s – it was some decades yet before the writings
of Steinitz put the case for the methodical approach to chess. That said,
lashing out with a move such as this is not always bad – sometimes specific
tactics will justify outrageous, “illogical” moves.} 12. Qxb5 Rb8 13. Qa4
Bb6 14. Nbd2 Bb7 15. Ne4 Qf5 16. Bxd3 Qh5 17. Nf6+ $5 {The beginning of one of
the most beautiful combinations in chess history. Nevertheless, it is also
entering completely unnecessary complications.} gxf6 18. exf6 Rg8 19. Rad1 $5
Qxf3 $2 {Now White plays his famous combination:} 20. Rxe7+ $1 Nxe7 $2 21.
Qxd7+ $3 Kxd7 22. Bf5+ Ke8 23. Bd7+ Kf8 24. Bxe7# {. Lessons from this game: 1)
Play in the centre has more effect than play on the wings – everyone knows
this of course, but it is all too easily forgotten in the heat of battle. 2)
Always analyse variations with double checks extremely carefully – however
improbable they may look. 3) Before playing a spectacular combination, check
to see whether there is a simpler, safer way to win cleanly. Unless of course
you want to play a brilliancy that is still being talked about a century and a
half later, in which case play the sacrifice and keep your fingers crossed!
(And don’t blame me if you follow that advice and go on to lose.)} 1-0
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