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Adolf Anderssen
Anderssen 
 

Number of games in database: 837
Years covered: 1844 to 1878
Overall record: +428 -322 =72 (56.4%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 15 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Evans Gambit (106) 
    C51 C52
 King's Gambit Accepted (98) 
    C39 C33 C38 C37 C34
 Ruy Lopez (47) 
    C77 C65 C70 C61 C60
 French Defense (27) 
    C01 C13 C11 C14 C10
 Sicilian (23) 
    B20 B21 B45 B32 B43
 Two Knights (16) 
    C59 C58 C55 C57 C56
With the Black pieces:
 King's Gambit Accepted (95) 
    C33 C37 C39 C38
 Ruy Lopez (68) 
    C65 C67 C60 C77 C64
 Evans Gambit (64) 
    C52 C51
 Giuoco Piano (47) 
    C54 C50 C53
 Sicilian (35) 
    B40 B23 B20 B44 B46
 King's Pawn Game (24) 
    C44 C20 C40
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Anderssen vs Kieseritzky, 1851 1-0
   Anderssen vs Dufresne, 1852 1-0
   J Rosanes vs Anderssen, 1863 0-1
   Anderssen vs Zukertort, 1869 1-0
   C Mayet vs Anderssen, 1851 0-1
   J Rosanes vs Anderssen, 1862 0-1
   Anderssen vs Zukertort, 1865 1-0
   Anderssen vs B Suhle, 1860 1-0
   Anderssen vs E Schallopp, 1864 1-0
   Anderssen vs Paulsen, 1873 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   London Chess Club Invitational (1851)
   London (1851)
   5th BCA Congress, London (1862)
   Anderssen - Kolisch (1861)
   Anderssen - Paulsen (1862)
   7th WSB Congress, Aachen (1868)
   2nd NSB Congress, Hamburg (1869)
   Baden-Baden (1870)
   Anderssen - Harrwitz (1848)
   Anderssen - Steinitz (1866)
   8th WSB Congress, Barmen (1869)
   Anderssen - Paulsen (1877)
   Leipzig (1877)
   Vienna (1873)
   Paris (1878)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   19sp Anderssen - Blackburne - Charousek by Littlejohn
   19sp Anderssen - Blackburne - Charousek by Goatsrocknroll23
   Match Anderssen! by amadeus
   Match Anderssen! by chessgain
   1851 Beyond London Phil Max Isa by fredthebear
   vaskolon's with sacrifices Mr. ANDERSSON by vaskolon
   xOlde Kings ande theur Gamebits by fredthebear
   Kings Gambit by Nodreads
   vaskolon's PAUL MORPHY'S GAMES by vaskolon
   The Chess Champions (Romantic Era) by Owl
   vaskolon's favorite games by vaskolon
   Anderssen, Blackburne, Charousek by monet11
   Capn's Crunch Munched by Fredthebear by fredthebear
   attack_1900 by plerranov


Search Sacrifice Explorer for Adolf Anderssen
Search Google for Adolf Anderssen

ADOLF ANDERSSEN
(born Jul-06-1818, died Mar-13-1879, 60 years old) Germany

[what is this?]

Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was born in Breslau. He was one of the strongest players of his day and was regarded by some to be the World Champion after his victory in the London (1851) tournament.1,2 He lost this honor in the Anderssen - Morphy (1858) match. One year later, however, Paul Morphy retired from international chess, and Anderssen was able to regain his reputation as the world's leading player, drawing Ignatz von Kolisch in Paris 1860 (+5 -5 =1),3 and winning the Anderssen - Kolisch (1861) match in London (+4 -3 =2). Anderssen also won the London International 1862 over Louis Paulsen, who finished second.2 He subsequently drew him in the Anderssen - Paulsen Match (1862) match (+3 -3 =2). In 1866, Anderssen narrowly lost a match with Wilhelm Steinitz (+6 -8 =0). He scored his final great success by winning the Baden-Baden (1870) tournament, ahead of Steinitz and Joseph Henry Blackburne. 4

Anderssen is regarded as the quintessential Romantic, and his sacrificial brilliancies such as The Immortal Game (Anderssen vs Kieseritzky, 1851) and The Evergreen Game (Anderssen vs Dufresne, 1852) have stood the test of time.

However, Willy Hendriks in his book "The Ink Wars" argues that this view of Anderssen is too simplistic, and that games like "his very modern Sicilian victory" in Blackburne vs Anderssen, 1878 deserve more attention. Anderssen and Howard Staunton were two of the earliest champions of the Sicilian Defense. In his match against Morphy, he even originated Anderssen's Opening (1.a3) as a way of reaching the Sicilian with colors reversed (1.a3 e5 2.c4), with which he scored 1 1/2 out of 3 against Morphy.

Anderssen died of a heart attack at age 60. During World War II, bombing raids on his hometown damaged his grave.

Anderssen also played consultation chess on the teams of Adolf Anderssen / Johannes Zukertort / Dr C. Schmid, Adolf Anderssen / Allies, Anderssen / Stern, Anderssen / Goering / Allies & Adolf Anderssen / Bernhard Horwitz / Josef Kling.

Notes:

1 Wikipedia article: Adolf Anderssen

2 http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/v1l...

3 http://www.365chess.com/tournaments...

4 http://www.endgame.nl/bad1870.htm

Last updated: 2023-01-25 08:20:57

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 34; games 1-25 of 837  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. H Seligo vs Anderssen 1-0281844BreslauC26 Vienna
2. von der Lasa vs Anderssen 1-0211845BreslauC44 King's Pawn Game
3. Anderssen vs von der Lasa 0-1321845BreslauC38 King's Gambit Accepted
4. von der Lasa vs Anderssen 1-0481845BreslauC39 King's Gambit Accepted
5. Anderssen vs von der Lasa 1-0291845BreslauB01 Scandinavian
6. Anderssen vs von der Lasa 0-1281846BreslauC37 King's Gambit Accepted
7. von der Lasa vs Anderssen 0-1201846BreslauB21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4
8. Anderssen vs Harrwitz 0-1301848Anderssen - HarrwitzB21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4
9. Harrwitz vs Anderssen 0-1361848Anderssen - HarrwitzC33 King's Gambit Accepted
10. Harrwitz vs Anderssen 1-0321848Anderssen - HarrwitzC44 King's Pawn Game
11. Harrwitz vs Anderssen 0-1261848Anderssen - HarrwitzC33 King's Gambit Accepted
12. Anderssen vs Harrwitz 1-0281848Anderssen - HarrwitzB21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4
13. Anderssen vs Harrwitz 0-1341848Anderssen - HarrwitzD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
14. Harrwitz vs Anderssen 0-1501848Anderssen - HarrwitzC33 King's Gambit Accepted
15. Anderssen vs Harrwitz 1-0371848Anderssen - HarrwitzC54 Giuoco Piano
16. Harrwitz vs Anderssen 0-1381848Blindfold exhibition gameC39 King's Gambit Accepted
17. Anderssen vs Harrwitz 0-1551848Anderssen - HarrwitzC01 French, Exchange
18. Harrwitz vs Anderssen 1-0171848Anderssen - HarrwitzC33 King's Gambit Accepted
19. Salpius vs Anderssen 1-0371849BerlinC52 Evans Gambit
20. Anderssen vs J Schlesinger 0-1301849Double blindfold gameC02 French, Advance
21. N D Nathan vs Anderssen 0-1221850Casual gameC39 King's Gambit Accepted
22. Dufresne vs Anderssen 1-0351851Casual gameC52 Evans Gambit
23. Anderssen vs Lowenthal 1-0201851Casual gameC33 King's Gambit Accepted
24. Anderssen vs Horwitz ½-½321851London Chess Club InvitationalC33 King's Gambit Accepted
25. Dufresne vs Anderssen 0-1241851Casual gameC37 King's Gambit Accepted
 page 1 of 34; games 1-25 of 837  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Anderssen wins | Anderssen loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 8 OF 9 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Mar-31-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Did you know that the German abbreviation Gmbh stands for Gambit Hotel?

Anderssen used to live there.

Sep-18-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <offramp> Indeed Anderssen did, and he gave as good as he got while residing in that venue.
Jul-06-17  The Kings Domain: The master at nearly two centuries and the legacy lives on.
Jul-06-17  Nosnibor: Our player of the day did not fare so well against Der Lasa in informal matches. Losing 6-3 on known games. Mention of this was made by Staunton in his book of the 1851 Chess Tournament.
Jul-06-17  Olavi: Chessmetrics.com has 21 von der Lasa - Anderssen games, AA scoring 7 points. It is not at all clear whether Stunton should be considered number one pre-1851.
Jul-06-17  Nosnibor: <Olavi> I agree with your suggestion and based on limited information probably von der Lasa was the strongest having beaten Anderssen during informal games and also beating Staunton in an informal match in 1853 Because of his duties as an ambassador der Lasa only had limited time to play and was due to play in the 1851 Tournament but was unable to enter owing to these duties.
Jul-06-17  vermapulak: As per wiki :-

He played several matches and defeated the strongest masters in the period 1843–1853. He won against Henry Thomas Buckle 2-1 (1843), Adolf Anderssen 4-2 (1845), Johann Löwenthal 6-1 (1846), John William Schulten 4-1 (1850), Anderssen 10-5 (1851), and Howard Staunton 7-6 (1853).

May-31-18  morfishine: Anderssen is one of the greatest chess players ever! If nothing else, his originality came to the fore-front

I regret not posting here sooner. A more admirable and humble man than Anderssen is hard to find

Jul-06-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: This great player would have been 200 years old today! I love his great Gothic games, with craggy pawn structures and kings wandering around like demented grandfathers.

Two hundred years already, eh?

The way time passes.

Jul-06-18  ChessHigherCat: < I love his great Gothic games, with craggy pawn structures and kings wandering around like demented grandfathers?>

Demented grandfathers wandering around in crappy gowns, show a little respect!

Oct-20-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: <Edward Winter has these Steinitz quotes, taken from his <International Chess Magazine>:

<February 1885, page 46:
‘When I first met Anderssen in 1862, he spoke in the highest possible terms of Morphy. ... In 1866 I had another conversation with Anderssen about Morphy. The professor had much cooled down in his enthusiasm, and he did not seem to think that Morphy could always have beaten him for certain. My own impression is that Anderssen, who could not play a single game blindfold, was at first overawed by Morphy’s wonderful sans voir performances, and he overworked himself by calculations out of his real depth. But he subsequently found that he could hold his own against blindfold players like Blackburne, Paulsen, Suhle and Zukertort, by relying on his natural fine judgment, and then he began to doubt whether his fear was based on real grounds.>
>
Paul Morphy (kibitz #6932)

Is it really conceivable that Anderssen couldn't play even one game blindfold? Can anyone identify a game, occasion or source to the contrary?

Steinitz has the reputation of being a skilled and careful writer, so there doesn't appear to be much, if any, wiggle room.

Oct-20-18  nok: <Steinitz has the reputation of being a skilled and careful writer> lol lol
Oct-21-18  Jean Defuse: ...

<MissScarlett: ... Is it really conceivable that Anderssen couldn't play even one game blindfold? Can anyone identify a game, occasion or source to the contrary?>

Blind games by Anderssen are very rare, but <Steinitz's quote isn't true!> ... - an example of Anderssen's 'sans voir skills' was given on page 13. at Bird's book 'Chess Masterpiece':

.

Harrwitz vs Anderssen, 1848

.

Comments by Henry Edward Bird:

20. Ng3 [Well played.]

25. Qg5 [If the Knight is taken by 25. exf6 the piece can be regained with Qe3+.]

29... Ne3 [Ingenious and perfectly sound, in fact, practically deciding the game in Anderssen favor. This interesting and excellent game, played by both without sight of board and men, would be considered a masterpiece if played by any two players with the board and men before them.]

.

Another game was published at the 'Schachzeitung 1849 Vol 4' on page 141 (both played sans voir):

[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Site "Breslau"]
[Date "1849.??.??"]
[White "Schlesinger"]
[Black "Anderssen, Adolf"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]

1. e4 d5 2. e5 e6 3. d4 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Qb3 cxd4 7. Qxb6 axb6 8. cxd4 Nb4 9. Na3 Bd7 10. Be2 Rxa3 11. bxa3 Nc2+ 12. Kd2 Nxa1 13. Bb2 Ne7 14. Bd3 Nc8 15. Rxa1 b5 16. Ne1 Nb6 17. Nc2 Be7 18. f4 O-O 19. Nb4 f6 20. Rf1 Nc4+ 21. Kc3 fxe5 22. fxe5 Ra8 23. Bc1 Nxa3 24. Rf3 Rc8+ 25. Kb3 Rxc1 26. Kxa3 Rc3+ 27. Kb2 Bxb4 28. Bxh7+ Kxh7 29. Rxc3 Bxc3+ 30. Kxc3 Kg6 0-1

.

Eliot Hearst & John Knott - Blindfold Chess, p. 29:

'Anderssen occasionally played blindfold chess, and once he played against the sighted Kieseritzky at Simpson’s Divan in The Strand, London, in June of 1851, just after he had beaten Kieseritzky in the first round of the international tournament. Kieseritzky gave a pawn handicap and allowed Anderssen the white pieces and two moves at the start of the game. Perhaps Kieseritzky felt he had achieved a measure of revenge after his loss in the regular tournament, because he won this struggle despite the odds he gave. On the other hand, Anderssen played blindfolded while Kieseritzky did not.'

...

Nov-13-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: I'm wondering whether he suffered - if that's the word - from mandibular prognathism. That's some chin on him!
Mar-06-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Joshka: Can anyone with some authority give an estimate of Anderssen's playing strength? Been going over some of his games, and they don't even seem like 1600 strength?? Any thoughts appreciated!
Mar-06-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: Just for the purpose of comparison, at what level do you rate your own play?
Mar-06-19  sudoplatov: EDO 1850 Estimates
1 Morphy, Paul 2719
2 von der Lasa, Tassilo 2692
3 Anderssen, Adolf 2634
4 Petrov, Alexander 2621
5 Staunton, Howard 2609

EDO 1851 Estimates
1 Morphy, Paul 2741
2 von der Lasa, Tassilo 2720
3 Anderssen, Adolf 2673
4 Petrov, Alexander 2627
5 Staunton, Howard 2607

EDO 1858
1 Morphy, Paul 2801
2 Anderssen, Adolf 2635
3 Löwenthal, Johann 2630
4 Petrov, Alexander 2629
5 Paulsen, Louis 2627

EDO 1870 Estimates
1 Steinitz, Wilhelm 2725
2 Anderssen, Adolf 2687
3 Neumann, Gustav 2663
4 Mackenzie, George 2636
5 Potter, William 2619

EDO 1877
1 Steinitz, Wilhelm 2768
2 Zukertort, Johannes 2645
3 Paulsen, Louis 2633
4 Blackburne, Joseph 2604
5 Anderssen, Adolf 2596

Mar-07-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Joshka: <sudoplatov> That's amazing. Would never have believed it. Guess when playing Morphy one turns into a child! Thanks!
Apr-02-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Joshka: Anderssen played most of the opponents Morphy would have played had Morphy continues to play, did he ever give an account of the strength of some of the up and comers that would have played Morphy? Or did he ever just flat out say, Morphy was the strongest I have ever faced? Since Morphy never played Steinitz, Anderssen seems to have the most authority when comparing strengths.
Jul-17-19  Chesgambit: sacrfice explorer search :
Adolf Anderssen
matchs
he played with Morphy
Anderssen died of a heart attack at the age of 60. During World War II, bombing raids on his hometown damaged his grave. https://www.kwabc.org/en/newsitem/a...
Mar-05-20  morfishine: I think chessmetrics rated Anderssen at around 2550, give or take a captured Knight or two flung over the shoulder
Mar-05-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: <morfishine>
2744 on the Aug. 1870 chessmetrics list, so you're close if a captured knight or two flung over the shoulder are worth 200 rating points.
Mar-06-20  morfishine: Thats an impressive number <beatgiant>! I remember reading an article about 10 years ago that Chessmetrics had Anderssen at 2,550 and Morphy at around 2,720 (They had Alekhine at 2,690)

With more data to work with over time and Anderssen's rating being "revised" up to 2,744, where does that leave Morphy? 2,850 or thereabouts?

Nov-21-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: I have just noticed that Anderssen played 100 games in 1851.
Nov-27-20  unspiek: Anderssen's surname has a Danish look; does anyone know whether he had such a family background?
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