Chess: The Immortal Game

(originally published on 7/18/2007)
 

The other day, while browsing the video site www.youtube.com, I randomly came across an animated replay of “The Immortal Game,” which is considered the greatest chess game ever played. At least near the classical era, during the dawn of professional chess.

In this game, this gentleman openly displays what appears to be a weak position that favors his opponent, along with making a brilliant sacrifice. In reality, however, he was encircling his opponent with other pieces. The opponent fell for the trap and, thinking he was winning due to his material superiority, was shocked by a devastating checkmate.

The game begins with an extremely strong opening move (strong for those who know how to play): the King's Gambit, which simply means sacrificing a minor piece in exchange for weakening the opponent's center.

I leave a link to a website discussing the game, along with a brief biography of Adolf Anderssen:
http://www.p4r.org.ar/biografias/anderssen.htm

Here is the game annotated by those who know best:

Anderssen, A. – Kieseritzky, L.

[C33] London, 1851

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 b5 5.Bxb5 Nf6 (Some sources show a different move order in the opening) 6.Nf3 Qh6 7.d3 Nh5
(Threatens Ng3 and also protects the f4 pawn)
8.Nh4 Qg5 9.Nf5 c6 10.g4 (This type of move delighted chess players eighty years ago, and, why not say it, it also pleases the multitude of fans today who seek beauty rather than cold, technical correctness.) 10...Nf6 11.Rg1 cxb5 12.h4 Qg6 13.h5 Qg5 14.Qf3 Ng8 (The only move to save the queen) 15.Bxf4 Qf6 16.Nc3 Bc5 17.Nd5 (Anderssen continues the magnificent combination he started on move 11 and now finishes the game in impressive fashion. It is clear that the imbalance of active material must bear fruit.) 17...Qxb2 18.Bd6 Bxg1 [18...Qxa1+ 19.Ke2 Qxg1 20.Nxg7+ Kd8 21.Bc7#; 18...Bxd6 19.Nxd6+ Kd8 20.Nxf7+ Ke8 21.Nd6+ Kd8 22.Qf8#] 19.e5 Qxa1+ 20.Ke2 Na6 21.Nxg7+ Kd8 22.Qf6+ (A worthy and magnificent finishing touch) 22...Nxf6 23.Be7#

White delivered checkmate with only three minor pieces while being down two rooks, a queen, and a bishop. However, pieces are valued by what they do, not by their mere existence. The game is undoubtedly remarkable, but Kieseritzky made very severe positional errors. Had he simply played the logical move 5...Bg7 in the opening instead of committing the error of trapping his own queen with his knight, nothing would have happened. But this does not diminish the merit of Anderssen, who exploited his opponent's blunders in the most spectacular way possible. 1–0.

In this link, you can find all the famous games with animated moves, including The Immortal Game, The Immortal Losing Game, The Evergreen Game, and many other brilliant matches:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chess_games