Wednesday 15 March 2017

Adolf Anderssen

While looking at the Wikipeadia front page this morning, I noticed it was the anniversary of the passing of Adolf Anderssen (13th March 1879). Anderssen is both best known for winning the first International Tournament (London 1851) as well as being the strongest player in the world, before and then after Paul Morphy. He was never considered an official 'World Champion' as the title did not really exist until Steinitz claimed it (and Morphy passed away), but he is often on the list of 'Unofficial World Champions'.
He was an attacking player (as were many players of that time), and he won a number of brilliant games. Quite probably his attacks weren't built on the firmest of foundations, as firstly Morphy, and then Steinitz manage to find suitable antidotes. Nonetheless he was an important bridge between the somewhat random play before the 1840's, and the more structured play that Steinitz formulated. His choice of openings was reasonably varied, although the focus on checkmating the king was always there.
Avoiding the obvious, I've grabbed a game from the London 1851 event. It was played in the final, against Marmaduke Wyvill, and was in fact the final (and winning) game of the tournament.


Anderssen,Adolf - Wyvill,Marmaduke [B20]
London knockout London (4.7), 1851


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