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The Immortal Game, 1851: Anderssen Gives Up a Bishop, Both Rooks and the Queen

·historyfamous-gamesromanticism

The Immortal Game was played in London in 1851 between Anderssen and Kieseritzky. In the transmitted score below, White gives up a bishop (11...cxb5), both rooks and the queen, then mates with a bishop and two knights. Rather than assuming every sacrifice was best, follow which pieces defend which squares in the actual continuation.

Play through the score

No capturesMaterial equal
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
No capturesMaterial equal
Start(0/45)

Pick a move, or step through with the arrow keys.

Moves

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.

One caveat about the end of this score. Kieseritzky said he resigned after 20.Ke2, and it is suspected that the last few moves were not actually played on the board. Moves 21 to 23 are the finish traditionally reproduced with the game, so the queen sacrifice discussed below belongs to the transmitted score, not to a confirmed record of play.

Pause before 17.Nd5. White is a bishop down for a pawn, but has pieces in the center while Black's king remains on e8. Look beyond the material count to the available checks and the king's escape squares.

17...Qxb2: taking a pawn and targeting a rook

17.Nd5 attacks the queen on f6. Black plays 17...Qxb2, capturing a pawn and targeting a1. The queen's move to b2 is verifiable from the score; calling it the last decisive mistake requires more evidence.

For practice, do not stop at "the queen can take a pawn." List the checks and threats the opponent can create after the capture.

19.e5: a move without check can prepare threats

After 18.Bd6 Bxg1, White has given up the g1 rook. The move 19.e5 is neither a check nor a capture, but it protects the d6 bishop and blocks the a1-h8 diagonal. Black's 19...Qxa1+ is a legal choice, not a forced reply. The score continues 20.Ke2 Na6 21.Nxg7+ Kd8 22.Qf6+ Nxf6 23.Be7#.

Without the e5 pawn, the diagonal between a1 and f6 would be open, and Black's queen could capture a white piece arriving at the end of it. Read 19.e5 in connection with the later Qf6+. Calling a move "quiet" means it is not a check or capture; it does not mean it creates no immediate threat. Whether the attack works against other black replies requires separate calculation.

22.Qf6+: drawing away the defender of e7

In the transmitted score, after 21...Kd8 White sacrifices the queen with 22.Qf6+. Black has two legal replies, 22...Nxf6 and 22...Ne7, and blocking with Ne7 also allows mate by 23.Bxe7# or 23.Qxe7#. The score uses Nxf6. From g8 the knight defended e7; from f6 it no longer does, so 23.Be7# follows. The sacrifice works by pulling the defender of e7 away.

This illustrates attraction together with deflection. When considering a sacrifice, ask whether the capture is forced and what the capturing piece leaves undefended.

Why the final position is mate

The bishop on e7 gives check. This is not a smothered mate, where a knight gives the mating check. Black's own pieces restrict the king here too, but the mating geometry is different.

  • White's d5 knight protects the bishop on e7 and attacks c7.
  • White's g7 knight attacks e8.
  • Black's own bishop and pawn occupy c8 and d7.
  • The king on d8 has no safe move, no black piece can capture the bishop, and an adjacent diagonal check cannot be blocked.

Review it yourself

  1. Return to the position before 19.e5. Find the square the pawn will defend and the diagonal it will block.
  2. Before 22.Qf6+, check what the g8 knight defends. Explain what changes after it captures.
  3. In the final position, explain why each of c7, c8, d7, e7, and e8 is unavailable to Black's king.

The aim is to explain how defensive duties change, not to memorize the moves. Continue with the deflection guide and training to look for the same relationship in other positions.

Verification and references

The displayed score's legality, final checkmate, and two legal replies to 22.Qf6+ and the mate after each were checked with chess.js. That check is not an engine evaluation establishing that every earlier move was best.

  • Anderssen vs. Kieseritzky, London 1851: identifies the transmitted game score; it is not cited as evidence for a particular engine evaluation here.
  • Immortal Game: general historical background, including Kieseritzky's report that he resigned after 20.Ke2 and the doubt that the final moves were played. The sequence reproduced above is the one checked for this article.

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