Evergreen game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The evergreen game is a famous chess game played in 1852 between Adolf Anderssen and Jean Dufresne.
Adolf Anderssen was one of the strongest players of his time, and was considered by many to be the world champion after winning the 1851 London tournament. Jean Dufresne, a popular author of chess books, was a master of lesser but still considerable skill.
This was an informal game, like the "immortal game". Wilhelm Steinitz later identified the game as being the "evergreen in Anderssen's laurel wreath", giving this game its name.
The game is recorded below in algebraic chess notation. It can also be downloaded in PGN format.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4
This is the "Evans Gambit", a popular opening in the 1800s and still seen occasionally today. White gives up material to gain an advantage in development.
4...Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d3?!
This isn't considered to be a good response; alternatives include dxc3 or d6.
8. Qb3!?
This immediately attacks the f7 pawn, but Burgess suggests Re1 instead.
8.... Qf6 9. e5 Qg6
White's e5 pawn cannot be captured; if 9... Nxe5, then 10. Re1 d6 11. Qa4+, forking the king and bishop for the win of a piece.
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| The position after 10. Re1! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10. Re1! Nge7 11. Ba3 b5?!
Rather than defending his own position, black offers a counter-sacrifice to activate his queen's rook with tempo. Burgess suggests 11. ...a6 instead to allow the b-pawn to advance later with tempo.
12. Qxb5 Rb8 13. Qa4 Bb6
Black cannot play O-O here because 14. Bxe7 would win a piece as the knight on c6 cannot simulanteously protect the knight on e7 and the bishop on a5.
14. Nbd2 Bb7 15. Ne4 Qf5? 16. Bxd3 Qh5 17. Nf6+!?
This is a beautiful sacrifice, although Burgess notes that 17. Ng3 Qh6 18. Bc1 Qe6 19. Bc4 wins material in a much simpler way.
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| The position after 19. ... Qxf3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17.... gxf6 18. exf6 Rg8 19. Rad1 Qxf3?
The black queen cannot be captured because the rook on g8 pins the white pawn on g2 (see position). However, after 19. ... Qh3! white would have had to play precisely in order to keep any advantage at all. The text move loses quickly, as will be obvious from the continuation:
20. Rxe7+!! Nxe7 21. Qxd7+! Kxd7 22. Bf5+
Double-checks are dangerous because they force the king to move. Here it is not only dangerous but decisive.
22.... Ke8 (22...Kc6 loses to 23. Bd7 mate) 23. Bd7+ Kf8 24. Bxe7# 1-0
Savielly Tartakower said, "A combination second to none in the literature of the game."
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| The final position after 24. Bxe7# | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Graham Burgess, John Nunn, and John Emms. The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games. 1998. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-7867-0587-6.
- Eade, James. Chess for Dummies. 1996. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. ISBN 0-7645-5003-9.
- Savielly Tartakower and J. du Mont. 500 Master Games of Chess. Dover Publications, June 1, 1975, ISBN 0-486-23208-5.
- Wheeler, David A. http://www.dwheeler.com
