Late Knight by Richard Forster Anderssen and Zukertort - Duo Infernale Neither Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) nor his pupil Johannes Hermann Zukertort (1842-1888) needs to be introduced - their names will forever be linked to countless daring attacking games full of fantastic sacrifices. Unlike many other famous players from the past, who are mainly remembered for smashing inferior opponents, our two heroes also fought countless spectacular battles between themselves. Over seventy of their entertaining games have survived. In the history of chess, rarely have two leading masters ever played and preserved so many friendly games. Here is a small collection of their encounters: We will start with the best-known duel between the two, played at the Barmen Chess Congress 1869, which Anderssen won with a 100% score. A. Anderssen - J. Zukertort, Barmen 1869 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.d5 Na5 10.Bb2 Ne7 11.Bd3 0-0 12.Nc3 Ng6 13.Ne2 c5 14.Qd2 f6 15.Kh1 Bc7 16.Rac1 Rb8 17.Ng3 b5 18.Nf5 b4 Later games showed that Black gets a good position by playing 18...c4 first. 19.Rg1 Bb6 20.g4 Ne5 21.Bxe5 dxe5 22.Rg3 Rf7 23.g5 Bxf5 24.exf5 Qxd5 25.gxf6 Rd8 Unfortunately the intended 25...Rxf6 loses the queen after 26.Bc4. 26.Rcg1 Kh8 27.fxg7+ Kg8 (See Diagram) Now Anderssen finishes his vigorous attack with a nice petite combinaison: 28.Qh6 Qd6 29.Qxh7+! Kxh7 30.f6+ Kg8 31.Bh7+ Kxh7 32.Rh3+ Kg8 33.Rh8 mate. The next is their shortest game. It has also been reprinted time and again. J. Zukertort - A. Anderssen, Breslau 1865 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.c3 d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.0-0 Ng6 7.Ng5!? h6 (See Diagram) 8.Nxf7 Kxf7 9.Bc4+ Ke7? A decisive mistake. Anderssen should have played 9...Ke8 10.Qh5 Qf6 11.f4 exd4, and by returning the piece, Black gets a reasonable position. 10.Qh5! Qe8 10...Kf6 is adequately met by 11.h4! 11.Qg5+ hxg5 12.Bxg5 mate. It is still not clear to me if this finish is prettier than 11.Bg5+ hxg5 12.Qxg5 mate. On one hand, I would prefer the more 'economical' 11.Bg5+, because it is not necessary to give up the queen, but on the other hand the final position is much prettier with the two bishops giving mate instead of bishop and queen. What do you think is more aesthetic, queen sac or bishop sac? The next one, however, does not usually make it into the anthologies, despite its neat finish: J. Zukertort - A. Anderssen, Breslau 1865 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.0-0 gxf3 6.Qxf3 Qf6 7.e5 Qxe5 8.d3 Bh6 9.Nc3 Ne7 10.Bd2 c6 11.Rae1 Qc5+ 12.Kh1 d5 13.Bxd5!? Even stronger is 13. Qh5 first. Believe it or nor, the following gem was won by Fritz Saemisch - definitely not your everyday Muzio-gambiteer! 13.Qh5 Qd6 14.Bxd5 cxd5 15.Nb5 Qb6 16.Bb4 Nbc6 17.Nd6+ Kd7 18.Ba3 Bg7 19.Qg4+ Kc7 20.Qxf4 Be5 21.Rxe5 Nxe5 22.Qxe5 Ng6 23.Qg3 Qc6 24.Nc4+ Kd8 25.Qg5+ Kc7 26.Ne5 Qe6 27.Rxf7+ Kb8 28.Rf6 Qxe5 29.Qxe5+ Nxe5 30.Bd6 mate (Saemisch, Loettge & Warnecke - Guenter, Schubert, Wahnschaffe & Schott, Hannover 1926) 13...cxd5 14.Nxd5 Be6 15.Nf6+ Kd8? Here the king is too exposed. After 15...Kf8 White would have had difficulties proving the correctness of his attack. 16.Qxb7 Nec6 Now he could not play 16...Qc6? because of 17.Ba5+. 17.Rxf4!? Bc8?! Nor was Black's defence easy after 17...Bxf4 18.Bxf4 Qb6 19.Qxa8, but the text move leads to an abrupt end: (See Diagram) 18.Rd4+! Nxd4 19.Ba5+! Qxa5 20.Qe7 mate All defenders have been successfully diverted from e7. Note that the end would have been exactly the same if Black had taken on d4 with his queen and on a5 with his knight. J. Zukertort-A. Anderssen, Breslau 1866 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.d4 exd4 7.0-0 d6 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.d5 Na5 10.Bb2 Ne7 11.Bd3 0-0 12.Nc3 Ng6 The Evans Gambit is to the nineteenth century as the Ruy Lopez is to the twentieth - no early exchanges, and rich in tactical and positional possibilities for both sides. Despite all the manuals and papers written, chess has not changed a lot since then - the only difference is that nowadays White players get this sort of position without being a pawn down. 13.Ne2 c5 14.Qd2 f6 15.Kh1 Bc7 16.Rac1 Rb8 17.Nfg1 One of the 'hottest' variations in those days! 17 Nfg1 is an interesting deviation from the main line 17. Ng3, which was tested in numerous other games (as in our first game above). Still, don't be surprised if your latest opening manual does not mention any of this... 17... b5 18.f4 c4 19.Bb1 b4 20.Bd4 c3 21.Qd1 Bb6 22.Nf3 Ba6 (See Diagram) 23.f5 The standard attacking procedure in the Evans, because the central break with e4-e5 doesn't succeed (23.e5 fxe5 24.fxe5 Bxd4 etc.). Half a century later, there would be a strong controversy about Lasker's audacity to play such a seemingly 'anti-positional', but actually brilliant strategic move in his game against Capablanca (St. Petersburg 1914 - appropriately in a Ruy Lopez!). In Anderssen's day however, it was very well understood that the hole on e6 and the attacking possibilities on the kingside could give plenty of compensation for the hole on e5 and the backward e-pawn. Actually we won't see much of this theme in this particular game, because of the early exchange on e5, but it has been seen in many other Anderssen and Zukertort games. 23...Bxe2 24.Qxe2 Ne5 25.Bxe5 dxe5 Although he only had modest success in this game, Zukertort repeated 17.Nfg1 on other occasions. A game against von Schutz, played in Berlin 1869, took this brilliant course: 25...fxe5 26.g4 Nb7 27.g5 a5 28.h4 Rc8 29.Nh2 Qe8 30.Qg4 a4 31.f6 g6 32.Rf3 Bd4 33.Rcf1 Qf7 34.Qe6 b3 35.axb3 axb3 36.Ng4 Qxe6 37.dxe6 c2 38.e7 (a colourful picture!) cxb1Q 39.Rxb1 Nc5 40.Nh6+ Kh8 41.exf8Q+ Rxf8 42.Rfxb3 Nxb3 43.Rxb3 Bf2 44.Rb7 Bxh4 45.Rg7 Bxg5 46.Rg8+ Rxg8 47.Nf7 mate. (See Diagram) Looking at this ending, one cannot avoid being envious... 26.Nh4 Nb7 27.Rf3 a5 28.Rh3 Qe8 29.Qg4 Rf7 30.Ng6 It feels like a King's Indian with reversed colours, doesn't it? Black must now defend against 31.Rxh7, but the knight is immune, e.g. 30...hxg6? 31.hxg6 Rd7 32.Qh5 Kf8 33.Qh8+ Ke7 34.Qxg7+ Kd8 35.Qxf6+ Kc7 36.Qc6+ and 37.Qxb6+. 30...h6 The typical attacking pattern would be to sacrifice a bishop on h6, but unfortunately the black-squared bishop has gone already. Therefore Zukertort switches his other rook to the h- file. It all looks very clumsy, but Black's counter-play on the queenside is also only developing in slow-motion. 31.Rf1 Rc8 32.Bc2 Bd4 33.Rff3 Nc5 34.Rh5 a4 35.Rfh3 b3 (See Diagram) Heavy clouds on both sides of the board. An enormous storm is about to start. 36.Ne7+ Kf8 The knight cannot be taken, e.g. 36...Rxe7 37.Rxh6 Rec7 38.Rh8+ Kf7 39.Qxg7+! and mate next move. Equally bad is 36...Kh7 37.Qg6+ Kh8 38.Rxh6+. Now Anderssen repeats moves before trying his only winning chance. 37.Ng6+ Kg8 38.Ne7+ Kf8 39.Ng6+ Kg8 40.Ne7+ Kh8! He is not afraid of either 41.Rxh6+ gxh6 42.Rxh6+ Rh7 43.Ng6+ Kg7!, when White's discovered check is useless, or of 43.Rxh7+ Kxh7 44.Qh4+ Kg7 45.Qg3+ Kf8 46.d6 Qf7, when Black's passed pawns will decide the issue. Zukertort seizes his only chance: 41.Ng6+ Kh7 42.Nxe5! Be3! He could not take either of White's pieces because of 43.Rxh6+! gxh6 44.Qg6+ and mate in two more moves. Creating an escape route for the king with 42...Rb7 leads to hair-raising complications. The main line runs 43.Qf4! Kg8 44.Rxh6 Qxe5! 45.Rh8+ Kf7 46.Qg4 (threatening 47.Qxg7+), and now either 46...Rxh8 47.Rxh8 bxc2 48.Qg6+ Ke7 49.Qe8+ Kd6 50.Qc6+ Ke7 51.Qe8+ or 46...Rg8 47.Qh5+ Kf8 48.Rxg8+ Kxg8 49.Qh8+ Kf7 50.Rh7 Ke7 51.Rxg7+ Kd6 52.Qf8+ Re7 53.Qb8+ with a perpetual check. 43.Nxf7! 43.Rxh6+ Bxh6 44.Rxh6+ is met by the cool 44...Kg8, leaving White in a lost position. 43...Qxf7! Much better than 43...bxc2? 44.Rxh6+! Bxh6 45.Rxh6+ Kg8 46.Rh8+ Kxf7 47.Qg6+ Ke7 48.Rxe8+ Rxe8 49.Qxg7+ Kd6 50.Qxf6+ followed by 51.Qxc3, when White should eventually win as a result of his dangerous f-pawn. 44.Rxe3 (DIAGRAM) 44...Nd3!? An astounding move - and most typical of Anderssen! True, 44...bxc2 45.Rxc3 Nd3 was bad because of 46.Qg6+!, but 45...Rb8! won easily because of White's back rank problem. But Anderssen's flashy move does not spoil anything, yet. The knight is invulnerable because of 45.Bxd3 c2 or 45.Rxd3 bxc2 46.Qf4 Qxh5 47.Qc1 Qe2 with a quick win. 45.Qe2 Qxh5? But this is too much. He could have won with 45...bxc2 46.Qxc2 Nb4! when White's queen cannot simultaneously deal with the c-pawn and defend the stranded rook on h5. 46.Qxd3 Of course Zukertort can't be tempted into accepting the 'queen sacrifice', since after 46.Qxh5 bxc2 47.Rxd3 c1Q+ 48.Rd1 Qb2 White is clearly lost. 46...bxc2 47.Qxc2 Qh4! Now it is Anderssen who must play carefully to avoid losing the endgame. 48.h3 Qf4 49.Rxc3 Rxc3 50.Qxc3 Qxe4 Drawn In April 1871 the two played a match in Berlin. Anderssen had won an earlier encounter in 1868 (+8 -3 =1), but this time Zukertort was clearly superior, winning +5 -2 =0. Between the official match games they also played many offhand games like the next one. Just imagine for a moment Karpov and Kasparov playing blitz during one of their numerous World Championship matches... J. Zukertort -A. Anderssen, Berlin 1871 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 d6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Ne2 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Ng3 0-0 9.0-0 Be6 10.Re1 Bd6 11.Bd2 h6 12.Qc1 Qd7!? This is really asking for trouble... 13.Bxh6 gxh6 14.Qxh6 f6 Forced, since 14...f5? 15.Ng5 loses at once. 15.Nf5! (See Diagram) 15... Qh7? Obvious-looking, but bad as Zukertort is quick to show. Anderssen had three other choices: A) 15...Bxf5? 16.Bxd5+ Be6 17.Bxe6+ Qxe6 18.Qg6+ Kh8 19.Re4 or 16...Rf7 17.Qxf6 Bh7 18.Ng5 Nd8 19.Nxf7 Nxf7 20.Re3 is absolutely lethal. B) 15...Rf7 is more resilient, but White keeps a strong attack with 16.Re4!. C) 15...Qf7! had to be played. There is nothing better for White than to force a perpetual check with 16.Re4 Bxf5 17.Rg4+! Bxg4 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Qg6+. 16.Ng5! fxg5 Neither 16...Qxh6 17.Nxh6+ Kg7 18.Nxe6+ nor 16...Qxf5 17.Nxe6 Qxe6 18.Qg6+ Kh8 19.Re4 could save Black from defeat. 17.Qxe6+ Kh8 18.Nxd6 Nf4 19.Nf7+ Kg7 20.Qd7 1:0 In our concluding example we see Anderssen on top again: A. Anderssen-J. Zukertort, Breslau 1865 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.0-0 gxf3 6.Qxf3 Qf6 7.e5 Qxe5 8.d3 Bh6 9.Nc3 Ne7 10.Bd2 Nbc6 11.Rae1 Qf5 12.Nd5 Kd8 13.Bc3 Re8 14.Nf6 Rf8 15.g4 Qg6 16.h4 d6 17.g5 Bg7 18.Qxf4 h6 19.Qh2 a6 20.d4 hxg5 21.d5 gxh4+ 22.Kh1 Nb8 (See Diagram) 23.Qxd6+! Bd7 24.Qxe7+ 1:0 24...Kc8 25.Nxd7 Nxd7 26.Qe8+! was the appropriate finish.