Aug-04-08 tjshann: Never heard of the custom of "play to mate". Looking at a lot of Anderssen's other games, it hardly ever happened. The loser generally resigned when the end was imminent.
chrisowen: No tricks it pays off, Mr Anderssen keeps the house in water tight order. Good cleanliness is next to godliness.
Once: <tjshann> Of the 10 notable games for Anderssen on the CG database, 6 ended in checkmate. By comparison, modern masters hardly ever get mated. Does that mean that such a large proportion of Anderssen's opponents didn't spot a mate in one?
1. the losing player saw what was coming and allowed it to be played. Etiquette was rather different in those days.
2. the winner announced a mate in X moves, but this was written up as if those moves had been played. For example, Kasparov's "My Great Predecessors" has Anderssen's immortal game (against Kieseritsky, London 1851) ending on 20. Ke2 saying "Here black resigned", when most other sources end the game at checkmate on move 23.
Many of these old games were informal "parties" in very relaxed circumstances and with no clocks. So we don't really know what actually happened. But I cannot believe that a player of Anderssen's ability would allow a mate in one.
Incidentally, Fischer's game of the century against Byrne also ends in a checkmate. Did Byrne really not see that it was coming or did he allow the young kid a spot of glory?
Aug-04-08 ChessWhiz2: Andersson Is too good to lose so easily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aug-04-08 mikejaqua: I was a little slow on this one. It took me almost 2 whole seconds.
Aug-04-08 zb2cr: Quick and simple, a mate in 2, beginning with a Queen sacrifice.
I believe that Anderssen had one of those unfortunate episodes of chess blindness where you realize you have made a blunder ... just after you take your hand off the piece and it's too late. They happen to me a lot. Perhaps Anderssen's age (he was 60) and the illness in the quote by <Ridos> caused him to have one of those. This view is supported by the fact that he played rather better in later rounds of the same tournament according to the <chessgames.com> database.
Aug-04-08 Octal: <Once>: As I understand it, Bryne saw the mate, and then thought "Well this kid had played a great game, I should just let him mate me."
Aug-04-08 MiCrooks: It was considered common courtesy to allow the combination its fruition. Today people just resign as soon as they see it.
To put it in perspective, I attended the World Championship tournament in Mexico City last year the day that Anand and Kramnik first played. In that game, in which Anand's speculative sack backfires they played a long pawn down endgame. That game ended in a stalemate.
Now both players saw it coming for at least the last three or four moves, but instead of just shaking hands they played it out over the board, and then both grinned, shook hands and it was over. It was a nice finish for the audience and it only took them a few extra seconds at the board to play it out.
I think it is a nice tradition that should come back :)! Not playing on for 15 moves a queen down, but allowing your opponent to play out a couple of moves capping of a nice mating combination is just good sportsmanship.
Aug-04-08 ChessPraxis: Paulsen played very interesting openings for the time. I don't think he is given enough credit as an innovator.
Aug-04-08 RoyalFlush: Anderssen found himself at the wrong end of a combination.
After I solved the puzzle I thought it was Anderssen who played as white, since it's his type of a game.
Aug-04-08 MiCrooks: What's harder to believe is that Andersen played Rf8??? walking into the mate! Looks like he wanted to go out with a bang rather than a whimper!
His position that was just fine by move 17 (the post about accumulated small advantages is just not right Black is fully equal here) but then he proceeds to ruin it by move 20 where the retreat Bf8? is the beginning of the end.
By the end, it looks like h6 MIGHT give him some hope (more than walking into mate in 2!) but after gxh5 hxg5 hxg6 it is amazing how bad Black's position really is. Although just a single pawn down and with no forced mate in site, he is totally lost.
Rf8 is still out due to the forced mate. So what can Black do?
Black is so crushed at this point that the computer evaluates the position as almost a Queen down!
kevin86: It's hard to believe that the greatAnderssen could have played such a dog on his 28th try. He authored the Evergreen Game-could this be called the "Tundra Game"?
The puzzle was typical Monday fare-Queen sac and mate in two.
Care to suggest an alternative? Looks like he's pretty much lost to me.
Aug-04-08 Amarande: <MiCrooks> Actually that positional evaluation seems about right.
White's threat is 31 Qf7+, winning a piece (after 31 ... Qxf7 32 gxf7+, Black must answer the check, moving his King away from f8 and then 33 f8Q compels Black to give up a piece).
Black's only move is 30 ... Kh8, allowing him a defensive tempo by depriving White of a check. There then follows 31 Qf7 Qxf7 32 gxf7 Bf8 33 Rf3 g4 34 Rf5 Kh7 35 Rf6.
At this point, Black can do nothing - his Bishop cannot move, his King is chained in iron to h7 and h8. Such attempts as 35 ... Be7 or 35 ... Bg7 come to nothing; White simply queens the Pawn, coming up a piece ahead with an elementary win; nor does ... b5 and ... bxc4 help as the Black Rook is chained to the eighth rank.
White continues simply by advancing his King to support g6 (confiscating Black's g4 pawn along the way), followed by Rg6-g8, and wins all, and there is no defense.
It was clearly time to resign, and Anderssen did so in style.
DavidD: It is amazing how often the premise "My protected piece of lesser value attacks his piece of higher value so he can't capture my piece" turns out to be a fallacy. As usual, always examine ALL checks, captures and threats in a position no matter how terrible the move seems at first.
Aug-04-08 dumbgai: This one was maybe too easy for even a Monday. I don't know about others but even in an OTB game the first move I would examine would probably be 29. Qxf8+. It's just too obvious-looking to ignore, and very simple calculation shows that it forces mate. This would be a good problem to show to beginners of the game, as this checkmate pattern is actually somewhat common.
patzer2: The solution to the Monday, Aug 4, 2008 puzzle was 29. Qxf8+, initiating mate-in-two.
Jan-04-09 roastedrook: a poor game by Anderssen !!!
Jul-31-11 DrMAL: Looks like great chess ran in the Paulsen family. After 20...Bf8? white responds with 21.Raf1! and plays perfectly from there. 28...Rf8 stepped into a mate in 2 but black was totally lost anyway. Happy birthday to the elder Paulsen!
Van't Kruijs Opening: General (A00) 1-0 29.?
Attack build up and... mate!