kids encyclopedia robot

Immortal Game facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Not to be confused with The Immortal (video game).
Immortal Game, 1851
A fun animation of the Immortal Game. Anderssen is playing the white pieces.

The Immortal Game is a very famous chess game. It was played in 1851 by two great players, Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky. They played this game in London, while a big chess tournament was happening. However, the Immortal Game itself was just a friendly match, not part of the tournament.

Anderssen won the game in an amazing way. He let his opponent capture many of his pieces, including two rooks! This is called a sacrifice in chess. Even with fewer pieces, Anderssen managed to set up a powerful attack. He then used his remaining pieces to deliver a checkmate, winning the game.

Kieseritzky, even though he lost, was very impressed. He quickly shared the game with a French chess magazine. Later, in 1855, another player named Ernst Falkbeer called it "The Immortal Game" because it was so brilliant. It's still one of the most famous chess games ever played. Chess books often show it to teach players about exciting attacks and sacrifices.

How the Game Was Played

Immortal game
The checkmate position in the Immortal Game.

Adolf Anderssen was one of the best chess players of his time. Many people thought he was the strongest player in the world after he won the London 1851 tournament. Lionel Kieseritzky lived in France and taught chess. He was very good at playing against weaker players.

This game was informal, meaning it was just for fun during a break in the main tournament. Kieseritzky was so amazed by Anderssen's play that he sent the moves by telegraph to his chess club in Paris! A French chess magazine published the game in July 1851.

The Immortal Game is a great example of the "romantic" style of chess from the 1800s. In this style, players loved to attack quickly and make bold sacrifices. They didn't worry too much about losing pieces if it led to a strong attack. These games are often very exciting to watch, even if some moves aren't perfect by today's standards.

In this game, Anderssen won even after giving up a bishop, both of his rooks, and his queen! Kieseritzky only lost three pawns. Anderssen showed a similar attacking style in another famous game called the Evergreen Game.

How the Game Was Shared

The Immortal Game, written by Lionel Kieseritzsky in La Régence, 1851
This is how the game was recorded by Lionel Kieseritzky.

After the game, Kieseritzky sent the moves to La Régence, a French chess magazine he helped to edit. The magazine published the game in 1851. They used an older, less common way of writing down chess moves.

The game has been printed many times since then. Sometimes, different versions have slight changes in the order of moves.

The Immortal Game: Move by Move

Here's how the famous Immortal Game unfolded:

White: Adolf Anderssen   Black: Lionel Kieseritzky   Opening: King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Bryan Countergambit (ECO C33)

1. e4 e5 2. f4

This is the King's Gambit. White offers a pawn to quickly bring out their pieces. This was a very popular way to start games in the 1800s.

2... exf4 3. Bc4

This move brings out White's bishop. Black can check the king here, but White plans to attack Black's queen later.

3... Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5?! (diagram)

This is a risky move by Black called the Bryan Countergambit. Most players today don't think it's the best move.
a b c d e f g h
8
Chessboard480.svg
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
b5 black pawn
c4 white bishop
e4 white pawn
f4 black pawn
h4 black queen
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
f1 white king
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Position after 4...b5

5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3

White develops a knight. This move also attacks Black's queen, forcing it to move.

6... Qh6 7. d3

White strengthens the middle of the board, called the centre.

7... Nh5

Black moves a knight to the edge of the board. Knights are usually weaker on the edge.

8. Nh4 Qg5

Black's queen moves again.

9. Nf5 c6

Black attacks White's bishop.
a b c d e f g h
8
Chessboard480.svg
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black pawn
f6 black knight
b5 white bishop
f5 white knight
g5 black queen
e4 white pawn
f4 black pawn
g4 white pawn
d3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
f1 white king
g1 white rook
 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Position after 11.Rg1

10. g4? Nf6 11. Rg1! (diagram)

White offers to sacrifice a piece here. If Black takes it, their queen will be trapped.

11... cxb5?

This was a big mistake by Black. Black gains a piece, but White gets a huge advantage in developing their pieces for an attack.

12. h4!

White's pawn attacks Black's queen, which is protected by White's knight.

12... Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3

White now has two threats:
  • White's bishop can capture Black's pawn at f4, trapping Black's queen.
  • White's pawn can move to e5, attacking Black's knight and opening a path for White's queen to attack Black's rook.

14... Ng8

Black moves the knight back, but this makes Black's position even worse. White now controls most of the board.

15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5

Black develops a bishop, which also attacks White's rook.

17. Nd5

White responds with a counterattack! This move threatens Black's queen and also a fork on Black's king and rook.
a b c d e f g h
8
Chessboard480.svg
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
e8 black king
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
b5 black pawn
c5 black bishop
d5 white knight
f5 white knight
h5 white pawn
e4 white pawn
f4 white bishop
g4 white pawn
d3 white pawn
f3 white queen
a2 white pawn
b2 black queen
c2 white pawn
a1 white rook
f1 white king
g1 white rook
 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Position after 17...Qxb2

17... Qxb2 (diagram)

Black captures a pawn and threatens White's rook.

18. Bd6!

This is an amazing move! White offers to sacrifice both of their rooks. This move helps White's attack by moving Black's queen away from a key diagonal.

18... Bxg1?

Black captures a rook. This move is still winning for White, but it makes the game very complicated.

19. e5!

White sacrifices another rook! More importantly, this move blocks Black's queen from helping to defend the king. White now threatens checkmate in two moves.

19... Qxa1+ 20. Ke2

At this point, Black's attack has stopped. Black has many pieces, but they can't attack White's king right away. White, however, is ready to deliver checkmate. Some sources say Kieseritzky gave up here. Others say the final moves were played out.

20... Na6

Black tries to defend by moving the knight to cover a key square.
a b c d e f g h
8
Chessboard480.svg
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black king
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 white knight
h7 black pawn
a6 black knight
d6 white bishop
f6 white queen
b5 black pawn
d5 white knight
e5 white pawn
h5 white pawn
e4 white pawn
g4 white pawn
d3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
e2 white king
a1 black queen
g1 black bishop
 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Position after 22.Qf6+

21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+! (diagram)

White sacrifices the queen! This forces Black to capture the queen, which opens up the path for checkmate.

22... Nxf6 23. Be7# 1–0

At the end, Black has many more pieces than White (a queen, two rooks, and a bishop). But these pieces don't help Black. White used only two knights and a bishop to force checkmate. This is why it's called the Immortal Game!
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook 8
7 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 2
1 {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Final position after 23.Be7# (a pure mate)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Inmortal (partida de ajedrez) para niños

  • Evergreen Game – another famous game won by Anderssen
  • Kasparov's Immortal
  • List of chess games
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Immortal Game Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.