The other Anderssen masterpiece
Adolf Anderssen is remembered for two games above all. The first, the Immortal Game of 1851, is a wild race of sacrifices. The second, played in Berlin in 1852 against his friend Jean Dufresne, is more controlled and, many players feel, more beautiful. It was later given the name the Evergreen Game, the idea being that it would never fade.
Where the Immortal Game shows how far a lead in development can carry you, the Evergreen shows how to turn that lead into a precise mating combination, with a double check at the heart of it.
The full game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d3 8.Qb3 Qf6 9.e5 Qg6 10.Re1 Nge7 11.Ba3 b5 12.Qxb5 Rb8 13.Qa4 Bb6 14.Nbd2 Bb7 15.Ne4 Qf5 16.Bxd3 Qh5 17.Nf6+ gxf6 18.exf6 Rg8 19.Rad1 Qxf3 20.Rxe7+ Nxe7 21.Qxd7+ Kxd7 22.Bf5+ Ke8 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7# 1-0
The opening: the Evans Gambit
After 3.Bc4 Bc5 (the Italian Game) White played 4.b4, the Evans Gambit. The point is to give a pawn so that 5.c3 and 6.d4 can follow with tempo, building a big centre and opening lines quickly. The gambit was very popular in the nineteenth century, and it is still a dangerous weapon in fast games today.
White: bishop on c4, pawn on e4, pawn on c3, knight on f3, pawn on a2, pawn on f2, pawn on g2, pawn on h2, rook on a1, knight on b1, bishop on c1, queen on d1, rook on f1, king on g1. Black: rook on a8, bishop on c8, queen on d8, king on e8, knight on g8, rook on h8, pawn on a7, pawn on b7, pawn on c7, pawn on d7, pawn on f7, pawn on g7, pawn on h7, knight on c6, bishop on a5, pawn on d4. Black to move.
Black chose 7...d3, returning a pawn to slow down White's development. White's queen comes to b3 with pressure on f7, and 9.e5 drives Black's queen around. Notice that by move ten Black's king is still in the centre, and it will stay there for the whole game.
Moves 10 to 16: building the attack
10.Re1 puts a rook behind the e-pawn, and 11.Ba3 puts a bishop on the a3-f8 diagonal, aiming at the knight on e7 and the f8 square behind it, which makes kingside castling hard for Black to arrange. Black tries to get counterplay on the queenside with 11...b5, but after 12.Qxb5 Rb8 13.Qa4 White's queen returns to an active square and keeps watch on the d7 pawn and the a4-e8 diagonal.
Then White completes development: 14.Nbd2, 15.Ne4 and 16.Bxd3, picking up the pawn. Black's queen moves to h5, and Black is preparing ...Rg8 and play down the g-file against White's king.
17.Nf6+! and the open e-file
17.Nf6+ is the first sacrifice. Black takes with 17...gxf6, and after 18.exf6 the e-file opens towards the black king while a white pawn now sits on f6, close to e7.
White: knight on f6, pawn on e5, queen on a4, bishop on a3, pawn on c3, bishop on d3, knight on f3, pawn on a2, pawn on f2, pawn on g2, pawn on h2, rook on a1, rook on e1, king on g1. Black: rook on b8, king on e8, rook on h8, pawn on a7, bishop on b7, pawn on c7, pawn on d7, knight on e7, pawn on f7, pawn on g7, pawn on h7, bishop on b6, knight on c6, queen on h5. Black to move.
Black answers with 18...Rg8, starting his own attack along the g-file. White plays the calm 19.Rad1, bringing the last piece into play. Black then takes the knight on f3 with 19...Qxf3, threatening mate on g2.
The combination: 20.Rxe7+!
White: pawn on f6, queen on a4, bishop on a3, pawn on c3, bishop on d3, pawn on a2, pawn on f2, pawn on g2, pawn on h2, rook on d1, rook on e1, king on g1. Black: rook on b8, king on e8, rook on g8, pawn on a7, bishop on b7, pawn on c7, pawn on d7, knight on e7, pawn on f7, pawn on h7, bishop on b6, knight on c6, queen on f3. White to move.
White's king is in danger, so every move from here must be a check. Anderssen found a sequence of checks that ends in mate.
- 20.Rxe7+ gives up the rook to pull the c6 knight to e7. After 20...Nxe7 that knight stands on the a3 bishop's diagonal, and the d7 pawn has lost a defender.
- 21.Qxd7+!! The queen sacrifice. 21...Kxd7 is forced.
- 22.Bf5+ is a double check: the bishop on f5 checks along the diagonal and uncovers the rook on d1 along the d-file at the same time. A double check can only be met by moving the king, so 22...Ke8 is forced.
- 23.Bd7+ checks again, and after 23...Kf8 comes
- 24.Bxe7#, with the bishop that had waited on a3 since move eleven delivering mate.
White: bishop on d7, bishop on e7, pawn on f6, pawn on c3, pawn on a2, pawn on f2, pawn on g2, pawn on h2, rook on d1, king on g1. Black: rook on b8, king on f8, rook on g8, pawn on a7, bishop on b7, pawn on c7, pawn on f7, pawn on h7, bishop on b6, queen on f3. Black to move.
In the final position the bishop on e7 checks the king, and the pawn on f6 protects it and covers g7. The bishop on d7 covers e8, while the black rook on g8 and pawn on f7 block the king's own escape. White has given up a knight, a rook and his queen, and mates with two bishops supported by a single pawn.
Was it all correct?
Modern engines show that Black had better defences at a few points, and the defending side did not always find the toughest move. But at the moment of 20.Rxe7+ the combination is strong: engine analysis of the position after 19...Qxf3 gives White a winning advantage, and the game line is the most attractive way to win. What makes the finish so admired is that every white move is forcing. There is no moment where Black's threat of mate on g2 gets a chance to be played.
Lessons for your own games
- When the opponent threatens mate, look at checks first. A forcing sequence can make the threat irrelevant.
- Double check is the strongest check in chess. It cannot be blocked or answered by capture, only by moving the king.
- A king left in the centre is a target. Black never castled. White's bishop on a3 made sure of that from move eleven.
- Open files are highways. The e-file and d-file let White's rooks join the attack exactly when they were needed.
Practise the ideas
Set up the position after 19...Qxf3 on the analysis board and try to find the whole combination before checking. Then run a game of your own through game review to see where you missed forcing moves. The Evans Gambit and other lines of the Italian Game are in the opening trainer, and puzzles will train the habit of checking every check. Short walk-throughs of famous games are in the video section.
Published 2026-11-01 · 22Softwares