Adolf Anderssen

Who was Adolf Anderssen?

Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s. He was "dethroned" temporarily in 1858 by Paul Morphy.

After his defeat by Steinitz in 1866, Anderssen became the most successful tournament player in Europe, winning over half the events he entered—including the Baden-Baden 1870 chess tournament, considered comparable in the strength of its contestants to recent "super GM tournaments". He achieved most of these successes when he was over the age of 50.

Anderssen is famous even today for his brilliant sacrificial attacking play, particularly in the "Immortal Game" and the "Evergreen Game". He was a very important figure in the development of chess problems, driving forward the transition from the "Old School" of problem composition to the elegance and complexity of modern compositions.

He was also one of the most likeable of chess masters and became an "elder statesman" of the game, to whom others turned for advice or arbitration.