Editing Immortal Game (section)

== Overview ==
[[File:Immortal game.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Immortal Game [[checkmate]]]]
Anderssen was one of the strongest players of his time, and many consider him to have been the world's strongest player after his victory in the [[London 1851 chess tournament]]. Kieseritzky lived in France much of his life, where he gave chess lessons and played games for five [[franc]]s an hour at the [[Café de la Régence]] in Paris. His strength was shown most favourably when giving substantial [[Handicap (chess)|odds]] to weak players; against masters, he was less convincing.

The Immortal Game was an informal one, played during a break in a formal tournament in London; the exact venue is uncertain.<ref name="winter">{{cite web |last1=Winter |first1=Edward |title=The Immortal Game (Anderssen v Kieseritzky) |url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/immortal.html |website=www.chesshistory.com |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref> Kieseritzky was very impressed with Anderssen's performance; after the game was over, Kieseritzky [[Telegraphy|telegraphed]] the moves of the game to his Parisian [[chess club]]. The French chess magazine {{Lang|fr|La Régence}} published the game in July 1851. The Austrian [[Ernst Falkbeer]] nicknamed it "The Immortal Game" in 1855.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Game of Chess | author=Sfetcu, Nicolae | year=2014 | pages=47}}</ref>

This game is acclaimed as an exemplar of the 19th-century [[romantic chess|Romantic style]] of chess, where rapid {{chessgloss|development}} and attack were considered the most effective way to win, many [[gambit]]s and countergambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and {{chessgloss|material}} was often held in contempt. These games, with their rapid attacks and counterattacks, are often entertaining to review, even if some of the moves are no longer considered optimal.

In this game, Anderssen won despite sacrificing a [[Bishop (chess)|bishop]] (on move 11), both rooks (starting on move 18), and the queen (on move 22) to produce [[checkmate]] against Kieseritzky, who lost only three pawns. Anderssen later demonstrated the same kind of approach in the [[Evergreen Game]].

Some published versions of the game have errors, as described in the annotations below.