Winner's POV Chapter 17: Altona 1872
In Winner's POV, we take a look at tournaments from the 19th century and see the games that allowed the top player to prevail. Some tournaments will be known and famous, others will be more obscure - in a time period where competition is scarce, I believe there is some value in digging for hidden gems in the form of smaller, less known events.
Chapter 17: Altona 1872
Including this event in the series allows me to do a few things: I can pad out the year 1872 with a few more games, talk more about one of my favourite historical players, and provide a little more context for a person for whom I've thus far under-delivered. Like London 1872, this event isn't extremely relevant in itself, but the utility it provides needs to be mentioned.
With regards to Anderssen, it will sometimes be mentioned that he was the most successful tournament player of his era. While that's likely true if you go by the number of tournament wins, it's important to note that most of the tournaments were small, like this one. Anderssen's only major tournament victories were at London 1851 (see here), London 1862 (see here), and Baden Baden 1870 (see here). Three tournament wins still makes him the most frequent subject of this series, however the vast majority of his tournament successes came from German Chess Federation tournaments with at most six players.
As far as I know, the list of Anderssen's other tournament victories is: London 1851 (sponsored by the London Chess Club, you can get more info here), Hamburg 1869 (6 players), Barmen 1869 (6 players), Leipzig 1871 (6 players), Altona 1872 (5 players), Leipzig 1876 (6 players), as well as equal first places (with lost tiebreaks) at Aachen 1868 (5 players) and Krefeld 1871 (6 players). All of the German Chess Federation tournaments had at least one other world-class player like Louis Paulsen, Johannes Zukertort, Gustav Neumann etc. so they were hardly free wins. However, as you'll see, the drama is otherwise minimal.
Format and Prizes
In truth, I have absolutely no idea about the prize fund, the time control, the logistics etc. of this tournament, as the only sources I could find were German magazines (and I don't speak/read German well enough to want to sift through them). For this, let's just keep things simple and enjoy the chess.
Players
Adolf Anderssen
Carl Göring
Gustav Neumann
Karl Pitschel
Emil Schallopp
The 1871 Edo lists put the top of the field as Anderssen (2nd, behind Wilhelm Steinitz) and Neumann (3rd), with Göring, Schallopp and Pitschel ranking at 50th, 55th and 104th respectively. Essentially, the same pattern we've often seen in these national (or early international) tournaments.
The Winner: Adolf Anderssen
While this isn't the last time Anderssen will be featured in this series, this is the last time he'll be the focus, as his only future tournament win (Leipzig 1876) won't be included in this series. So, let's spend one more time with the German legend as we look at the Altona 1872 tournament from the Winner's POV.
Round 1: vs. Emil Schallopp
I have at least managed to confirm the dates of games, so round numbers are permissible.
Schallopp was a strong chess player, but he was better known as an author. He would end up writing a book on the 1886 World Championship match, as well as most of the important German tournaments of the early 1880s. I don't know exactly how much of his writing I'll be able to read, but when we get there, I'll do my best.
Schallopp opened with the Bishop's Opening, adding an early f4 thrust that Anderssen refused to entertain. His play was fundamentally better, with his pawns occupying the center quite nicely, and his Queenside play applying pressure as Schallopp looked for a plan. Before Schallopp could get his Kingside pawn storm rolling, Anderssen found a nice tactic that blew the center wide open, gaining Schallopp's Queen and winning a nice miniature.
Round 2: vs. Karl Pitschel
Pitschel was an Austrian player, and beyond that, I know almost nothing. He had started competing in these German tournaments in 1871, getting 4th place in each with a score of 2/5. He had started with a loss against Göring, and I can only imagine that having to face Anderssen in the very next round would do little for his confidence.
Anderssen played a somewhat rare exchange on f6 early in the French, and after allowing Pitschel to trade more minor pieces on d3, engaged in a Knights vs. Bishops middlegame. While he didn't play it with the sound fundamentals we know of today, his Rooks were excellent as always, and he played actively enough that it didn't matter too much. When Pitschel made a retreating move after Anderssen's 22. f5, another stellar tactical flurry ensued, netting Anderssen his second Queen in as many games.
Round 3: bye
Anderssen got to sit this round out, and probably got to watch his competitors play. The game between Göring and Neumann, the two that Anderssen had yet to play, was doubtlessly the more interesting. Here it is:
Round 4: vs. Carl Göring
This is indeed the same Göring after which the Göring Gambit is named; while he wasn't the first player to ever play it in a serious event, he was the first to play it at top level tournaments with some consistency. He also has a line of the Evans Gambit named after him, though I've been unable to find the game scores where he played them. Such is the plight of the amateur historian.
Anderssen wasn't willing to risk having to defend against a double pawn sacrifice, and so he gave back one of the gambit pawns on move 5. That didn't provide as much safety as he'd have liked, as his Queen was kicked around while Göring expanded. Göring's play wasn't perfect, either, as his next pawn sacrifice on e5 provided little compensation once Anderssen castled Queenside.
It was Göring who made the final mistake, capturing a pawn on d6 that opened his uncoordinated pieces up to attack. Anderssen won his opponent's Rook, and after dodging the remaining checks, quickly converted the game into a win. As expected, minimal speed bumps on the way to the final game.
Round 5: vs. Gustav Neumann
Unfortunately, this is the last time we'll be seeing Neumann in this series. He suffered from some form of nervous condition, which came to a head in 1872 and ended his career with this tournament. He would spend the last few years of his life in a sanatorium, which isn't the most glorious end, but is apparently in line with some of the departures of the previous chapter (that wasn't the theme I was initially going for, but I suppose this stuff happens sometimes).
Needing only a draw to secure the tournament, Anderssen employed his usual 5. d3 in the Ruy Lopez. While we've seen him play some excellent games with it already, something seemed to go wrong this time around. His initial Kingside pawn advances made sense, but when Neumann was allowed to press his own pawns and lock up the Kingside, Anderssen was forced to defend.
While his tactical defensive technique was among the world's best, Anderssen seemed to have trouble setting up a solid defensive formation as Neumann gradually advanced on the Queenside. After Anderssen incorrectly captured an inactive Bishop on d7, the attack sprung to life, and Neumann was borderline winning.
However, for the second time in this tournament, Neumann failed to find the correct way forward. While his choice to trade down into the endgame wasn't necessarily wrong, it gave Anderssen another chance at a defensive effort. Anderssen took that chance, and once Neumann snapped up a pawn, Anderssen found a straightforward Knight sacrifice that forced equalizing liquification. A close save for Anderssen, who barely survived to clinch the tournament.
Conclusion
As the crosstable and the games show, there was very little drama outside of the top two. Göring's draw in his own gambit was certainly impressive, but obviously, the star of the show was the final game. At last, a climatic last game, and a fitting one to end Anderssen's time in the spotlight in this series. It was my interest in the London 1851 tournament that initially inspired me to make this series, and so I cannot understate the admiration I have for Anderssen. Hopefully you've enjoyed reading about this tournament, as well as his past wins, and will continue to join me in enjoying all of his future appearances.
Chapter 15 (contains links to chapters 11-14)
Chapter 10 (contains links to chapters 6-9)
Chapter 5 (contains links to chapters 1-4)
