History · 2026-10-19 · 2 min read

The Immortal Game: winning after giving away the queen and both rooks

In 1851, Adolf Anderssen gave up almost everything and still checkmated his opponent.

In London in 1851, during the world’s first international chess tournament, two players sat down for a friendly game: Adolf Anderssen of Germany, with White, and Lionel Kieseritzky of France.

Anderssen attacked at once, sacrificing a pawn, then a bishop. Then he did something that looks crazy: he gave up both rooks, and then even his queen. By the end he had lost a bishop, two rooks and the queen.

[board:r1bk3r/p2pBpNp/n4n2/1p1NP2P/6P1/3P4/P1P1K3/q5b1 b - - 1 23|The final position: White has given up a queen and two rooks, and Black is checkmated]

But Kieseritzky’s king had nowhere to hide. Anderssen finished with a checkmate in which just a bishop and two knights did the work. The game is still called the Immortal Game.

What can we learn?

• Pieces are tools, not treasures. If giving material wins the king, it is a good trade.
• Before you sacrifice, count: how many moves until checkmate, and can the opponent escape?
• Develop your pieces fast and attack the king: the attack in this game came from quick development.

You can find the game in our database of 5.4 million games and step through it with the engine.