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Authors: David Shenk
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was, of course, still far too early in the game for any onlooker to detect anything extraordinary. This, so far, was thoroughly typical nineteenth-century chess. Having moved two Pawns and opened up space for the development of his major pieces, Anderssen now began to develop them, first by moving his King’s Bishop out three diagonal squares.
3. Bc4
(White King’s Bishop to c4)
This move strengthened White’s hold on the center of the board and put pressure on Black’s inherently weak f 7 Pawn—weak because the only piece defending it is the King. (Anderssen’s early moves suggested that White might be planning a Kingside *7 attack.)
3….Qh4+
(Black Queen to h4; check to the White King)
Kieseritzky (Black) responded with his own attack, taking advantage of a glaring breach in the defenses of the White King. He swept his Queen all the way out to the edge of the board and put White in check.
This wasn’t checkmate, or anything close. The utility of this particular early check is that it forces White to move his King, thereby eliminating his ability to castle. *8 White’s King was now permanently relegated to the center, easier prey for a later attack.
Anderssen, the underdog, had now lost a Pawn
and
the ability to castle. Had he already stumbled?
On the other hand, with his aggressive Queen move, Kieseritzky had also opened up an important vulnerability of his own by exposing his Queen to attack, which could soon force him to use valuable moves to retreat or reposition her. In chess, getting caught in a retreat can be a very dangerous thing. It risks turning over all momentum and control to one’s opponent. The best-laid plans, along with assorted hopes and curiosities, can quickly disappear into a how-did-I-get-here? cloud of disconnected Pawns, pinned Knights, and a helpless, unprotected King.
Both players had already begun offensive maneuvers and also taken some calculated risks. It would take many more moves to see who had made the better gamble.
I N THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH centuries, a cluster of charismatic and powerful queens emerged in Europe: Catherine of Aragon, Isabella of Castile, Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Médicis of France, Queen Jeanne d’Albret of Navarre, and Mary, Queen of Scots.
By no coincidence, chess players all across the Continent discovered during the very same period that their game had been transformed. Gone were the regional assizes with assorted rules and pieces of varying strengths; gone was the corruption of dice; gone was the agonizing sluggishness. Now there was a new, faster, more universal game, with three significant rule changes:
• Each Pawn could now move either one or two squares in its first move. *9
• Bishops could now move any number of unobstructed squares diagonally.
• An exceptionally powerful Queen was now endowed with the combined powers of the Rooks and the newly strengthened Bishops, able to move any number of unobstructed squares in any direction: diagonally, vertically, or horizontally.
If Otto I’s Queen Adelaide had likely been the original inspiration for changing the piece from Minister to Queen in the tenth century, the substantial boost in the Queen’s power appears to have been inspired by Isabella, who for decades in the latter half of the fifteenth century reigned over the Castile and León regions of Spain in an extraordinary cosovereignty arrangement with her husband, King Ferdinand. Both rulers were avid chess players. One legend has it that Ferdinand was himself right in the middle of a chess game when Christopher Columbus approached the court with his plan to sail west in search of the Indies; at that moment, victory came to Ferdinand on the chess-board, putting him in such a good mood that he quickly approved Columbus’s request.
Isabella was the personification of new female power, equally admired and feared. She helped unite Spain, reorganized the kingdom’s
3. Bc4
(White King’s Bishop to c4)
This move strengthened White’s hold on the center of the board and put pressure on Black’s inherently weak f 7 Pawn—weak because the only piece defending it is the King. (Anderssen’s early moves suggested that White might be planning a Kingside *7 attack.)
3….Qh4+
(Black Queen to h4; check to the White King)
Kieseritzky (Black) responded with his own attack, taking advantage of a glaring breach in the defenses of the White King. He swept his Queen all the way out to the edge of the board and put White in check.
This wasn’t checkmate, or anything close. The utility of this particular early check is that it forces White to move his King, thereby eliminating his ability to castle. *8 White’s King was now permanently relegated to the center, easier prey for a later attack.
Anderssen, the underdog, had now lost a Pawn
and
the ability to castle. Had he already stumbled?
On the other hand, with his aggressive Queen move, Kieseritzky had also opened up an important vulnerability of his own by exposing his Queen to attack, which could soon force him to use valuable moves to retreat or reposition her. In chess, getting caught in a retreat can be a very dangerous thing. It risks turning over all momentum and control to one’s opponent. The best-laid plans, along with assorted hopes and curiosities, can quickly disappear into a how-did-I-get-here? cloud of disconnected Pawns, pinned Knights, and a helpless, unprotected King.
Both players had already begun offensive maneuvers and also taken some calculated risks. It would take many more moves to see who had made the better gamble.
I N THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH centuries, a cluster of charismatic and powerful queens emerged in Europe: Catherine of Aragon, Isabella of Castile, Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Médicis of France, Queen Jeanne d’Albret of Navarre, and Mary, Queen of Scots.
By no coincidence, chess players all across the Continent discovered during the very same period that their game had been transformed. Gone were the regional assizes with assorted rules and pieces of varying strengths; gone was the corruption of dice; gone was the agonizing sluggishness. Now there was a new, faster, more universal game, with three significant rule changes:
• Each Pawn could now move either one or two squares in its first move. *9
• Bishops could now move any number of unobstructed squares diagonally.
• An exceptionally powerful Queen was now endowed with the combined powers of the Rooks and the newly strengthened Bishops, able to move any number of unobstructed squares in any direction: diagonally, vertically, or horizontally.
If Otto I’s Queen Adelaide had likely been the original inspiration for changing the piece from Minister to Queen in the tenth century, the substantial boost in the Queen’s power appears to have been inspired by Isabella, who for decades in the latter half of the fifteenth century reigned over the Castile and León regions of Spain in an extraordinary cosovereignty arrangement with her husband, King Ferdinand. Both rulers were avid chess players. One legend has it that Ferdinand was himself right in the middle of a chess game when Christopher Columbus approached the court with his plan to sail west in search of the Indies; at that moment, victory came to Ferdinand on the chess-board, putting him in such a good mood that he quickly approved Columbus’s request.
Isabella was the personification of new female power, equally admired and feared. She helped unite Spain, reorganized the kingdom’s
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