The Evergreen Game

The game, move by move

Evans Gambit

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 Symmetry
3. 2. Nf3 Out, hitting e5
4. 2… Nc6 Out, defending it
5. 3. Bc4 The bishop takes aim at f7
6. 3… Bc5 And the other one at f2
7. 4. b4 The Evans Gambit A pawn offered on the wing to buy c3 and d4 — one of the great nineteenth-century attacking ideas, and Anderssen’s favourite.
8. 4… Bxb4 Accepted
9. 5. c3 Asking the bishop to move The point of the gambit: the pawn is gone and White gets to build the centre with tempo.
10. 5… Ba5 The awkward retreat a5 keeps the bishop on the board and out of play at the same time.
11. 6. d4 The centre, paid for
12. 6… exd4 Taken

A pawn on d3, ignored

1. 7. O-O Castling first White declines to recapture on d4 and gets the king safe instead. There will be no time for it later.
2. 7… d3 A pawn to d3 Black pushes the extra pawn on rather than giving it back, and it sits in White’s position for eighteen moves doing very little.
3. 8. Qb3 The queen onto the diagonal b3 points at f7 through the bishop. Both white pieces on that diagonal now.
4. 8… Qf6 A defender, and a threat
5. 9. e5 Hitting the queen The pawn gains a move and takes f6 away from the knight at the same time.
6. 9… Qg6 Sideways
7. 10. Re1 The rook joins in Onto the open file the pawns left behind, which is where a rook belongs and where this one will be given away.
8. 10… Nge7 The other knight, at last Black has spent eight of nineteen half-moves on a bishop and a queen.
9. 11. Ba3 The long diagonal The bishop comes out to a3, where it will be pointing at e7 when it matters — twenty-six moves from now.
10. 11… b5 A pawn for a tempo
11. 12. Qxb5 Taken, with the queen
12. 12… Rb8 The rook attacks her

The queen wanders

1. 13. Qa4 Out of the way, and useful a4 keeps the queen looking at d7 and e8 — two squares this game ends on.
2. 13… Bb6 The bishop, finally somewhere
3. 14. Nbd2 The last piece out
4. 14… Bb7 Both bishops on long diagonals
5. 15. Ne4 A knight to the middle e4 attacks nothing and threatens everything: from here it goes to f6 or d6 or g5, and Black has to watch all three.
6. 15… Qf5 The queen holds the knight
7. 16. Bxd3 Taking the pawn back Nineteen moves after Black pushed it, the d3 pawn is collected and the bishop lands on the diagonal pointing at h7.
8. 16… Qh5 Chased again

Rook, queen, knight

1. 17. Nf6+ The knight goes anyway Into the teeth of it. Taking the knight opens the g-file, and not taking loses the queen — Black takes.
2. 17… gxf6 Forced
3. 18. exf6 A pawn on f6 It cannot be taken and it is one square from the black king’s last shelter. The pawn does more work than either rook.
4. 18… Rg8 The rook comes to the open file
5. 19. Rad1 The quiet move The most famous move of the game: White brings the last piece to the last open file, threatens nothing at all, and after it everything is forced. The knight on f3 is left hanging.
6. 19… Qxf3 Taking the knight Black takes with check and a threat of mate on g2. It is one move too slow.
7. 20. Rxe7+ A rook, with check The first of three pieces White gives away in three moves, and none of them can be declined.
8. 20… Nxe7 Forced
9. 21. Qxd7+ The queen, given away On a square defended twice, which is the point: the king has to take her, and taking puts him on d7 where the bishops are waiting.
10. 21… Kxd7 The king takes

Two bishops finish it

1. 22. Bf5+ The other bishop, check
2. 22… Ke8 Back to e8
3. 23. Bd7+ And the bishop follows The same bishop, checking again on the square the queen died on. Black has one square left.
4. 23… Kf8 The last square
5. 24. Bxe7# Checkmate The bishop that went to a3 on move eleven takes on e7, and the two bishops between them cover everything. White finishes a rook and a queen down.