Karl Mayet vs Adolf Anderssen - Berlin (1851)

Becoming a winning chess player requires the application of genius combination. Adolf Anderssen was the master of combination. Many would say that seeing combinations is a gift and cannot be learnt. Reti, however, believes that through continued study of winning combinations, we can learn to see them more readily. It is for this reason that the student of chess will do very well to study Anderssen’s remarkable combinations at great length.

In order to receive the maximum benefit from the study of the following combination, make sure you make a serious attempt at solving the puzzle before reviewing the clues. And of course, then ensure you continue to make your best attempts before reviewing each successive clue.

PUZZLE: How does Black deliver mate in 5 moves?

Clue 1

If one piece were removed then multiple of Black’s pieces could be brought into play. Which piece is this and how can you remove it?

Clue 2

We will follow the principle, as always, of working backwards from the end of the sequence. In the last move, Anderssen will move a piece next to g1 and deliver mate. However, the King is defending this square. How can this problem be overcome.

Clue 3

Following on from clue one, in case you have not found the correct answer, it should be mentioned that there are 2 ways of overcoming this problem. Make sure you have considered both.

Clue 4

Since we have already assigned a task to Black’s Kingside Rook, then it is fairly obvious that Black will use his Queen and Bishop in order to quickly deliver mate. However, currently, White's Rook and Pawn on f1 and f2 are blocking Black’s line of attack. How will Black create a clean line of attack?

Answers for Clues

Clue 1 Answer

The answer is fairly obvious. If the d4 pawn is removed, then the Bishop has a line of attack to the King, and in one move the Queen can be placed into a more direct attack of the King. 2 pieces could take the d4 pawn. Obviously the Bishop is the choice of preference, since if the Queen were to take it, she could then be taken by the c3 pawn. This is an example of the tactic LINE OPENING: in this instance, the Knight on e4 is sacrificed for the sake of removing the d4 pawn. In his purportedly excellent book on Anderssen, Gottschall points out that White could have averted the ensuing catastrophe by:

11.cxd4 Qxd4

12. Qd7+ Qxd7

13. Nxd7

However, White would have had to predict Anderssen’s forthcoming combination in order to consider this defence necessary. In the event, understandably, Mayet chooses to take Black’s e4 Knight, rather than immediately sacrificing a Pawn.

11. Bxd4 Qxg4

White can now deliver mate in 4 moves.

Clue 2 Answer

Read clue 3 now.

Clue 3 Answer

The standard way of stopping the King from defending an adjacent square, is to ensure another of your pieces is attacking that square. However, there is another way to remove the King’s defence of that square: DEFLECTION. If you can lure the King away from his current position, he is no longer protecting the adjacent square. How can the King be lured away from the g1 square? Don’t look at the answer yet: see if you can figure it out.

Answer: Rh1. The King will probably not be able to resist the opportunity to remove Black's dangerous Rook from play. But it turns out that abandoning his defence of the adjacent square will be fatal.

Clue 4 Answer

One of the pieces on f1 and f2 must be taken in order to clear a line of attack. In order to allow his Queen to attack, it is clear that Black must move his Bishop from the d file, since it is currently blocking his Queen from moving into play. By taking the f2 Pawn, Black’s Bishop both moves off of the d file (enabling the Queen to move into play) and removes one of the 2 pieces blocking the line of attack to White’s King.

Interference: But in moving his Bishop to f2, Black has employed the tactic Interference. Black has placed White’s King into Check, and the only way in which white can parry check, is by taking Black's Bishop with his f1 Rook. Now that White’s Rook has moved to f2, he has also cleared the 1st rank and therefore, created a possible line of attack.

Either the Rook or the Queen can now be used to deliver the next check. This is an example of what I call CHECK CHASING, since the King is being placed into check on every move, and this is preventing him from moving any other pieces other than those needed to parry check. His development is curtailed.

13...Qd1+

14.Rf1

White has to parry check and moving his Rook to f1 is the only way. But how will Black’s Queen now deliver mate, since White’s rook and blocking her attack, and White’s King is defending his Rook. Well we have already dealt with this problem in Clue 3: Black can employ the tactic DEFLECTION.

14...Rh1+

15. Kxh1

White has no option here since Black’s Pawn is covering both f2 & h2, White’s King’s 2 lines of escape.

15...Qxf1#

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Don’t Overlook Simpler Methods

Reti points out that sometimes, Anderssen was so keen to employ a dazzling combination, that he neglected to notice more straight forward options. We must also not fall into the trap of omitting the simple where it can be better applied. In this instance, Reti points out that Anderssen could have forced Mayet to resign in the following manner:

11...gxf2+

12. Rxf2 Rh1+

13. Kxh1 Nxf2+

All White’s moves have been forced: he has no other options (due to CHECK CHASING). The sequence has ended with a FORK: White must move his King in order to parry check, after which Black has won White’s Queen. Of course this option (11...gxf2) is preferable to the combination that Anderssen actually employed, since in this scenario, all of White’s moves are forced (he has no other options). However, with Anderssen’s combination, as has been pointed out by Gottschall, White could have defended himself.