Evergreen Game

The Evergreen Game is Adolf Anderssen's game against Jean Dufresne, whose earliest known publication appeared in 1852. Many books place it in Berlin, although the earliest known sources did not give a venue and the historical evidence does not establish the location beyond doubt.

The attack began with the Evans Gambit: Anderssen gave up pawns to gain activity and open the game. Dufresne did more than defend a king that remained uncastled. He activated his rooks and created threats against White's king. This is the tension that distinguishes the game from a straightforward attacking display: the open lines could serve both sides.

19.Rad1 brings that risk into focus. Anderssen brought his last rook into the attack without moving the knight threatened by the opposing queen. When Dufresne captured it, White replied with a chain of checks that included sacrificing a rook and the queen. The double check forced Black's king to keep moving, without allowing its other pieces to interrupt the pursuit. Black's counterattack was real, but the chosen continuation left no time to carry it out before mate.

A move admired and debated

The name also belongs to the history of the game's commentary. In his posthumous tribute to Anderssen, published in The Field on 29 March 1879, Wilhelm Steinitz used the word “evergreen” in his note to 19.Rad1 itself. He admired an idea that, in his view, would have stood out even in a composed problem, yet had arisen in actual play. This is a specific record of his praise, not proof that the nickname was first coined on that occasion.

In a signed revision published in 2003, Garry Kasparov examined adequate defences for Black and judged 19.Be4 somewhat stronger than 19.Rad1. Yet he still valued the victory achieved with the rook move. That contrast sharpens the Evergreen Game's appeal: its finish is memorable, but it does not establish that the entire attack was inevitable.