MARK RUBERY CHESS

Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky (1806-1853) was supposed to follow his father’s footsteps and become an advocate but instead he became a teacher of mathematics before his passion for the game consumed him. This saw him move from his native Livonia to take up virtual residence at the world famous Café De La Regence in Paris where he gave lessons and played games for five francs an hour. In 1839 the greatest player in the country, Bourdonnais, was able to give him the odds of a knight although he quickly improved and ultimately recorded his best result when he defeated Horwitz 7.5-4.5 in a match in 1846. He had a thorough knowledge of the opening and made a number of contributions to theory such as the Kieseritzky Gambit in the King’s Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 h4 g4 5 Ne5). He brought out a magazine call La Regence (1849-51) that suffered due to him insisting on using an obscure notation of his own devising. His chess lessons were similarly abstruse as they were given in a fusion of musical and mathematic notation. When he died at the age of 47 none of his peers would contribute to save him from a pauper’s funeral (unlike David Janowski) a rather sad end for this complex man. Years later a memorial was placed near where the grave was thought to be.

Kieseritzsky featured on the wrong side of the ‘Immortal game’, which at the very least will indelibly connect him to chess history.

Anderssen,A - Kieseritzky,L [C33] London, 1851

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 b5 5.Bxb5 Nf6 6.Nf3 Qh6 7.d3 Nh5 8.Nh4 Qg5 9.Nf5 c6 10.g4 Nf6 11.Rg1 cxb5 12.h4 Qg6 13.h5 Qg5 14.Qf3 Ng8 15.Bxf4 Qf6 16.Nc3 Bc5 17.Nd5 Qxb2 18.Bd6! (This attractive move is universally acclaimed although the dispassionate computer prefers 18 Re1!)… Bxg1? (18… Qxa1+ 19 Ke2 Qb2! extracts the romance from this game although a draw should result after 20 Kd1!) 19.e5 Qxa1+ 20.Ke2 Na6 (Allowing a pretty mate but after 20… Ba6 21 Nc7+ Kd8 22 Nxa6! The result is not in doubt) 21.Nxg7+ Kd8 22.Qf6+! Nxf6 23.Be7# 1-0

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. (Winston Churchill)