An ignominious king walk ends in a draw!!

A game worth knowing

Typo aside, this game (The Immortal draw) played between Carl Hamppe and Philipp Meitner in Vienna 150 years ago is not as well known as Paul Morphy's fantastic "Opera House Game" but it is an incredible example of the late 19th-century Romantic style. Black drives White's King away from its back rank by sacrificing huge amounts of material but White manages to force a spectacular draw by perpetual check despite a long and ignominious King walk.

The Art of Manliness

It illustrates how chess was played before the game was subjected to Steinitz's foundational review which forever altered the course of its development. Not only did players place a premium on rapid development but attacking was considered both the most effective way to win as well as the most honourable way to play: gambits and countergambits were very common and not accepting them was considered ungentlemanly in "good society".

Before you offer a flippant comment deriding Mr Hamppe's play, implying that you never would have found yourself in such a predicament in the first place, you would do well to remember that even being in the top 100 or 500, for that matter, in a game - or sport - played by millions of people should command a bit more respect.

Whenever scrutinizing play from another era, it is almost always a good idea to remember that a certain ethos and corresponding values often came with the game itself.

Carl Hamppe was no patzer

Far from being a mere coffee-house Patzer, it seems Hamppe twice won the Vienna championship (Wiener Schachgesellschaft) in 1859 and 1860, both times ahead of none other than Wilhelm Steinitz himself, the father of classical or "scientific" chess. Mr Wikipedia also informs us that Mr Hamppe is responsible for contributions to the Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3), and two variations in the Vienna Gambit: Hamppe–Allgaier Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5) and Hamppe–Muzio Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.Bc4 g4 6.0-0 gxf3 7.Qxf3).

19th century aristocratic Germany

So, why such brash and brazen play? This game was played at a time and in a world where duelling scars were considered a "badge of honour" amongst many aristocratic members of academia and the military in late 19th century Germany, notably university cities such as Heidelberg, Bonn, and Jena.

So, one could hardly be expected to act any differently in a mere game of chess. Armed with this bit of historical context, readers may better appreciate how and why material was often held in contempt by serious chess players. What counted was manliness in gambiting and countergambit and gentlemanliness in taking up the gauntlet which resulted in games characterized by rapid attacks and counterattacks.