The Anderssen - Suhle 'Match'. July 1864.

The above photo is  from Barmen 1869, with Anderssen 3rd from left. ( Zuckertort is far right.)

O.K., it has been a a difficult few days, but finally I have time to post something mentioned here:-

https://www.chess.com/blog/simaginfan/a-book-to-look-out-for

I have known about these games for 40 years or so. They are given as a match, complete with progressive score table, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games', on pages 385-386. The source quoted is Neue Berliner Schachzeitung, which was edited by Anderssen and Neumann.

However, when I later managed to get my hands on a copy of 'Adolf Anderssen. Der Altmeister deutscher Schachspielkunst', by Hermann von Gottschall, I found the following, on page 257.

 i.e. The next 8 games, which are referred to as a match, were certainly played seriously, but they do not represent a match.

Hmm!!

O.K, since the question of what constitutes a match is a topic in debate at the moment, I will give my opinion. Other opinions are available!! For me, if two players agree to play a series of games with a definite result in view - either a fixed number of games with the highest scorer to be the winner ( 'best of' x games ) or 'first to' a given number of wins, then I think that constitutes a match, regardless of questions of stakes, contracts, etc. etc. Otherwise it is a series of games, regardless of how seriously the games were played.

Well, the Neue Berliner Schachzeitung for 1864, co-edited by Anderssen, as given above, gives this.

That would clearly state that it was a match, straight from the horses mouth, so to speak!

The idea that the games were not a formal match appears to originate from The Era - a london newspaper, but I have not been able to find an original source for that.

Another London Publication, The Chess Players Magazine, gives this:-

Pages 272-273, and later gives the 'result', as a side note.

Welcome to the joys of researching chess history!!

The match ended 4-4, 3 wins each, and 2 draws. This was certainle a fine result for Berthold Suhle, who Andessen had crushed in 1859. More so because Anderssen, unusually for him, was certainly in good fighting shape - he had been playing regularly with the likes of Zuckertort, Neumann, Knorre, Mieses, etc, as well as his work on the magazine mentioned. Clearly Suhle, previously best known for his blindfold play, was a seriously strong player!! I do not recall seeing a picture of him, and for that and many, many other reasons, I await the publication of the book with eager anticipation!!

The recognised sequence is as given in C.P.M. and I give the games here.