Paulsen Life and Games: Hero of Leipzig 1877

Louis Paulsen was one of the world’s strongest players in the 1860s and 1870s, and the winner of Leipzig 1877. Below, I explore his life and games.

Photo: Cleveland Public Library, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Louis Paulsen was born in 1833 in Germany. There were very few opportunities to test and improve his chess strength at tournaments in his younger years, but he managed to improve significantly despite this. He showed his strength at a tournament in New York in 1857, where he finished 2nd behind only the great Morphy. The following year, he scored an impressive +6 -4 =0 at a blindfold simultaneous exhibition in Pittsburgh.

Paulsen continued to work on his chess in the next few years, and travelled to England. There in 1861 he took 1st place at an eight-player knockout tournament in Bristol, ahead of both the German-British master Bernhard Horwitz and the famous Hungarian master Ignatz von Kolisch. That same year, he played a match against Kolisch in London, leading +7 =18 -6 when the match was agreed drawn.

At the famous tournament held in London in 1862, Paulsen finished an impressive 2nd place, after only Anderssen. He finished ahead of the rest of a very strong field, including Blackburne and the future world champion, Steinitz. It became clear that Paulsen had become one of the world’s strongest players, able to compete with the best.

Paulsen drew a match against Anderssen (+3 =2 -3) in London that same year. He also played an interesting match with Steinitz, losing a short match in which Steinitz received odds of a pawn and move. In 1864, Paulsen travelled to Germany to play a match against the German master Neumann, winning +5 =3 -3.

Although strong international tournaments were rare at the time, Paulsen found the opportunity to travel to Baden-Baden in 1870 to compete against many of the world’s best. There he finished 5th in a 10-player field, behind Anderssen, Steinitz, Neumann and Blackburne, but ahead of Winawer. The rare chance to compete at such a strong event was great experience for Paulsen, and very useful for his further chess improvement. The following year, he won a tournament in Krefeld, Germany, ahead of Anderssen. In 1873, Paulsen travelled to Vienna to play a match with Steinitz, winning by three wins to two.

1876 saw Paulsen win a match against Anderssen in Leipzig by 5,5-4,5. Only a year later, he would repeat the same achievement, this time with the score 5,5-3,5. As Anderssen had been one of the world’s strongest players for many years, these results confirmed Paulsen as part of the world elite. This reputation was further solidified by 1st place at a strong tournament in Leipzig 1877, ahead of Anderssen, Zukertort, Winawer and Englisch, amongst others.

Another strong event took place at Frankfurt in 1878, and again Paulsen took clear 1st, ahead of Anderssen. The following year, he finished 2nd at Leipzig, behind Englisch but ahead of his brother, Wilfried Paulsen. The new decade also began well for Paulsen, as he won another tournament, this time in Braunschweig, Germany, in 1880.

In the next few years, Paulsen continued to compete at the top level, although with less success. Now approaching the age of 50, his best years seemed to be behind him. He shared 9th place with Berger at a strong international tournament in Berlin in 1881, behind famous names such as Blackburne, Zukertort, Winawer and Chigorin. The following year, he finished 8th at Vienna, behind Steinitz, Winawer, Zukertort and Blackburne. At Nuremberg 1883, he suffered another disappointment, finishing on a minus score.

Paulsen continued to compete towards the end of the decade, achieving some solid results. At the large international tournament held in Frankfurt in 1887, he scored 11/20 in a strong field which included Mackenzie, Blackburne, von Bardeleben, Tarrasch and Englisch. He shared 4th place in a field of 6 with Max Harmonist at Nuremberg 1888, where the tournament was won by Tarrasch. At Breslau 1889, he achieved an impressive 10/17 against a powerful field which included Tarrasch, Burn, Mieses, Gunsberg, Blackburne, and Mason, sharing 4th place in a field of 18. Unfortunately, his life was cut short when he died of diabetes in 1891.

Today Paulsen is remembered as one of the strongest players of the 1860s and 1870s, and for his contribution to opening theory. Variations in the Sicilian, Scotch and Vienna openings, among others, bear his name, while his games have served as excellent study material for generations of chess players.

Paulsen won an interesting game against the strong English player Cecil de Vere at Baden-Baden 1870.

Paulsen, Louis

De Vere, Cecil Valentine

Baden-Baden3

July 20, 1870 – Baden-Baden

1.e4e62.d4d53.exd5exd54.Nf3Bd65.c4Nf66.Be3O-O7.c5Be78.Nc3White has claimed a queenside space advantage out of the opening, but his king remains in the centre.8…Ne48…b6is also possible, striking at the advanced c5 pawn before white can get castled.9.Be2Ng4!The knight threatens to exchange off the defender of the c5 pawn, the e3 bishop.10.Bf4bxc511.O-OWhite's lead in development gives him full compensation for the pawn. For example, after11…Nf612.dxc5Bxc513.Rc1c614.Na4Bd615.Bxd6Qxd616.Nd4, white is ready to set up a blockade on d4 and c5.9.Qc2Or9.Bd3, developing the final minor piece and getting ready to castle.9…Nxc310.bxc3Re8?This allows white to complete his development without problems.10…b6is necessary, striking at the advanced c5 pawn before it can be consolidated.11.Bd3Or11.cxb6axb6when the a8 rook now has an open file it can use to target the isolated a2 pawn.11…h612.O-Obxc513.dxc5Nd714.c6Nc5Black has activated his pieces and is ready to target the vulnerable c6 pawn.11.Bd3↑g611…h6would be less weakening, but still leave white with a clear advantage, thanks to his extra space and piece activity.12.O-O12.h4!is now possible, ready to latch onto the hook provided by the ...g7-g6 advance.12…Bf612…h5?13.Bxg6!13.h5White will open up the h file with a very strong attack.12…Nd713.Rae1f5?This advance severely weakens the central and kingside dark squares.13…c614.Bf4b6puts up more resistance, consolidating the centre and striking at the advanced c5 pawn, although white remains more active.14.c4!White immediately strikes in the centre, ready to exploit his lead in development.14…c615.cxd5cxd516.Bb5!This makes it more difficult for black to complete development by pinning the knight to the e8 rook, as well as preparing a future c5-c6 advance.16…Rf817.Bh6The f8 rook is quickly running out of squares.17…Rf718.c6White crashes through on the queenside, opening up the board before the black pieces can coordinate.18…Nb619.c7Qd620.Be8Rf621.Bf4!The queen is forced away from the e7 bishop, allowing the white rooks to flood into black's camp.21…Qxf421…Qb4would be met by the simple22.a3, while21…Qa322.Re3Qb423.a3is no better22.Rxe7Nc423.Rfe1White's lead in development and powerful attack are decisive.23…a624.Qe2b525.Bc6!The bishop vacates the e8 square for the rook with a gain of tempo, after which the white queen will be invade at e7.25…Rxc626.Re8+Kg727.Qe7+Kh628.Qxh7+!A pretty sacrifice to end the game.28…Kxh729.R1e7+Kh630.Rh8#1–0

It is important to strike at the opponent’s large pawn centre immediately, before it can be consolidated. In this game, 10…b6 would have been a good example.

Every pawn advance gains space but weakens squares, and so it is necessary to decide which will be more important before playing the move.

Opening the centre for your more active pieces if a common way to make use of a lead in development. In this game, 14.c4 and 18.c6 are good examples.

To find more about Paulsen’s life and games, the following are useful resources:

Paulsen’s chessgames.com page,

his chess.com page,

this collection of his tournament and match results,

and this article by Edward Winter.