1852 · Berlin (the venue is not recorded; the score was printed in the Deutsche Schachzeitung)

The Evergreen Game: Anderssen’s mate in 24 moves, explained

The Evergreen Game is a chess game won by Adolf Anderssen against Jean Dufresne in Berlin in 1852. Anderssen sacrificed two rooks and his queen before mating with 24.Bxe7#. Wilhelm Steinitz named it “an evergreen in the laurel crown of the departed chess hero” in 1879.

Date: 1852
Place: Berlin (the venue is not recorded; the score was printed in the Deutsche Schachzeitung)
Players: Adolf Anderssen (White) vs Jean Dufresne (Black)
Result: 1-0 in 24 moves
Opening: Evans Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4)
On Chess History: You play Anderssen, and the game is famous for the sacrifices

Play the story Interactive: the moves, the characters, the endings to find.

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d3 8.Qb3 Qf6 9.e5 Qg6 10.Re1 Nge7 11.Ba3 b5 12.Qxb5 Rb8 13.Qa4 Bb6 14.Nbd2 Bb7 15.Ne4 Qf5 16.Bxd3 Qh5 17.Nf6+ gxf6 18.exf6 Rg8 19.Rad1 Qxf3 20.Rxe7+ Nxe7 21.Qxd7+ Kxd7 22.Bf5+ Ke8 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7#

The key moment is 19.Rad1!! (the position is roughly equal with best defence). If Black grabs 19…Qxf3?? the rook sacrifice 20.Rxe7+! and the queen sacrifice 21.Qxd7+!! start a mate that the game plays out to 24.Bxe7#.

A sacrifice for a mate

Anderssen was one of the great attacking players of his time, and the Evergreen Game is his most celebrated attack. The opening is the Evans Gambit, where White gives a pawn for quick development and the bishop reaches c5 and b4 at once.

The beauty of the game is in the last 10 moves. A rook and a queen are offered in turn, and each sacrifice opens a line for the next. 20.Rxe7+ Nxe7 21.Qxd7+ Kxd7 22.Bf5+ Ke8 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7# closes the net on the Black king.

The name and the doubts

Steinitz gave the game its name in The Field in 1879: an evergreen, a game that never goes out of fashion. The printed score stops before the end, and books disagree on some move orders, so the course states the lines it checked with an engine rather than pretending every move is certain.

Black’s side also had the chance to defend. The course shows 19…Bd4! and the perpetual check, which holds the game for Black. That is why the 19th move is the real test of the game.

Questions and answers

Why is it called the Evergreen Game?

Wilhelm Steinitz named it in The Field in 1879: “an evergreen in the laurel crown of the departed chess hero”. It means a game that never goes out of fashion.

How does the Evergreen Game end?

24.Bxe7# after a series of sacrifices: 20.Rxe7+, 21.Qxd7+ and 22.Bf5+.

Who won the Evergreen Game?

Adolf Anderssen, with White, in 24 moves (1-0).

Sources and checks

Deutsche Schachzeitung, September–October 1852
Wilhelm Steinitz in The Field, 1879
Engine check on this site: Stockfish 17 (depth 20-22)

The moves on this page are checked for legality, and the engine evaluations come from Stockfish 17. Where a game is more legend than fact, the story says so.