Johannes Zukertort
Notable Games

Johannes Zukertort

13 celebrated games · 244 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 244 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1862.04 NN vsZukertort, Johannes Hermann 0-1 Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation 10 moves Poznan CC Poznań 1862. One of his earliest recorded games and a ten-move miniature: playing Black, Zukertort finished 9…Nf3+ 10.Kf1 Bh3#. On his chessgames notable list.
  • 1865.01 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsAnderssen, Adolf 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense 12 moves Casuals Anderssen-Zukertort Breslau 1865. A twelve-move brilliancy against his teacher Adolf Anderssen: 8.Nxf7 tears open the king and 11.Qg5+!! forces mate by 12.Bxg5#. On his chessgames notable list.
  • 1871.04.10 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsAnderssen, Adolf 1-0 Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense 27 moves Match Zukertort-Anderssen +5-2=0 From the 1871 match Zukertort won +5−2 over Adolf Anderssen — the result that marked the pupil overtaking his teacher. A 27-move kingside attack in the Vienna Game.
  • 1877 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsNN 1-0 King's Gambit 16 moves Zukertort blindfold sim A blindfold-simul brilliancy, Leipzig 1877. Zukertort — one of the era's great blindfold players — gives up his queen (9.Nxe5) and hunts the black king from f8 to e5, Black resigning in the face of 17.Bf4# mate. On his chessgames notable list.
  • 1878.06.24 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsBird, Henry Edward 1-0 French Defense: Normal Variation 30 moves Congres International Paris 1878. A 30-move French Defence win over Henry Bird at the tournament Zukertort went on to win — his first great international triumph.
  • 1878.07.30 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsWinawer, Szymon 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Tarrasch Variation 40 moves Congres International playoff-1 Paris 1878, the tie-break playoff for first prize. Zukertort beat Szymon Winawer — finishing 40.Qxh8# — to take the tournament outright, ahead of the world's best.
  • 1881.07.11 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsBlackburne, Joseph Henry 1-0 French Defense: Classical Variation, Delayed Exchange Variation 33 moves Match Zukertort-Blackburne (1) +7-2=5 From the 1881 match Zukertort won +7−2 over Joseph Henry Blackburne, one of his chief rivals — a decisive result on the road to the first World Championship. A Classical French carried by Zukertort's kingside pressure.
  • 1883.04.26 Chigorin, Mikhail Ivanovich vsZukertort, Johannes Hermann 0-1 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio de Janeiro Variation 29 moves London International Masters London 1883, round 1. Playing Black against Mikhail Chigorin, Zukertort rolled connected central pawns (…e4/…f4/…f3) onto the white king and finished with a mating attack. From the tournament he won with 22/26; on his chessgames notable list.
  • 1883.05.05 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsBlackburne, Joseph Henry 1-0 English Opening: Agincourt Defense 33 moves London International Masters Zukertort's Immortal, London 1883 — the game Steinitz called 'one of the most brilliant on record.' The quiet 28.Qb4!! and the rook sacrifice 29.Rf8+ tear open a mating attack. The centerpiece of his 22/26 tournament victory.
  • 1883.05.21 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsEnglisch, Berthold 1-0 Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation 68 moves London International Masters London 1883. A model positional win over Berthold Englisch in the opening that carries his name — the Queen's Pawn Zukertort Variation. On his chessgames notable list.
  • 1883.06.11 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsBlackburne, Joseph Henry 1-0 Rubinstein Opening: Classical Defense 41 moves London International Masters London 1883. A second win over Blackburne from the same tournament, a jewel of quiet maneuvering in his own 1.d4 system — the positional counterpart to his Immortal. On his chessgames notable list.
  • 1886.01.13 Steinitz, William vsZukertort, Johannes Hermann 0-1 Scotch Game: Schmidt Variation 46 moves World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5 Game 2 of the 1886 World Championship — the first official title match — in New York. Zukertort's win with Black in a Scotch Game began a run of four straight victories that opened a 4–1 lead over Steinitz.
  • 1886.01.15 Zukertort, Johannes Hermann vsSteinitz, William 1-0 Slav Defense 47 moves World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5 Game 3 of the 1886 World Championship, widely cited as Zukertort's finest game of the match: a systematic space-gaining squeeze in the Slav that ended 47.Rxf6. His 4–1 lead would slip away, but this remained his championship masterpiece.
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