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
Table of contents:
Biography
Early life
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.
Early success
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.
Competing at the top
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.
A new decade
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.
Later years
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.
Legacy
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.
Game Analysis
Paulsen won an interesting game against the strong English player Cecil de Vere at Baden-Baden 1870.
Lessons from this game:
- 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.
Puzzles
Paulsen – Morphy, New York 1857
Blackburne – Paulsen, Baden-Baden 1870
Flechsig – Paulsen, Leipzig 1877
Paulsen – Gunsberg, Nuremburg 1883
Solutions
Further Reading
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.
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