born July 6, 1818, Breslau, Prussia 【now Wrocław, Poland】

died March 13, 1879, Breslau

chess master considered the world's strongest player from his victory in the first modern international tournament (London, 1851) until his defeat (1858) by the American Paul Morphy (Morphy, Paul Charles) in match play and, again, after Morphy's retirement (c. 1861) until his defeat by the Austrian Wilhelm Steinitz (Steinitz, Wilhelm) (1866). Anderssen was noted for his ability to discover combination plays calculated to force an immediate decision. One of his games was dubbed the “Immortal Game” because chess players thought that its fame would last forever. Anderssen studied mathematics and philosophy and taught mathematics and German at the Friedrichs Gymnasium in Breslau.