Louis Paulsen

Louis Paulsen (1833–1891) was one of the 19th century’s strongest chess players and a world record holder in blindfold chess. He maintained an unbeaten record in matches, created several opening systems and was an originator of the positional approach to the game. This extensive biography—the first in English—explores Paulsen’s life and career and includes 719 of his games, presented here with both contemporary and modern comments.

Historian Hans Renette is FIDE master in chess (with 2 IM norms). He lives in Bierbeek, Belgium.

Hans Renette
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 448
Bibliographic Info: 108 photos, 719 games, appendices, notes, bibliography, indexes
Copyright Date: 2025 [2019]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9886-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3436-4
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Michael Negele 1

Preface 3

Introduction 5

I—Ancestry and Youth 15

II—Dubuque 21

III—The First American Chess Congress 1857 24

IV—Sharpening the Blindfold Record, 1858–1860 45

Dubuque, February 1858 45

Chicago, May 1858 46

Davenport, May 1858 50

Rock Island, May 1858 50

Saint Louis, June 1858 51

Dubuque, November 1858 53

Pittsburgh, December 1858 54

Chicago 1859 61

Dubuque 1859–1860 65

V—Back Home, 1860–1861 72

VI—To Bristol, September 1861 80

VII—Meeting G.H. Mackenzie, September 1861 88

VIII—A Match with Kolisch, September–November 1861 91

IX—Visiting Manchester, November 1861 112

X—Back in London, December 1861 119

XI—London 1862 and the First Match with Anderssen 123

XII—Düsseldorf 1862 150

XIII—Düsseldorf 1863 156

XIV—In Leipzig, 1863–1864, and a Match with Lange 161

XV—Berlin 1864 and a Match with Neumann 177

XVI—Elberfeld 1865 190

XVII—Illness and Barmen 1866 193

XVIII—Cologne 1867 196

XIX—Aachen 1868 200

XX—Hamburg 1869 202

XXI—Baden-Baden 1870 210

XXII—Krefeld 1871 224

XXIII—Vienna 1873 229

XXIV—Leipzig 1876 and the Second Match with Anderssen 250

XXV—Leipzig 1877 and the Third Match with Anderssen 260

XXVI—Frankfurt am Main 1878 280

XXVII—Leipzig 1879 and a Match with Schwarz 287

XXVIII—Wiesbaden 1880 300

XXIX—Brunswick 1880 309

XXX—Berlin 1881 317

XXXI—Vienna 1882 329

XXXII—Nürnberg 1883 350

XXXIII—Quiet Years, 1884–1886 361

XXXIV—Frankfurt am Main 1887 364

XXXV—Nürnberg 1888 379

XXXVI—Breslau 1889 390

XXXVII—Louis Paulsen’s Death 405

Appendices

Appendix 1. Tournament Record 409

Appendix 2. Match Records 409

Appendix 3. Results Against Masters 410

Appendix 4. Blindfold Exhibitions 410

Appendix 5. A Chess Family: Wilfried, Amalie and Carl Paulsen 411

Bibliography 427

Works About Louis Paulsen 427

Selected Articles about Louis Paulsen 427

Reference Works 427

Tournament Books with Paulsen as a Participant (chronological) 427

Autobiographies, Biographies, Other Tournament Books and Game Collections 428

Anthologies, Chronicles, Textbooks, etc. 428

Chess Magazines 428

Principal Chess Columns 429

Websites 429

Non-Chess Works and Articles 429

Opponents Index (to game numbers) 431

Annotators Index (to game numbers) 433

Index of Openings—ECO Codes (to game numbers) 434

Index of Openings—Traditional Names (to game numbers) 435

General Index (to page numbers) 436

• “Excellent”—British Chess News
• “Scrupulously researched account of Paulsen’s life and games.”—US Chess Federation
• “The definitive guide on the man German chess historian Michael Negele calls the unofficial World Champion from 1862–1878…this massive tome covers all aspects of [Paulsen’s] career…beautifully produced book…outstanding…highly recommended”—IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com)
• “The look and feel of the book is precisely what I would expect from a McFarland chess publication. It has substantial case binding and the chess material is well set out in terms of text to diagrams. All this on durable quality paper. The reader will learn a great deal about Louis Paulsen….definitive work…painstakingly researched…a hugely important historical work…a superb biography…a truly remarkable work… The line drawings are magnificent and truly take the reader back in time…Renette has produced something quite magical”—Chess Book Reviews