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

Foreword by Michael Negele

Format: library binding (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 448
Bibliographic Info: 108 photos, 719 games, appendices, notes, bibliography, indexes
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7195-6
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