Ludwig Bledow
Encyclopedia
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
– 6 August 1846) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
and chess organizer (co-founder of the Berlin Pleiades
Berlin Pleiades
The Berlin Pleiades – a group of seven stars of German chess - Die Berliner Schule or Das Berliner Siebengestirn - in the 19th century.The members of the Berlin Pleiades were:...
).
In 1846 he founded the first German chess magazine, Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft, which would later take the name Deutsche Schachzeitung
Deutsche Schachzeitung
Deutsche Schachzeitung was the first German chess magazine.Founded in 1846 by Ludwig Bledow under the title Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft, it took the name Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1872...
.
Influence on the game
Several details of the game's moves and competition rules had not yet been universally agreed in Bledow's time, and some were still being debated in 1851. Bledow, influenced by Karl SchornKarl Schorn
Karl Schorn was a German painter and chess master.He was a member of the Berlin Pleiades in the first half of the 19th century.-References:...
, agreed that a player should be allowed to have multiple queens (as a result of pawn promotions), so that chess rules in Germany fell in line with the French and English way of playing. He also argued strongly in favour of the touch-move rule.
Bledow wrote a letter to Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa
Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa
Tassilo, Baron von Heydebrand und der Lasa was an important German chess master, chess historian and theoretician of the nineteenth century, a member of the Berlin Chess Club and a founder of the Berlin Chess School .His...
(usually abbreviated as "von der Lasa") proposing that an international tournament should be organized in Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
; the letter was printed in the Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1848, about 2 years after Bledow's death. Bledow intended that the winner of the proposed tournament should be recognized as the world champion: "Next year we will hopefully see each other in Trier, and until then the winner of the battle in Paris should not be overly proud of his special position, since it is in Trier that the crown will first be awarded." ("battle in Paris" means the 1843 match between Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
and Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant). News of this may have stimulated Staunton to organize the London 1851 chess tournament
London 1851 chess tournament
right|thumb|[[Adolf Anderssen]] won both the London International Tournament and the rival London Club Tournament.London 1851 was the first international chess tournament. The tournament was conceived and organised by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess...
, which was in fact the world's first international chess tournament.
In 1851 the surviving members of the Berlin Pleiades
Berlin Pleiades
The Berlin Pleiades – a group of seven stars of German chess - Die Berliner Schule or Das Berliner Siebengestirn - in the 19th century.The members of the Berlin Pleiades were:...
nominated Adolf Anderssen
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...
to represent Germany at the London 1851 chess tournament
London 1851 chess tournament
right|thumb|[[Adolf Anderssen]] won both the London International Tournament and the rival London Club Tournament.London 1851 was the first international chess tournament. The tournament was conceived and organised by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess...
. As a result of winning the 1851 tournament Anderssen was widely recognised as the world's strongest player. In fact Hugh A. Kennedy, who played in the tournament and helped to organize it, wrote before the event started that the contest was "for the baton of the World's Chess Champion".
Playing strength
Assessments of Bledow's playing strength have to rely mainly on the comments of his contemporaries, as Bledow seldom recorded the moves in his games. Various sources, including Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft and correspondence by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der LasaTassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa
Tassilo, Baron von Heydebrand und der Lasa was an important German chess master, chess historian and theoretician of the nineteenth century, a member of the Berlin Chess Club and a founder of the Berlin Chess School .His...
, indicate that Bledow:
- in 1838-1839 won a slight majority of his games against József SzénJózsef SzénJózsef Szén was a Hungarian chess master.He obtained a law degree and later became the municipal archivist for the city of Pest. He often played in the café Worm of Pest, playing with any opponent for a stake of 20 Kreuzers. Very strong in the endgame, he was given the nickname of the Hungarian...
, who had narrowly beaten Louis-Charles Mahé de La BourdonnaisLouis-Charles Mahé de La BourdonnaisLouis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.- Early life :...
in a match in 1836. - won a match against Carl JaenischCarl JaenischCarl Friedrich Andreyevich von Jaenisch was a Finnish and Russian chess player and theorist. In the 1840s, he was among the top players in the world.-Life and career:...
in 1842. - won the majority of his games against Henry Thomas BuckleHenry Thomas BuckleHenry Thomas Buckle was an English historian, author of an unfinished History of Civilization.- Biography :...
. It is particularly unfortunate that Buckle also did not record his games, as detailed information would have made it possible to compare Bledow with leading English players such as Howard StauntonHoward StauntonHoward Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
. Buckle was considered England's second strongest player after Staunton; in fact some of Staunton's enemies argued that Buckle was the better player. - in 1845 beat Adolf AnderssenAdolf AnderssenKarl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...
by either 5-0 or 4½-½, depending on which source is used. At this time Anderssen was 27 year old, and perhaps weaker than he was when he won the 1851London 1851 chess tournamentright|thumb|[[Adolf Anderssen]] won both the London International Tournament and the rival London Club Tournament.London 1851 was the first international chess tournament. The tournament was conceived and organised by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess...
and 1862 London International Tournaments. - defeated Augustus MongredienAugustus MongredienAugustus Mongredien was a leading English chess master. Political economist and miscellaneous writer; born in London of French parents; gradually withdrew from business and devoted himself to literary pursuits; joined National Political Union, 1831; member of the Cobden Club, 1872; received a...
+7 –4 =1, also in 1845. At that time Mongrédien appears to been a stronger player than he was in the late 1850s and 1860s. In 1845, possibly his best year, Mongrédien drew a match with Carl Mayet, and lost to Staunton by –2=3. Later he failed to win a game in matches against Paul MorphyPaul MorphyPaul Charles Morphy was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and an unofficial World Chess Champion. He was a chess prodigy...
(1859), Daniel HarrwitzDaniel HarrwitzDaniel Harrwitz was a Jewish German chess master.Harrwitz was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia. He established his reputation in Paris, particularly as a player of blindfold games...
(1860), and Wilhelm SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
(1863), and finished 11th out of 14 players in the 1862 London International Tournament (he was not invited to play in the 1851 tournament, possibly because he was on the wrong side in a dispute between some of the London clubs).
This information is insufficient to justify procaiming Bledow as the strongest player of the mid-1840s, but he would deserve serious consideration as a contender.
An 1860 article in the Atlantic categorizes Bledow as a "closed" player (like François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
, Staunton, Harrwitz, Slous, Bernhard Horwitz
Bernhard Horwitz
Bernhard Horwitz was a German English chess master and chess writer.Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz, and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art. From 1837 to 1843, he was part of a group of German chess players known as "The Pleiades".He moved to London in 1845...
and Szén) rather than a "heroic" player (such as Labourdonnais, Morphy, Anderssen, Carl Mayet, Max Lange
Max Lange
Max Lange was a German chess player and composer.In 1858–1864, he was an editor of the Deutsche Schachzeitung . He was a founder of Westdeutscher Schachbund , and an organizer of the 9th DSB–Congress at Leipzig 1894...
, von der Lasa, Serafino Dubois
Serafino Dubois
Serafino Dubois was an Italian chess player. He was known for his writings on the game and for his promotion of chess in Italy.-Chess career:Serafino Dubois was born in Rome...
, Saint Amant, Mongredien, Johann Löwenthal
Johann Löwenthal
Johann Jacob Löwenthal was a professional chess master.Löwenthal was born in Budapest, the son of a Jewish merchant. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native city. In 1846, he won a match against Carl Hamppe in Vienna...
and several others). Bledow's surviving games support this to some extent - for example he prefers the Giuoco Piano
Giuoco Piano
The Giuoco Piano is a chess opening beginning with the moves:Common alternatives to 3...Bc5 include 3...Nf6 , 3...Be7 , or 3...d6 .-History:...
to the Kings Gambit, and plays the
Dutch Defense against 1.d4.
Notable games
- Dr. Ludwig Bledow vs Paul Rudolf von Bilguer (1838)
- Dr. Ludwig Bledow vs Baron Tassilo Heydebrand und der Lasa (1838)