Immortal Draw

The Immortal Draw is a chess game played in 1872 in Vienna by Carl Hamppe and Philipp Meitner.

This game is the main claim to fame of both Hamppe and Meitner, and has been reprinted widely.

[1] The game was played in the 19th-century Romantic style, in which rapid development and attack were considered the most effective way to win, where many gambits and countergambits were offered (and not accepting them was considered slightly ungentlemanly), and where material was often held in contempt.

These games, with their rapid attacks and counterattacks, are often entertaining to review even if some of the moves would no longer be considered best by today's standards.

In the game, Black sacrifices huge amounts of material to drive the white king from its back rank and attempt to force checkmate, but White spectacularly manages to force a draw by perpetual check.

The game itself has often been replayed as a prearranged draw.

Its motif of a bishop sacrifice in response to an early knight attack occurs in other lines as well.

[2] White: Carl Hamppe   Black: Philipp Meitner   Opening: Vienna Game (ECO C25) 1. e4 e5 2.