Lionel Kieseritzky
Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky was a Baltic German chess master and theoretician, known for his contributions to chess theory, as well for a game he lost against Adolf Anderssen, known as the "Immortal Game". Kieseritzky's name became associated with several openings and opening variations, such as the Kieseritzky Gambit, Kieseritzky Attack, and the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit.
Early life
Kieseritzky was born in Dorpat, Livonia, Russian Empire into a Baltic German family. From 1825 to 1829 he studied at the Imperial University of Dorpat, and then worked as a mathematics teacher, like Anderssen. From 1838 to 1839, he played a correspondence match against Carl Jaenisch – unfinished, because Kieseritzky had to leave for Paris. In Paris he became a chess professional, giving lessons or playing games for five francs an hour, and editing a chess magazine.Chess career
Kieseritzky became one of the four leading French masters of the time, alongside Louis de la Bourdonnais, Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant, and Boncourt, and for the few years before his death was among the top several players in the world along with Howard Staunton. In fact, ChessMetrics says he was .His knowledge of the game was significant and he made contributions to chess theory, but his career was somewhat blighted by misfortune and a passion for the unsound. In 1842 he tied a match with Ignazio Calvi. In 1846, he won matches against the German masters Bernhard Horwitz and Daniel Harrwitz. He enjoyed a number of other victories across his career, but his nerve was lacking when it came to tournament play.
He was invited to play in the first international chess tournament, the London 1851 tournament, where he scored ½–2½ and was defeated in the first round by the eventual winner Adolf Anderssen. During his time in London, Kieseritzky also played a casual game against Anderssen which became known as "The Immortal Game". Despite losing, Kieseritzky himself recorded and published the game during his period as editor of La Regence.
Kieseritzky is credited with invention of the first three-dimensional chess, Kubicschach, in 1851, but this variant failed to attract adherents. The 8×8×8 cube format was later picked up by Dr. Ferdinand Maack in 1907 when developing Raumschach.
Kieseritzky died in Paris on 18 May 1853. He was buried in a pauper's grave in the city.