Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of

Wilfried Paulsen Wilfried Paulsen (31 July 1828 – 6 February 1901) was a German chess master, an elder brother of Louis Paulsen. He tied for 3rd-5th at Düsseldorf 1862 (2nd Western German Congress, ''Kongresse des Westdeutschen Schachbundes (WDSB)'', Max Lange ...

. Paulsen was one of the first players to challenge the notion that an attack could be constructed out of brilliance. He put forward the idea that any brilliant attack would have failed against correct defence. His ideas were grasped by

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...

, who declared that attack and defence have equal status, and particularly by

Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...

, who listed Paulsen among his six greatest "purely defensive players".

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was c ...

and Paulsen were early masters of the game and of

blindfold chess Blindfold chess, also known as ''sans voir'', is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces and do not touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are commu ...

; they were capable of playing 10 blindfold games at the same time without any major errors. Paulsen played in the final match of the 1857 First American Chess Congress, losing to

five games to one with two draws. In 1862 Paulsen drew an eight-game match with

Adolf Anderssen Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (July 6, 1818 – March 13, 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. He won the great internat ...

. Paulsen defeated Anderssen in matches in 1876 and 1877.

Paulsen pawns

''Paulsen pawns'' is a term coined by Nimzowitsch for a restricted with two pawns on squares d6 and e6 for Black or d3 and e3 for White, often coupled with an open c-. This restricted centre makes it difficult for the opponent to whip up a quick attack by advancing his centre. Paulsen pawns are the stalwart of the Paulsen Variation of the

Sicilian Defence The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5, c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. Ope ...

Chess opening contributions

Sicilian Dragon

The modern form of the Dragon was originated by Paulsen around 1880. It was played frequently by Henry Bird that decade, then received general acceptance around 1900. In

, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the

and begins with the moves: :1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 In the Dragon, Black

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many " hypermodern" ...

es his bishop on the h8–a1 diagonal. The line is one of the variations of the Sicilian Defence, making it one of the sharpest of all chess openings.

Sicilian Defence, Paulsen Variation

A less famous variation in the Sicilian Defence is the Paulsen Variation. The line goes as follows: : 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 or : 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6

Paulsen Attack in the Scotch Game

The move 7.Bb5 in the

Scotch Game The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On t ...

is associated with Paulsen's name, as the ''Paulsen Attack'': 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Bb5.

Paulsen Variation in the Vienna Game

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6, the move 3.g3 is known as the ''Paulsen Variation'' in the

Vienna Game The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nc3 White's second move is less common than 2.Nf3, and is also more recent. The original idea behind the Vienna Game was to play a delayed King's Gambit with ...

. Paulsen played the move five times in the

Vienna 1873 chess tournament The Vienna 1873 chess tournament was a side event of the world exhibition of 1873 (the fifth since the first Great Exhibition in London in 1851). Background The fair was held in the Prater in Vienna, and opened in the Rotunde on May 1. Companies ...

Paulsen Attack in the Center Game

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 is the main line of the

Center Game The Center Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. d4 exd4 The game usually continues 3.Qxd4 Nc6, with a gain of tempo for Black due to the attack on the white queen. (Note that 3.c3 is considered a separate open ...

, sometimes referred to as the Paulsen Attack.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsen, Louis 1833 births 1891 deaths People from Blomberg, North Rhine-Westphalia Sportspeople from Detmold (region) People from the Principality of Lippe German chess players Chess theoreticians 19th-century chess players