They called him "The Black Death"

[@bailinnumberguy]

Steinitz played the Steinitz Defense. Who saw that coming?

[@thegaminglemon9085]

You’re saying that if there wasn’t something in chess named after you that you wouldn’t play it all time?

[@Devp278]

@@thegaminglemon9085 no, because your opponent would prepare for you playing that line and he would be very comfortable playing it.

[@maximrighetti8633]

Named after Mr. Defence

[@roelwieers4566]

On top of that you know that Steinitz is going to win. Why else would his defence get it's name

[@thatoneguy9582]

@@roelwieers4566 I mean he didn't

[@rajarshichaudhuri7620]

Blackburne's large black beard and aggressive style earned him the nickname of "der Schwarze Tod" ("the Black Death", based on the plague of the same name) after his performance in the 1873 Vienna tournament.

[@learnwithenjoyment3519]

are you from India?

[@rajarshichaudhuri7620]

@@learnwithenjoyment3519 Yes

[@vijaychugh6030]

Khup chhan explanation

[@joaomarques701]

I think that if someone is supose to be called sutch a nickname, well that player would be Mikail Tal...

[@ngocluong5715]

I think just call Tal Death is enough :v

[@the7esla989]

He already has so many nicknames

[@VenomAntiVenom]

Nah.

[@akmd114379]

I think the Magician from Riga is better.

[@JohnProph]

Blackburne was a big dude and liked to drink a lot. Steinitz and Blackburne got into a heated argument in Paris 1867. Steinitz got mad and spit on Blackburne and Blackburne put Steinitz face thru a window lol

[@NetherExists]

They probably called him "The Black Death" because he gave quite a death to the black king in this game.

[@nicholasford8156]

clever

[@nottoday3817]

The checkmate was delievered by the white Queen while the black one blocked the only escape route. Sooo death by Snu-Snu?

[@OneRichMofo]

@@nottoday3817 women, amirite?

[@emmagrove6491]

The great thing about pawn pushes is that it distracts your opponent and gives them something other than the major pieces to sweat over. If your opponent finally gets it to where it's lost, but is a move or two from the queening square and MUST be captured, you can do whatever you want on the next move. The board, and the tempo, is yours.

[@firebolt25812345]

I'm really happy you cover a lot of these old, interesting games. Keep up the good work

[@gonzalo4658]

I like how it’s recommending me these agad classics that i was never able to find

[@karl-henridorleans5081]

I love your stuff man!! You seem to have so much fun with it. The timing of your wit hits home :)

[@UncleDansVintageVinyl]

Thanks! I bought a collection of Blackburne's games more than forty years ago and still have it. His attacks are always very fun!

[@peimanenato]

I allways follow your videos. All have nice story behind them including your very good explanations. Thank you

[@fritzvold9968]

In 1899 Jos. H. Blackburne (JHB) had his collected games anthology published under the title "Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess" a compilation of over 400 games from international tournaments, as well as simul, blindfold and offhand (skittles) games. The original 1899 published collection was selected, annotated, and arranged (by opening, not chronology!) by JHB and edited by P. Anderson Graham (PAG). I found the 1979 Dover edition in my library and Chapter 1 is the Editor's biography of J.H.B. In it he makes a strong case that JHB was the greatest tournament player of the 19th century, with plus records against the likes of Em. Lasker, et. al. PAG states that he could not find a single international tournament where JHB entered, that he did not win at least one of the place-prizes. This was an era of grueling marathon tournaments and major congresses could last for weeks if not months; where the time controls were regulated by sand [hour]glasses at 2 hours per 20 moves, yet were played out to completion at a SINGLE SITTING!! It was in this "chess survival of the fittest" setting that JHB earned the admiration of fellow competitors who witnessed his unexcitable, even grim (reaper) countenance; PAG writes: "JHB does not become easily excited. They used to call him "the giant," "the man with iron nerves" and "Black Death"; phrases which show how he differs from the average chess competitor. Most of the proficients are small in stature, and a great number are emotional. Indeed it is almost pathetic to note what a contrast there is between the beginning and end of a tournament. The competitors go forth to battle all gay and light-hearted; the vain full of swagger, and the merry with jests on their lips. But after two or three weeks the hard fighting begins to tell. ... The brainwork and anxiety exacerbate all the physical weaknesses and ailments of the players." (cf. "Blackburn's Chess Games" Dover ed. 1979, 332pp.) PAG recommends the brilliancy Lasker - Blackburne, London 1899 as a supreme example of his attacking style, where many an opponent who had cheerily arrived at a "winning position" finds the "grim reaper" waiting without emotion at the end of a combination. This was attributed to JHB's idolization and thorough study of Morphy's brilliant games. my own take: maybe this was an early example of "Fischerfear" as the experiences of Mark Taimanov et. al. echo back to the 19th century romantic era of Morphy, Blackburne, et. al. Anyway I hope you can do a video of that famous encounter from London 1899, where Lasker, playing Wh. side of a Ruy Lopez, succumbs to a crushing K-side attack by the maestro of the black pieces, the "Black Death." (2018/08/19).

[@IgnacPospisil]

Blackburne´s nickname was "Black Death" for two reasons: 1) Because Black Death is nickname of very dangerous form of plague, that kill you very quick (according his play styl with sudden deadly combinations), 2) Because he usually wear black dress. Sorry for my horibble english. :-)

[@mysticdragonex815]

And that plague is Bubonic Plague👍🏻

[@msotil]

From Wikipedia: Blackburne is an icon of Romantic chess because of his wide open and highly tactical style of play. His large black beard and aggressive style earned him the nickname of "der Schwarze Tod" ("the Black Death", based on the plague of the same name) after his performance in the 1873 Vienna tournament.[4][unreliable source] In 1881, according to one retrospective rating calculation, he was the second most successful player in the world.[6] He was especially strong at endgames and had a great combinative ability which enabled him to win many brilliancy prizes, but he will be best remembered for his popular simultaneous and blindfold displays which captured the imagination of the general public who flocked to watch him.

[@BenjaminEvans-gd3ms]

One of my favorite chess masters.

[@robertpesevski1641]

The black knight lates!!! Wonderfool mate!

[@coconutnut_]

I mean, instead of capturing the bishop back on g7, he could play Nxf3 with check, then in the next move he could capture the bishop back on g7.

[@reflectionofpower8339]

I always heard it was because of his large black beard and aggressive style that earned him the nickname of "der Schwarze Tod" ("the Black Death", based on the plague of the same name) Also the "story" goes, "‘During the Paris Tournament in 1867, he blew up over a trivial remark made by his British opponent, Joseph Blackburne. In a rage, Steinitz spat in his face. Blackburne, who was no white knight himself, promptly picked up the short, squat megalomaniac and threw him right out the window.’ " I have seen where he just smashed him in the face with his fist instead. so Blackburne's name does seem appropriate and he was known to nurture whiskey. "One famous anecdote involving Blackburne had him drinking his opponent’s glass of whiskey during a simul and then uttering, “He left it en prise and I took it en passant.” " A very colorful chess player but a very strong one when you go over his games.

[@alfredoag3]

Reflection Ofpower I read the same...

[@rahulmalhan8892]

I thought he had some extraordinary skills with black pieces

[@dezraq1984]

GLORIOUS!!!!!

[@cia7062]

This game so beautiful

[@besmart1360]

I think people named Henry "The black Death" because he was a really strong chess player and a nice combination and video :)

[@1001011011010]

Pozdircã Petru His name is also Blackburne

[@thomasaskew1985]

Another brilliant retort to Steinitz's cumbersome defense. As usual the best rejoinder to an attack on the flanks is a good thrust up the middle. Even in the golden age of chess opponents knew of the value of divesting an opponent of his fianchettoed king's bishop. This game if very instructive, even by today's standards.

[@StoshGalumpke]

Extremely badass indeed !

[@LJLMETAL]

Great game! Nice attack

[@jammercap02]

For me a very logical game by that I mean I saw and understood all the moves I can't always see the upcoming moves but again great game with understandable moves

[@ldeans5620]

Cool game, cool commentary.

[@lalagul39]

He was called black death because he played very attacking combinations with the black pieces. Also some influence of the last name.

[@williamdeng7524]

nigga he was white

[@StephenDoty84]

So his breath had nothing to do with it.

[@Mallong11]

He was mainly known as "Black death" because he was Deadly with the black pieces, and yea he's name did also lend help to that title... but no one wanted to play him, especially if Mr. Blackburne was black... he was deadly, Paul Murphy like.

[@PhotonTrooperGaming]

1:19 wouldn't be a good idea (or maybe a sort of palliative to disrupt the big push from white with many developed pieces) to Steinitz trade the knights?

[@matthewbailey5712]

Where did you find these games

[@agadmator]

+Matthew Bailey All sorts of places

[@bonchidude]

Matthew, Chess Life magazine has these games. Heck just look up Bobby Fischer on Wikipedia and you will see all sorts of games he played.

[@antibishonen]

3:55 23. -- Rxe6?? Definitely a blunder since it seems it wasn't that necessary to take back the pawn. I might have played h6 just to pester the queen.

[@brendanward2991]

2:02 - Why not 12... Nxf3+ before recapturing the bishop on g7?

[@miks8]

2:57 why part with bishop? why not capture the hypothetical rook with the knight?

[@pianoenthusiast]

Because then he will just capture the knight with the pawn and the same thing will go here

[@galefray]

I thought they call him "The BLACK death" because his name is: "Joseph Henry BLACKburne" You know? Also something to do with the Black Death in Europe during the 14th century lol.

[@torvalupheaval8857]

Could refer to the colour of the chess pieces, and wtf does the plague have to do with chess lol

[@ausarge]

Torval Upheaval: defeats ppl obviously

[@Christoff070]

Hey agadmator, I'm enjoying your vid uploads of these games. I think if you included some more analysis, both strategical and tactical, it would elevate your bids and improve my game. For example at 3:10 this game why did Blackburn play e5? Maybe you could encourage viewer to pause the game and guess this move. Then you could ask, what are the variations if black takes with the d-pawn? What is the strategical idea behind this move? Cheers

[@ME-of3mg]

Further to earlier answers According to Wikipedia 'Blackburn was an icon of Romantic Chess because of his wide open and highly tactical style of play. His large black beard and aggressive style of play earned him the nickname of Der schwarze Tod - the Black Death, based on the plague of the same name After his performance in the Vienna tournament of 1873. 1 Blackburn 10 Pts 2 Steinitz. 10 Pts 3 Anderssen 8.5 Pts 4 Rosenthal 7.5 Pts 5 Paulsen 6.5 Pts 6 Bird. 6.5 Pts 7 Heral. 3.5 Pts 8 Fleissig. 3.5 Pts And 4 other players. The tournament was a little unusual to modern eyes. A mini match was played each day in a round robin format. Each mini match was worth a maximum of 1 Pts, and decided over 3 games (if two wins in a mini match was scored the third game wouldn't be played. Blackburn beat Steinitz in the main tournament mini match by 2 wins and 1 draw earning himself 1 point with Steinitz scoring 0 points in this particular mini match. In the subsequent playoff mini match to decide the tournament winner Steinitz beat Blackburn by two wins to zero. Looking at photographs of Henry Blackburn, he does look a fearsome character who one could imagine striking fear into e

[@kritonde]

ive heard he was called the black death because he scored extremly good with the black pieces. nobody won so many games with black compared to other top players at that time.

[@vladavasiljev]

Does your dog ever wake up?

[@erlisarifi4230]

v. v. Maybe the dog is dead..

[@egidijuskuprusevicius4225]

his dog is on drugs when he is playing chess

[@Baribrotzer]

No food. No petting. No out on a walk and make No. 1 and No. 2. No ball thrown and brought back, and thrown and brought back, and thrown and brought back. Just dinking around on the bright square clicking beeping machine, and talk talk talk. Might as well sleep.

[@nicholasford8156]

you never see him on the couch on his back 'riding the bike' goin' to town furiously waving his 2 inch stems into the air? lol

[@Baribrotzer]

Whilst vocalizing, "MFF! MFF! MFF! MFF! MFF! MFF! MFF! MFF! MFF!"

[@Alleycat___]

Steinitz thought "Well i'm Steinitz, ima gonna use my Steinitz(TM) specialty of the house defense" few moves later he got rekt. lol

[@edebel8922]

He wanted to be called “The Badass Death” but Morphy had already taken that name.

[@dionario]

I think i read somewhere that he was called the black death because he was very strong with the black pieces

[@abdullaahsan264]

Your mustache grew nice

[@MyhajloKreĉetov]

They called him the black death due to his skill in playing chess with the black pieces, check out the kostic or blackburn gambit, he used it many times

[@SamueleCastiglioni]

beautiful checkmate

[@EdmontDantes2]

Pardon my ignorance but why not move the black pawn at the end to h6 to kick out the white queen instead of black queen to e8? Could that black queen move not happen after the white queen retreated and have the king in better position with more room? What am I missing? I am not a strong player but getting to love the game. Thank you for your channel which is superb. You are very good at what you do.

[@jilow]

My theory woudl be his last name is Blackburn but he was also really good at chess, so they're like blackburn, he's more like the black death. (Possibly also meant as a reference to the terrible plague that destroyed everyone in Europe, in fact, I'm sure that connection was part of it).

[@mfjaved1]

His large black beard and aggressive style earned him the nickname of "der Schwarze Tod" ("the Black Death", based on the plague of the same name) after his performance in the 1873 Vienna tournament.Wiki

[@jx14aby]

Awesome game.

[@jarredalabran]

IM Silman states that he was called the Black Death due to his aggressive style, ill temper, and habit of getting drunk over the board. He once started punching Steinitz till Steinitz put Blackburnes head through a window.

[@nicholasford8156]

...although socially frowned upon yet THAT is an effective move...

[@coconutnut_]

2:00 Why didn’t Black play Nxf3+. You said that White didn’t want to trade off his strong light-squared bishop so I assume this would be better for Black??

[@josetrisan8646]

it's extemely bad ass.. wasn't expecting that lol

[@Dessan01]

Blackburne liked his booze, there is a story that during a simultaneous he accidentally drank his opponents glass of whiskey believing it to be his own. He quipped “I took it en passant!” 😂

[@sherifhamed6034]

I think the people always search for unusual description , to take it too far specially if it occurs with talent ,his last name is black already and to give more inspiration for his talent + defeating such a great player is enough for people to mix between his name and ( death ) for me it is nothing but people nature

[@Alt_Sf6]

i've heard that he was called the black death after he completely crushed some big tournament in (i believe) france

[@z26-b9n]

Nice game

[@kadenrichards1196]

At 2:35 wouldnt bishop to d6 be good? You either trade bishops and fork king and queen or take the bishop when it backs up

[@jeremybowman4847]

They called him black death due to his last name, chess skill, and he was a very heavy pipe tobacco smoker, often choking his opponents with smoke. True story!

[@hinteregions]

Could it be just that he was strong with the black pieces?

[@aaronabarca4919]

The Black Death is a cool nickname, but nothing is more baddass that The Iron Tiger

[@ikay1966]

black death is a pun on his name because he was fantastic with the black pieces as well and often seized the initiative from higher rated players playing with white and who therefore became complacent with the initiative. He travelled to India in 1870s and defeated many Indian royalties before being crushed by an unknown Indian teacher ...a certain Ramnarain Majumdar . 5 games resulted in a 0-3 result !

[@markdobbins1622]

the first nice rook lift?

[@jaredc304]

What about Nb6 instead of Qe8? Bringing the a-rook into the game and freeing the e-rook to capture the pawn.

[@adamsimpasa9633]

Please the windmill by Steinitz.

[@playerunknown3234]

Is the guy behind blackbourne gambit

[@chowhan13]

Title is good 😎

[@blackmaxOaC]

He was called black death because he always came with a black suit to the chess games

[@nathanhorne9623]

As Rajarshi says but also, I'd suggest he's called "Black Death" mostly because of the "Blackburn" name similarity.

[@ninohervias642]

Black Death because his chess game is killer. Plus his last name has black in it. Very fitting.

[@PragmaticAntithesis]

3:43 Not Nb6?

[@whitephantom7960]

nc video!

[@agadmator]

+White Phantom Thanks :)

[@Sevenigma777]

I think the nickname referred to his ability to always win as white

[@vinayganji4483]

Who is the winner of chess clock??.. u didn't reveal till now.. 😅😅 As it was my idea I'm eagerly waiting who wins it.!😎

[@agadmator]

+Vinay Ganji I will soon draw the winner. I will post it today :) Don't worry :)

[@CaptainShadowRogue7]

This is such a pleasant channel. But I've been in the dramatic area of KZbin for so long, I get Flashbacks whenever he says "X is Black/White". Send help.

[@anshorimuhajir9462]

So, was he the inventor of Blackburne Schilling Gambit?

[@ultrawow65]

at first I guessed he was called Black Death because he was really good with the black pieces, but honestly I have no clue...

[@vinodmandalia1545]

The subtitle spoils the view

[@umarkhan-ru9dz]

The gr8 Paul Morphy

[@pelimies1818]

Simo Häyhä was The White Death It would be a epic struggle..

[@visharadrawat977]

He had exceptional Win record against Black pieces, that's why the name, I guess.

[@beng4151]

He was called the black death because he would surprise people with his vicious attacks. They weren't expecting it and he was quite the attacker.

[@opinionday0079]

He was called the Black Death because whenever you played chess against him he killed you after the match was finished

[@anirbansarkar6027]

Very nyc video.... And a request to u...... To make a video on The great Mir Sultan Khan... From a slave to india's 1st chessmaster without any help of books or coach.... Do make a video on him..... He defeatd many strng players lyk capablanca... Alakhine etc etc..... Its a request....

[@agadmator]

+Anirban Sarkar Thank you. It is a very nice suggestion. I will look into it :)

[@anirbansarkar6027]

agadmator's Chess Channel ya..... Sure..... He playd deep.... Thats all i cn say... 😎

[@anirbansarkar6027]

And.... The mst imp thng is that.... He was uneductd... Both in basic eductn.. And chess.... He khew nothng abt.. Opening midgame and endgame.... Thats the irony.... 😎

[@SSmitar]

That's a nice suggestion, dude. I wanted to suggest the same, but then I forgot about it. Also, a suggestion to you too, try not to put so many dots in between sentences. Use commas and full stops instead. I have seen many Indians doing that for some reason. I am an Indian too so don't take it the wrong way.

[@anirbansarkar6027]

Smit Ramteke ... Adat si ho gayi hai.... Kaya karu.. 😂

[@karimmoorad4128]

They missed out on The Black Dread

[@limchinkiong2491]

me playing against blackburne: 1.e4 engine: -M26

[@NLTops]

Engine only say M## when checkmate can't be prevented, e4 isn't an opening move that leads to a forced checkmate. It's one of the two most-used openings. The shortest move sequence that leads to checkmate is f3 followed by g4 as white, or f6 followed by g5 as black. As long as the opponent pushes the e-pawn on their first move, they will win by fools mate. And the Engine will say -M1 only after you push the both pawns. The engine won't ever say -M## after only one move has been played.

[@antwoncones524]

@@NLTops you must be fun at parties

[@NLTops]

@@antwoncones524 Depends on the party I suppose. Is it a party where people keep making mediocre jokes and get butthurt when someone shoots them down? If so I might very well be the funniest person at this party. I didn't even mention how an engine doesn't take players into account when giving evaluations. If it did, it would've warned you not to defend that bad joke because your dignity was hanging.

[@antwoncones524]

@@NLTops Idk why i thought anyone would invite you anywhere. Thanks for clarifying

[@NLTops]

@@antwoncones524 Only took you a month to come up with that? Good job, mommy's proud.

[@Nyctasia]

He got the name 'The Black Death' because of his surname, Blackburne, and his deadly attacks that so often proved fatal. It appears to date from the 1873 Vienna Tournament, where Blackburne lost in a playoff to Steinitz who was the best in the world at this point.

[@peacefullness-8823]

*it's because death stalks the board and there is no escaping for his opponent....... and his last name was blackburn.... and he kicked ass with black. and he probably wore black, and they were all probably drunk. There

[@Mut11]

There was no defense in the Steinitz defense

[@garrysekelli6776]

He was called the black death after the bubonic plague because when suffering from this disease it was thought that the victi was playing chess with the grim reeper to see if they would be allowed to live or not.

[@MohamedAbdElrahman2015]

fantastic selective games as usual !!!!!!!!!!!

[@bugodi327]

why not qf7 at 3:56

[@ChessdumyTV]

Hi whats up? How come KaramazovIvan on lichess closed his account?

[@sreeragp5791]

May be he was best in playing against black king

[@Stuffixxable]

www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/violence.htmlBlackburne must have been a real rowdy. Presumibly the average chess players were just intimidated due to his violent nature on and next to the chess board and named him therefore black death.

[@chengzhou8711]

Funny enough that Blackburn who preferred black was playing white against Stienitz playing the Steinitz Defense

[@BluJellu]

Steinitz play g6, the Steinitz defense.

[@asakurahao1415]

Plagueeee

[@-m4nGo-]

You should flip the board if you want to highlight black's moves! I'ts so hard to remember the moves otherwise :( I'm new and are trying to learn more black strategies! Your'e channel is so superior to all the other chess-channels dude! Thanks so much for all the inspiration! (your narrating on the Bobby Fischer games)

[@Darukonotme]

He was the one who invented the blackbourne shilling gambit I guess

[@joesimon2018]

He was called the Black Death because he was plagued with talent