Just By Chance

Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky – N. N.
Paris, 1840s
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The following game, a forerunner sample of standard shuffle chess (no castling), was given by Aron Alexandre in his book “The Beauties of Chess: A Collection of the Finest Chess Problems Extant; Including Upwards of Two Thousand Curious Positions Won Or Drawn by Brilliant ‘Coups’, Selected from the Works of the First Chess-Writers Past and Present”, Barthès and Lowell, London, 1846, p. 342. It should be noted that it was presented without comment except that, in the initial array, “Les pièces [sont] déplacées par le sort“.

1. d4 d5 2. g3 b6 3. c4 Bb7 4. cxd5 Bxd5 5. Bxd5 Rxd5 6. e4 Rd7 7. f4 g6 (7. ... c5 8. d5 e6) 8. Nf3 c5 9. Be3? c4? (⌓ 9. ... cxd4) 10. Qc2 b5 11. d5±

11. ... e5? (⌓ 11. ... Qb7) 12. fxe5 Bxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Bd4 Qh5 15. Ne3 Rc8 16. a4 a6 17. axb5 axb5 18. Ra6 Nc7 19. Rb6 Rcd8 20. Qc3 (20. Qf2+−) 20. ... Qf3 (20. ... Nfe6!? 21. Bf6 Re8) 21. Bh8? (21. Rf6 Qxe4 22. Rf4 Qxd5! 23. Ng4!+−) 21. ... Nfe6? (21. ... f5!∞) 22. Rf1+− Qxe4 23. dxe6 Nxe6 24. Ng2 Rd3

25. Qf6? (25. Rxe6!+−) 25. ... R3d7? (25. ... Rd1!=) 26. Re1? (26. Qe5+−) 26. ... Qd4+? (26. ... Qa8! 27. Rxb5 Qa7+ 28. Kh1 Qa8=) 27. Qxd4 Nxd4 28. Bxd4 Rxd4 29. Rxb5 Rd2 30. h4 Rc2 31. h5 Kg7

32. g4? (32. Ne3+−) 32. ... Rdd2⇄ 33. Nf4 Rxb2 34. h6+ Kxh6 35. g5+ Kg7 36. Rxb2 Rxb2 37. Re7 Kf8 38. Rc7 Rb4 39. Nd5 Ra4? (39. ... Rb5!=) 40. Nf6? (40. Rc8+ Kg7 41. Nf6+−) 40. ... Kg7? (40. ... Ra5!=) 41. Rc8 1 : 0.