In London in the year 1851 there was an informal game
of chess played between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel
Kieseritzky. Both men were professors of
mathematics and both were from Eastern Europe. The
game is usually referred to as "The Immortal Game" and
is widely considered to be one of the most entertaining
ever played.
If you have a chessboard handy, set it up and follow
the moves below and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Anderssen was playing White and Kieseritzky was playing
Black.
Considering how popular chess is in other parts of
the world, I find it a bit ironic that the only exposure
most Americans of my generation have with the Immortal
Game is through its uncredited use in the popular cult
film, "Blade Runner". In the scene where Sebastian
and Batty are on their way to see Tyrell in the private
elevator, they convince Tyrell to let the elevator come
up by having Sebastian verbally continue with a game of
chess they'd been playing. The moves made by
Sebastian and Tyrell are the moves in the Immortal Game:
