2-982-313 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Louis Paulsen, the Blindfold American Chessplayer - from a photograph by Hesler, of Chicago, 1858. Child prodigy who emigrated to America from Germany: '...to the delight and astonishment of all present, he performed the unprecedented feat of conducting five games simultaneously without board and men, winning four of them, and making a drawn battle of the fifth...in February of the present year he publicly played blindfold seven games at the same time, and won the whole...[in] May, he played at Chicago, Illinois, ten games together, without seeing a chessboard, against ten strong opponents, winning nine and drawing the tenth. During this unexampled match, upwards of nine hundred and twenty moves were made, those considered must have been as many thousands; and not only did Paulsen never make the slightest error, but often during very intricate combinations he corrected the mistakes of his open-eyed adversaries. This is perhaps the most astounding feat of memory the world has ever heard of...His head is the largest of any man in the United States. In temper he is modest, placid, and reserved to a fault. He is very abstemious, using no other stimulant than strong coffee and soda-water, of which he partakes freely during play.' From "Illustrated London News", 1858.