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. According to Chessmetrics, he was ranked second in the world at various times between 1873 and 1889. He was especially strong at endgames and had a great combinative ability which enabled him to win many brilliancy prizes. He was also widely known for his popular simultaneous and blindfold displays.