Play The Classics #1 - The Opera House
New Series: Play The Classics!
This series will focus on famous games known by many without the need of a move list. At the end of each post will be an interactive board for you to "Play The Classic!"
Learning games by heart is another tool we can utilize to better our own play. It may seem daunting but I've found it helpful in a few areas; pattern recognition and strategic planning when positions arise similar to games you know by heart.
For the first installment in "Play The Classics" I wanted to feature the very first chess game I ever learned by heart. It's a wonderful attacking game by the legendary Paul Morphy, and one that quite frankly you probably already know. The famous Opera Game.
Paul Morphy
Image taken from The Collectible Stamps Gallery
If you aren't familiar with Paul Morphy you're probably new to chess, and what a wonderful thing that is! What I wouldn't give to rediscover Morphy games again and have that feeling of "wow" upon seeing them for the first time. This certainly isn't the post to write on Morphy as that deserves much more time and attention, but here's the wiki link for starters, then from there I would go ask GM Ben Finegold if Morphy was any good. 
The History
The game was played in 1858 at Salle Le Peletier, an opera house in Paris, between Morphy and two other players, the German noble Charles II, Duke of Brunswick and the French aristocrat Comte Isouard de Vauvenargues. The Duke and The Count played together against Morphy.
Many stories surround these historic games and who really knows how valid any of these are, but I absolutely love a few "details" about this game.
First, Morphy was said to be truly excited to see the Opera that night, a presentation of Norma. His hosts having seen it several times forced him into chess. So the setting of a somewhat perturbed Morphy really makes me smile watching the game play out.
Secondly, it is said that the two challengers were discussing the game so loudly that they were distracting the performers, and one can only reason to guess the audience, because of it. The Duke's box where the game took place was apparently as close as you could get to the stage without being on it.
Those tidbits are just fun, whether or not they are completely true who knows, but they definitely paint a fun picture for this game.
Why learn this game?
Like many Morphy games we see the importance of rapid development, a nice sacrifice leading to mate, and the Morphy calling card of getting all our pieces into the attack. This game is a gem.
The Opera Game
Play The Classic - The Opera Game!
Ok, now test your memory and play the roll of Paul Morphy in the famous Opera Game. Good luck and enjoy!
