Paul Morphy Number of games in database: 403 Years covered: 1848 to 1869 Overall record: +201 -26 =26 (84.6%)* * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games Based on games in the database; may be incomplete. 150 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.
Paul Charles Morphy was born on June 22, 1837 in New Orleans. He was the son of a successful lawyer and judge Alonzo Morphy. His uncle, Ernest Morphy, claims that no one formally taught Morphy how to play chess, but rather that he learned the rules by observing games between himself and Alonzo. When Morphy was only 12 years old, Johann Jacob Loewenthal visited New Orleans and at the behest of his father, agreed to play a casual match with the prodigy. Young Paul won 2½ to ½.
In 1857 Morphy won the First American Chess Congress with a dominating performance. This success was followed by a European trip where he met and triumphed over most of the prominent masters of the period, including Adolf Anderssen whom he defeated +7 -2 =2. Upon returning to America, he announced his retirement from chess.
Although the official title of World Champion did not exist in his time, Morphy was and is widely regarded as the strongest player of his day. Even today his games are studied for their principles of open lines and quick development, and his influence on the modern game is undeniable. Mikhail Botvinnik wrote of his influence: "His mastery of open positions was so vast that little new has been learned about such positions after him."
The Rocket: His rating would be around 2400 if he still played in the style of the 1800s romantic chess but had he learned modern theory nobody knows how high he would have been rated.
savagerules: <brankat> I believe it was in reference to General MacLellan and his continuous reluctance to engage his forces during the early days of the Civil War, that Lincoln finally wrote him asking him sarcastically, "Sir do you mind if we borrow your army?, there's a war going on."
sleepyirv: <tamar> It wouldn't be a "pattern" if he was born, raised, etc. today- if he was interested in chess; he would be one of the best, if not the top, player in the world.
brankat: I suppose that was around the time of the "Peninsula campaign" :-)
Yes, it took "our George" a while to get in stride, and then, as soon as he got engaged in a good fight (read: a massacre) at Antietam, honest Abe took away the command, again.
Pawn Ambush: "II plantera la banniere de Castille sur les murs de Madrid au cri de Ville gagnee, et le petit Roi s'en ira tout penaud."- Paul Morphy
(He will plant the banner of Castille upon the walls of Madrid to the cry of victorious city, and the little King will go away looking very sheepish)."
This is on of the most beautiful lines I've ever read, so much so that it has inspired me to create one myself:
He will clear a path through the mindfield and upon reaching the fallen flag shall lead the charge, they will follow him, and storm the castle and then the flag shall be planted!
HeMateMe: Not sure, but they may have had that bell variant, a bell rings every ten seconds, and you have to move before the bell rings, or you forfeit. Or they may have had fast, small, hour glasses, turned after each move, to force quick play.
Boomie: <brankat: I suppose that was around the time of the "Peninsula campaign" :-) Yes, it took "our George" a while to get in stride, and then, as soon as he got engaged in a good fight (read: a massacre) at Antietam, honest Abe took away the command, again.>
He was relieved for not pursuing the tattered Southern forces with the many divisions he had held in reserve throughout the battle. The war could have ended there. The rebel forces had one working cannon at the end of the battle and it's fire was being directed by Longstreet...heh. That's how beat up they were.
The Little Napolean was a fine training general but had no business being on a battlefield against Lee.
brankat: <Boomie> Then Gen.Longstreet must have been a good gunner ;-)
Also, Gen.McLellan was not getting much in terms of reliable info from Pinkerton, not to mention that, apparently, his major concern was always to save as many lives as possible, rather than to take them. But, it didn't work at Antietam. Sam Grant, on the other hand, didn't count the dead at Shiloh, and won the battle.
Gen.McLalland's heart was never in the War, but in the reconciliation with the "erring sisters", and Peace.
Ironically enough, Little Napoleon "coached" young Armstrong Custer :-)
Who knows, with a 150 years worth of a hindsight, and especially with the last dozen years, or so, in mind, perhaps it would have been better to have had 2, not one, major power on the continent.
Boomie: <brankat: his major concern was always to save as many lives as possible, rather than to take them. But, it didn't work at Antietam.>
Failed miserably at saving lives there. It was the bloodiest day in US military history. Which is exactly what the North wanted. Although Lee's conduct of the battle was brilliant, it was a strategic blunder. The rebs could not win a war of attrition.
Grant got a bit of luck at Shiloh. General A. S. Johnston was killed during the first day. Johnston was one of the South's top 5 commanders. Like any great general, he fought from the front and paid the full price.
But we digress from the game at hand. Perhaps we can continue elsewhere.
Btw, I heard that Gen.Johnston had only a minor wound, a shot in a leg. But, being busy with the conduct of the battle, refused a treatment on the spot, and bled to death. That certainly helped the Northern Army.
MrMelad: Here is a game of Morphy from 1857 that doesn't appear in this database (I got it from <SBC>'s site http://batgirl.atspace.com)
[Event "Unoffical Games From the 1st ACC"] [Site "New York, USA"] [Date "1857.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Morphy, Paul C"] [Black "NN"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C51"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "
cruiseyleemorph: I would just like make a comment about Morphy that many might not know or it may have not been brought up her eon this forum. Morphy retired or stopped putting all his energy into chess when he was only 20 years old! He did play on after this but I dont think he played tournaments like he did before 1858. If he would have carried on playing properly and studying fully he may have been even more renowned as the greatest player ever. I still feel this is true anyway!
Paul Morphy's story is a rites of passage tale about a boy who becomes famous by playing chess. It is also a cautionary tale about New Orleans, family pride and a mind who cannot cope with the real world...The Pride and the Sorrow is a cross between Josh Waitzkin's Searching for Bobby Fischer (about a chess prodigy) and Vladimir Nabokov's The Luzhin Defense (about chess causing madness). Paul resists gambling and dueling and despite Morphy family rivalries he takes on the Europeans at their own game. But the red-light district and temptations on the other side of New Orleans are never far away...
The Pride and the Sorrow: Book Review, June 2008
New Zealand novelist Geoff Cush, a member of the Bookhabit judging panel, had the following to say about the Bookhabit Award 2008: "What made Matt Fullerty's writing stand out, from the very first sentence, was an unusually strong and individual way with words. Taking us into the vanished world of old America and Europe he uses a highly textured language to give an almost physical experience of being in that place and time. Drawing subtle lines between a society top-heavy with leisure and the profligate genius it produced in Morphy, he holds back the historical and personal reckoning while letting it gather and brood like the storm that finally washes away New Orleans. In my view this makes The Pride and the Sorrow a stand-out all rounder in the craft of literary fiction."
Number of games in database: 403
Years covered: 1848 to 1869
Overall record: +201 -26 =26 (84.6%)*
* Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
150 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.
C51 C52
King's Gambit Accepted (27)
C37 C39 C38 C35 C33
Sicilian (15)
B21 B44 B40 B20
King's Pawn Game (13)
C44 C40 C20
Philidor's Defense (13)
C41
King's Gambit Declined (12)
C30 C31
C33 C39 C38
Evans Gambit (15)
C51 C52
Ruy Lopez (14)
C77 C65 C60 C78 C64
Giuoco Piano (9)
C53 C50 C54
Philidor's Defense (7)
C41
King's Pawn Game (5)
C44
NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
Morphy vs Duke Karl / Count Isouard, 1858 1-0
Paulsen vs Morphy, 1857 0-1
Bird vs Morphy, 1858 0-1
Morphy vs Le Carpentier, 1849 1-0
Morphy vs Schrufer, 1859 1-0
Morphy vs Anderssen, 1858 1-0
Morphy vs A Morphy, 1850 1-0
J Schulten vs Morphy, 1857 0-1
N Marache vs Morphy, 1857 0-1
Morphy vs NN, 1850 1-0
GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
Paul Morphy -The Great Chess Genius by Timothy Glenn Forney
Morphy Favorites by chocobonbon
paul morphy best games by brager
If chess was a religion, Morphy would be God. by Chopin
Paul Morphy: A Modern Perspective by Avalon Landing
morpstau's favorite games by morpstau
Paul Morphy's Best Games by KingG
Morphy Chess Masterpieces by nuts
Blunder Check: Paul Morphy by nimh
Morphy plays openings other than 1.e4 e5 by Fischer of Men
frank124c's favorite games--morphy's strategems by frank124c
chess strategems iv - under construction by gauer
MORPHY GAMES by gambitfan
Morphys Masterpeices by HailM0rphy
GAMES ANNOTATED BY MORPHY: [what is this?]
La Bourdonnais vs McDonnell, 1834
La Bourdonnais vs McDonnell, 1834
McDonnell vs La Bourdonnais, 1834
La Bourdonnais vs McDonnell, 1834
La Bourdonnais vs McDonnell, 1834
>> 31 GAMES ANNOTATED BY MORPHY
Search Sacrifice Explorer for Paul Morphy
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(born Jun-22-1837, died Jul-10-1884) United States of America
[what is this?]
In 1857 Morphy won the First American Chess Congress with a dominating performance. This success was followed by a European trip where he met and triumphed over most of the prominent masters of the period, including Adolf Anderssen whom he defeated +7 -2 =2. Upon returning to America, he announced his retirement from chess.
Although the official title of World Champion did not exist in his time, Morphy was and is widely regarded as the strongest player of his day. Even today his games are studied for their principles of open lines and quick development, and his influence on the modern game is undeniable. Mikhail Botvinnik wrote of his influence: "His mastery of open positions was so vast that little new has been learned about such positions after him."
If you don’t want to use the army I should like to borrow it for a while.
Yours respectfully,
A. Lincoln
Yes, it took "our George" a while to get in stride, and then, as soon as he got engaged in a good fight (read: a massacre) at Antietam, honest Abe took away the command, again.
(He will plant the banner of Castille upon the walls of Madrid to the cry of victorious city, and the little King will go away looking very sheepish)."
This is on of the most beautiful lines I've ever read, so much so that it has inspired me to create one myself:
He will clear a path through the mindfield and upon reaching the fallen flag shall lead the charge, they will follow him, and storm the castle and then the flag shall be planted!
He was relieved for not pursuing the tattered Southern forces with the many divisions he had held in reserve throughout the battle. The war could have ended there. The rebel forces had one working cannon at the end of the battle and it's fire was being directed by Longstreet...heh. That's how beat up they were.
The Little Napolean was a fine training general but had no business being on a battlefield against Lee.
Also, Gen.McLellan was not getting much in terms of reliable info from Pinkerton, not to mention that, apparently, his major concern was always to save as many lives as possible, rather than to take them. But, it didn't work at Antietam. Sam Grant, on the other hand, didn't count the dead at Shiloh, and won the battle.
Gen.McLalland's heart was never in the War, but in the reconciliation with the "erring sisters", and Peace.
Ironically enough, Little Napoleon "coached" young Armstrong Custer :-)
Who knows, with a 150 years worth of a hindsight, and especially with the last dozen years, or so, in mind, perhaps it would have been better to have had 2, not one, major power on the continent.
Failed miserably at saving lives there. It was the bloodiest day in US military history. Which is exactly what the North wanted. Although Lee's conduct of the battle was brilliant, it was a strategic blunder. The rebs could not win a war of attrition.
Grant got a bit of luck at Shiloh. General A. S. Johnston was killed during the first day. Johnston was one of the South's top 5 commanders. Like any great general, he fought from the front and paid the full price.
But we digress from the game at hand. Perhaps we can continue elsewhere.
Btw, I heard that Gen.Johnston had only a minor wound, a shot in a leg. But, being busy with the conduct of the battle, refused a treatment on the spot, and bled to death. That certainly helped the Northern Army.
[Event "Unoffical Games From the 1st ACC"]
[Site "New York, USA"]
[Date "1857.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy, Paul C"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C51"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "
click for larger view
"] [PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "1857.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. O-O Nf6 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Ba3 d6 10. e5 Ne4 11. Re1 d5 12. Bb5 Bg4 13. Rc1 Qd7 14. Qa4 Bxf3 15. Rxc6 O-O-O 16. e6 fxe6 17. Rxb6 c6 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Qa6+ 1-0
position after 15..0-0-0
click for larger view
I liked 16.e6 very much, it is more forcing than the immediate 16.Rxb6 because it prevents 16..Qg4, ending the game faster.
He was indeed the greatest!
On the subject of Paul Morphy, please see my biographical novel about Morphy's life at http://www.mattfullerty.com and http://theprideandthesorrow.blogspot.com
The Pride and the Sorrow: Press Release
Paul Morphy's story is a rites of passage tale about a boy who becomes famous by playing chess. It is also a cautionary tale about New Orleans, family pride and a mind who cannot cope with the real world...The Pride and the Sorrow is a cross between Josh Waitzkin's Searching for Bobby Fischer (about a chess prodigy) and Vladimir Nabokov's The Luzhin Defense (about chess causing madness). Paul resists gambling and dueling and despite Morphy family rivalries he takes on the Europeans at their own game. But the red-light district and temptations on the other side of New Orleans are never far away...
The Pride and the Sorrow: Book Review, June 2008
New Zealand novelist Geoff Cush, a member of the Bookhabit judging panel, had the following to say about the Bookhabit Award 2008: "What made Matt Fullerty's writing stand out, from the very first sentence, was an unusually strong and individual way with words. Taking us into the vanished world of old America and Europe he uses a highly textured language to give an almost physical experience of being in that place and time. Drawing subtle lines between a society top-heavy with leisure and the profligate genius it produced in Morphy, he holds back the historical and personal reckoning while letting it gather and brood like the storm that finally washes away New Orleans. In my view this makes The Pride and the Sorrow a stand-out all rounder in the craft of literary fiction."
Thank you for reading!
http://www.mattfullerty.com
My page specifically about Paul Morphy and Bobby Fischer is here http://mattfullerty.com/chess_paulmorphy_neworleans_bobbyfischer.aspx
Also, you can read more about Paul Morphy at http://theprideandthesorrow.blogspot.com