Paul
Morphy (2800) - Some Amateur (2200)
[C34]
Club Game (?) (Casual Game)
New Orleans, LA; 1858.
[A.J.
Goldsby I]
A
model Morphy game. Also a great game for teaching beginners.
(I have taught this game probably several hundred times!!)
You
will definitely need a chess board, as there are NO diagrams here. (A
text-based page.)
(Click
HERE
if you would like to see this game on a java-script, re-play
board!!)
Click HERE to see a revision of my analysis, feel free to
print this out and study it. (October 1st, 2013.)
Click HERE
to see my video on this game! (October 1st, 2013.)
"Morphy's
combinations usually ended in mate, or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Here he
resorts
to a device rarely seen in his time. He simplifies by a series of exchanges,
to reach a position where
the mere threat of a simple pin clinches the win." - IRVING
CHERNEV.
***
1.
e4 e5; 2. f4 exf4; 3. Nf3 c6!?; ('?!')
Controls the center square on d5, but takes the best square away from Black's
QN.
[
The best line for Black was: 3...d5!; 4.exd5 Nf6; 5.Bb5+ c6; 6.dxc6 Nxc6;
7.d4 Bd6;
8.Qe2+ Be6; 9.Ng5 0-0!; {Comp.} and Black gets a
playable game.
Another book line is: 3...d6; 4.d4 g5; 5.h4 g4; 6.Ng1 Bh6;
7.Nc3 c6; 8.Nge2 Qf6;
9.g3!, with complicated play for both sides. ]
4.
Nc3 Bb4?!;
Black is in a rush to get rid of White's Knight. Yet later in the game, it is
the LONG-RANGE
Bishop
that will be the more dangerous of the two minor pieces!!
5.
Bc4 Bxc3?;
Continuing with the idea expressed by his last move.
[ Much better was: >/= 5...Qe7!?; "~" ]
6.
dxc3!,
White captures away from the center!
He
opens up his Queen, his QB, pressures the d-file, prevents ...d5; and
threatens to
take the pawn on f4.
[ Normally I teach my students to capture towards the center with,
6.bxc3, but the
text is much sharper and much more accurate. ]
6...Ne7;
7. Qd6!,
Normally you do not bring out the Queen early!
But
here there are 2 good reasons for doing so:
# 1.) The Queen on d6 is almost impervious to attack.
# 2.) The Queen on d6 prevents Black from easily
developing his entire Queen-side.
(White's
Queen on d6 plays the role of blockader ... something that is
normally
reserved for the Knights. And as long as the Queen is on d6, Black can
never
push his QP. And as long as the QP cannot move, Black will be unable to
find
a reasonable development of all of his Queen-side pieces.)
Notice Black was also threatening ...d5; (A break in the center.);
which White just prevented!
[ 7.0-0 d5!; etc. Black is doing pretty well here. ]
7...0-0;
8. Bxf4 Ng6; 9. Bg5 Qe8;
Black is trying defend.
With
his next move, White offers Black a pawn.
("Take my e-Pawn,
PLEASE!!")
10.
0-0!,
The White King is safest on the King-side. There is no reason to castle on the Q-side.
Plus with a King-side deployment ... White exerts very powerful pressure down the f-file.
White
is also offering a gambit. (The KP is open to possible capture.)
10...Kh8;
(...) Which Black probably wisely decides not to accept.
[ If 10...Qxe4?!; 11.Bb3,
(11.Nd4!?) 11...b6;
12.Rae1! Qg4; 13.h3 Qh5; 14.Ne5! Nxe5;
(
14...Qxg5?; 15.Rxf7 Ne7; (If 15...Rxf7?;
16.Bxf7+ Kh8; 17.Nxg6+! hxg6; 18.Qf8+ Kh7;
19.Qg8+ Kh6;
20.Qh8#) 16.Rxe7+
Kh8; 17.Nf7+ Kg8; 18.Nxg5+ Kh8; 19.Re8 h5;
20.Rxf8# ) 15.Rxe5 h6; Black has
no good move here. 16.Be7, "+/-"
and White has a winning attack. ]
11.
Rae1!,
White has mobilized his entire army!
He
avoids moving any other piece until every unit is actively engaged!!!
GM
Edmar Mednis writes:
<< Again admire Morphy's plan: It is only move 11 and ALL of his pieces
have been actively
and purposefully developed; moreover, his King
is safely castled. On the other hand, Black
is playing WITHOUT his Queenside. Under such
conditions, combinations appear as if
they, "fell from out of the sky."
>>
(From his book, "Practical (Chess) Opening Tips,"
page # 20.)
[ Several Masters have recommended: 11.Nh4!?,
as winning for White. ]
11...f6;
12. e5!,
Morphy insists on opening lines!
[ White could also play: 12.Nh4!?; or 12.Bd2!? ]
12...f5!;
Black wisely tries to keep lines closed.
The
player guiding the Black army MUST have been one of several things:
#1.) A very strong player, capable of seeing that if he took the Bishop
on g5, that
White would get a winning
attack;
#2.) He knew Morphy liked to open the game, and thus he simply wanted to
keep
the game closed;
#3.) He had been destroyed by Morphy before, and was simply terrified of
what the
great genius might do, if
given the chance!
***
It
might have been this, or any number of things - or a combination of the
factors listed above -
that caused Morphy's opponent to play as he did.
[ A good example of what happens if Black foolishly OPENS lines is:
12...fxg5?; ('??') 13.Nxg5 Na6; 14.Rxf8+ Qxf8;
15.Re4! Nc5; 16.Qxg6! hxg6; 17.Rh4#. ]
13.
Nd4 f4; 14. e6!, (Maybe - '!!')
Morphy single-mindedly continues to pursue the idea of opening lines.
[ Maroczy pointed out many years later that White could have played:
14.h4! h6;
(14...f3!?) 15.h5
hxg5; 16.hxg6 g4; 17.Kf2!, with Mate coming on the h-file. ]
14...dxe6;
15. Nxe6 Bxe6; 16. Rxe6 Qc8;
It looks as if Black ALMOST has everything under control.
But
once again, Morphy finds a combination that brilliantly exploits the
state
Black's sadly
under-developed game.
I
also must point out that:
A.) Morphy has calculated this entire combination out, even
though it is nearly 10 moves long!!; &
B.) Morphy may have had this whole thing planned well in
advance!
17.
Rxg6!! hxg6; 18. Qxg6, ('!')
Seemingly ... the obvious move.
{But did White have a better one?}
In fact this is such an obvious move ...
that few people have even bothered to look for
improvements at this particular point. But this move is not even in the top three
picks of
most strong computer {chess} programs here.
Going over some old notes, I find that
a large improvement was {first} suggested by one
Rick Frye, during one of my 'PCC' (Pensacola Chess Club) lectures.
(Circa approximately 1977.)
But I had forgotten all about this idea
until Bjørnar Snoksrud e-mailed me and mentioned
it again. (This note added: February 11th, 2004.)
[ In all likelihood, White could
improve with: >/=
18.Rf3!! Re8!; 19.Rxf4! Re1+;
20.Kf2! Re4!; 21.Rf8+! Kh7!?;
22.Bg8+!, {D?} Much better than simply
grabbing the Queen here.
( Also sufficient was: 22.Rxc8!?, ("+/-")
{Diagram?}
which is probably good enough to make the average player resign. )
22...Kh8; 23.Bf7+ Qxf8; {Diagram?}
This is probably forced.
( </= 23...Kh7?!; 24.Qxg6#. )
24.Qxf8+ Kh7; 25.Qg8#.
****************************************************
White could have also played: (>/=)
= 18.Rxf4! Rxf4; 19.Qxf4,
("+/-") {Diagram?}
and the only way Black can stop
mate is to give
up the Queen with ...Qg8. ]
18...Qf5; 19. Rxf4! Qxg6;
20. Rxf8+ Kh7; 21. Bg8+, (!) 21...Kh8;
22. Bf7+ Kh7; 23. Bxg6+ Kxg6; 24. Bf4, ('!') Black resigns.
1
- 0
Black
is going to lose a piece due to the pin on the back rank.
One
of Morphy's prettiest games, and one that has withstood the rigors of analysis
for nearly 150 years.
(It is also a tremendous teaching vehicle and shows clearly - the dangers of
lost tempi and poor development.)
*
Another little-known fact about this game:
It was one of several games played both SIMULTANEOUSLY ...
and BLINDFOLD!!!
(One of six games played in a blindfold, simultaneous exhibition,
according to Chernev!!!!!!)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
I have seen this game in literally dozens of books over the years.
The two best that I consulted in preparing this game are:
#
1.) "Practical (Chess) Opening Tips,"
by GM Edmar Mednis.
#
2.) "The 1000 Best Short Games
of Chess,"
(Game # 898, page # 485)
by the late
(great) Irving Chernev.
[See
also this link. (A digitized copy of the 1860 book of Morphy's
games by J. Lowenthal.)]
© A.J. Goldsby, 2002.
***
(Page
last updated : Wednesday; February 11th, 2004. Last
edit/save on: 10/07/2013
.)
NOTE:
Black may have resigned after White's 23rd move,
although this is not 100% certain. (I remember seeing a copy of the main
newspaper in New Orleans printed a copy of the game as I have it here. However,
these records may no longer exist, it seems that much of this material may have
been destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.) See the
COMMENTS/KIBITZING of the
CG page for this game for more details, I am user "LIFE Master
AJ" on that website. (You may read the comments, visit the referenced
pages, and make up your own mind.)
The
two references that I give (above) give this game with the same game score as I
give it here, so I have not altered this page - as I think that would possibly
cause some confusion.
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Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby I
Copyright (©) A.J. Goldsby, 1995 - 2012.
Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 2013. All rights
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