One of Robert’s Favorite Chess Games

For your enjoyment and edification, here’s a chess game that the American chess genius Paul Morphy played against two noblemen during intermission at the Paris Opera in 1858.


 
 
Morphy was a brilliant attacking player who liked to mobilize his pieces quickly and go straight for checkmate. Many of his games end in fireworks. (They’re well worth studying; you can find this one and others on the Web at www . chessgames . com/perl/chessplayer?pid=16002 .)
 
 

[Event “Casual Game at the Opera”]
[Site “Paris”]
[Date “1858.07.02”]
[White “Paul Morphy”]
[Black “Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard”]
[CBBWhiteId “*”]
[CBBBlackId “*”]
[Result “1-0”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 dxe5 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Qb3 Qe7 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bg5 b5 10. Nxb5 cxb5 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12. O-O-O Rd8 13. Rxd7 Rxd7 14. Rd1 Qe6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8++
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5 Responses to One of Robert’s Favorite Chess Games

  1. Piggy says:

    Woah… pwnage…

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  2. bookgirl_me says:

    Wow. That’s what I call playing aggressively.

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  3. And efficiently. Even the other chess champions of Morphy’s time were amazed by how quickly he won his games.

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  4. Purple Panda says:

    Oh, boy, that’s intense.

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  5. Isn’t it? Notice that the attack started with a threat to f7. That square and its White counterpart (f2) are worth keeping in mind — like the missing scale in Smaug’s armor in “The Hobbit.”

    The final mating pattern is useful to remember, too. When you’ve got the king in a corner, a defended rook is all you need.

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