MARK RUBERY CHESS
The American genius Paul Charles Morphy (1837-84) defeated three of Europe’s leading masters in 1858 and then retired from the game. Called the ‘pride and sorrow of chess’-a mantle now belonging to R.J Fischer- Morphy’s accomplishments were not embraced by his family who thought chess was not a suitable occupation for a grown man. Spurned by his fiancée who would not ‘marry a mere chess player’, Morphy gave up the game that he had made such a dramatic impact on, as the following spark of genius will give testament to. On several occasions, the Duke of Brunswick invited Morphy to the Italian Opera House in Paris,Salle Le Peletier, where the former kept a private box which was, according to Morphy’s associate Frederick Edge, so close to the stage that one “might kiss the prima donna without any trouble”, and which always contained a chess set, the Duke being a keen player as well as an opera lover... The game played during the interval at the opera is the most famous example of the power of swift development. Morphy,P - Duke Karl Count Isouard/ Brunswick [C41]
Paris, 1858
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4?! 4.dxe5 Bxf3
(4…Nbd7!? an idea from Gurgenidze is less obliging) 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 (Developing a new piece and threatening mate makes this particular game an ideal model for beginners)… Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 (8 Qxb7 Qb4+ allows Black to plod on although a certain English GM would have snapped up the pawn!)… c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5! (Such is Morphy’s lead in development that this piece sacrifice is begging to be played)… cxb5
11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.0-0-0 (Bringing the rook into attack while looking after his own king)… Rd8 13.Rxd7! Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.Qb8+! (Giving up the queen to create a classic mate with his two remaining pieces)… Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1-0 This is what Nigel Short thought about the above game: ‘The game played by Morphy, my favourite player of all time, gave me a feeling of naked joy the first time I saw it. I still don’t understand why he didn’t take the pawn on b7 though’ Opinions vary as to which the opera that was being performed whilst they played the game although most sources point to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. The author W.H. Cozens responded to the debate as follows: ‘Who cares? When Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, who cares what chant was heard from below?’