Ten Hours

Paul Charles Morphy – Séguin
Eight-board blindfold simultaneous exhibition; Paris, September 27, 1858
Philidor Defence C41

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bd3 0-0 7. f4 c5. “Black leaves himself with a weakness which costs him dear”, writes Philip W. Sergeant in his book “Morphy’s Games of Chess”, New York Dover Publicatons, 1957, p. 185. 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. 0-0. Géza Maróczy regards 9. e5 as more energetic, but Morphy prefers to play on positional grounds. 9. .. Bg4 10. Be3 a6 11. a4 h6 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Nb4 14. Rad1 Qc7 15. b3 Nxd3 16. cxd3 Rfe8. Also after 16. ... b5 17. d4 b4 18. Ne2 White stands better. 17. d4 Qc6 18. dxc5! dxc5. “Morphy has now shifted his opponent’s weakness from the d6-Pawn to the c5-Pawn, and is willing to exchange Queens in order to win the latter – and with it the game”, Philip W. Sergeant wrote in his book “Morphy’s Games of Chess”, New York Dover Publicatons, 1957, p. 185.

19. e5! Morphy disdains the abstract benefit of a space advantage by 19. d5, and scientifically proceeds toward the endgame. 19. ... Qxf3 20. Rxf3 Nh7 21. Rd7 Rab8 22. Nd5 Bf8 23. Bf2 Rbd8 24. Nb6 Rxd7 25. Nxd7 Rc8 26. Rc3 Rc7. Black cannot avoid the loss of the c-Pawn, for if 26. ... Be7 then 27. a5! inexorably tightening the grip. 27. Nxf8 Nxf8 28. Rxc5. Not 28. Bxc5? as after 28. ... Ne6 Black regains the Pawn with equality. 28. .. Rxc5 29. Bxc5 Ne6 30. Be3 g6 31. g4 Nd8 32. Kf2 Nc6 33. Ke2 b5 34. axb5 axb5 35. Kd3 Kf8 36. Bc5+ Ke8 37. Ke4 Kd7 38. Kd5 Nd8 39. f5 gxf5 40. gxf5 h5 41. Bb6 Nb7. On 41. ... Nc6 42. e6+ White wins the Knight. 42. e6+. “Every step is made with the same precision by Mr. Morphy, in this the conclusion of the last game, after ten hours of unexampled mental tension, which he exhibited in the outset of the first partie”, Howard Staunton wrote in Max Lange’s book “Paul Morphy, a sketch from the Chess World”, London, 1860, p. 203. 42. ... fxe6+ 43. fxe6+ Ke7 44. Kc6 Nd8+ 45. Bxd8+ Kxd8 46. Kd6 Ke8 47. e7 1 : 0.