Fighting the Legend

Paul Charles Morphy – Adolf Anderssen
Match game 9; Paris, December 27, 1858
Sicilian Defence B44

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nb5! d6 6. Bf4! This move used to be Bobby Fischer’s favourite! 6. ... e5 7. Be3 f5? Anderssen play too ambitiously in his aim for a comeback. Either 7. ... Nf6 (R. J. Fischer – T. V. Petrossiàn, Buenos Aires 1971, match game 1) or 7. ... a6 (Szén – Anderssen, London 1851 Chess Tournament, London 1851) would have been much better.

8. N1c3! An astonishing and powerful demolition! 8. ... f4. “Already Black has a lost game. If instead of this move he had played 8. ... a6 then ensued 9. Nd5 axb5 10. Bb6 &c.”, Howard Staunton writes in his book “Chess Praxis”, London, Bell & Daldy, 1871, p. 497. And, indeed, after 8. ... a6 9. Nd5! axb5 10. Bb6 Qh4 11. Nc7+ Kd7 12. Nxa8 Qxe4+ 13. Qe2 Black could resign (Kasparov’s analysis). On the other hand, also 8. ... Nf6 9. Bg5 Be6 (or 9. ... a6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Qh5+) 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Ne7 13. Qh5+ appear to be completely hopeless, so Anderssen consistently develops his primitive idea. 9. Nd5! fxe3 10. Nbc7+ Kf7 11. Qf3+? Morphy should have been more pragmatic in cashing in: 11. Nxa8 exf2+ 12. Kxf2 Qh4+ 13. g3 Qxe4+ 14. Bg2 gave White a virtually decisive advantage. Now Anderssen gets out of trouble thanks to a strong couple of moves. 11. ... Nf6 12. Bc4 Nd4! 13. Nxf6+ d5! Not 13. ... Kg6 14. Qh5+! Kxf6 15. Ne8+ and White wins. 14. Bxd5+ Kg6? After much suffering, Anderssen collapsed. The position ensuing from 14. ... Ke7! (Zukertort) 15. Qh5 gxf6 has been deeply analysed by a number of commentators through the centuries, so I won’t repeat their specific variations here. The only thing sure is that the game would have been unclear and very uncertainly balanced. 15. Qh5+! Kxf6 16. fxe3! Perhaps Anderssen was hoping for 16. Ne8+?? Qxe8! 17. Qxe8 Bb4+ and Black wins. 16. ... Nxc2+ 17. Ke2 1 : 0. For if 17. ... Nxa1 then 18. Rf1+ Ke7 19. Qxe5+ Kd7 20. Be6+ Kc6 21. Rc1+ and mate in two moves.