The Ninth Hour

Adolf Anderssen – Paul Charles Morphy
Match game 6; Paris, December 24, 1858
Anderssen Opening A00

1. a3! The German giant understands that he must do something different to save the honour! 1. ... e5. What did you expect from Morphy? 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Be6 6. Nf3 Bd6 7. Be2. Géza Maróczy suggests here 7. e4 Nxc3 (7. ... Nf6 8. d4 is decidedly more promising for White) 8. bxc3 with a slight edge. 7. ... 0-0 8. d4 Nxc3 9. bxc3 e4 10. Nd2 f5 11. f4. We might call it a critical position because it will repeat itself once more. 11. ... g5!? Morphy was severely criticized by Wilhelm Steinitz for his wild attempt to hunt the enemy King while yet in the centre. When I first saw this game I was so impressed by the fact that Morphy appeared to have been strategically outplayed by his opponent that I never seriously thought about it. What if Steinitz is right? Maybe 11. ... exf3 12. Nxf3 Nd7 with reasonable play. 12. Bc4. 12. Nc4 was strong as well, and, from a dogmatic viewpoint, even stronger. 12. ... Bxc4 13. Nxc4 gxf4 14. exf4 Qe8!! Morphy consolidates by an elegant (and really far from obvious) Queen manoeuvre. 15. 0-0 Qc6 16. Qb3 Qd5 17. Rb1 b6. It seems to me that 17. ... Nc6(!) would be quite better. 18. Qa2. With the not too hidden threat of Rb1-b5. 18. ... c6. Maróczy rightly recommends 18. ... Nd7 so to answer 19. Rb5 by 19. ... Qe6 with a perfectly playable game. 19. Qe2 Nd7 20. Ne3 Qe6 21. c4 Nf6 22. Rb3! Anderssen finally took off the mask and, with his Rook lift, shows Morphy his real intentions. 22. ... Kf7? His Majesty takes a walk on the wild side, where, however, will be exposed to unbearable dangers and threats. It is clear Morphy was playing to win and he could even be right, had he chosen not to “hide” his King into the wilderness. So, with the same idea in mind, I’d suggest 22. ... h6! 23. Bb2 Kh7 to follow with ... Rf8-f7, ... Ra8-g8, and eventually ... Rf7-g7. 23. Bb2 Rac8 24. Kh1 Rg8. No one in the world – not even Morphy – could afford to give Anderssen such a position.

25. d5! The crushing breakthrough. Now White must win. 25. ... cxd5 26. cxd5 Qd7. Not 26. ... Nxd5? 27. Qh5+ with very sad consequences for Black. 27. Nc4 Ke7. 27. ... Nxd5? 28. Rd5! is again disastrous. 28. Bxf6+!? It is still quite good, but Anderssen imperceptibly starts losing the thread. As was pointed out by most commentators, 28. Rh3! was much simpler (28. ... Qb5 29. Bxf6+ Kxf6 30. Qh5!+−), but I like to mention the alternative way given by 2nd World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker: 28. Be5 Bxe5 29. fxe5 Nxd5 30. Nd6 Rcf8 31. Rh3 Rg7 (“after 31. ... Kd8 White would occupy the c- and d- files”) 32. Rh6 and “White wins easily by systematic attack on the weak Black Pawns. Instead of this winning line of play, White chose a much weaker procedure, failed again and again and at last lost the game”, as he writes in his book “Lasker’s Manual of Chess”, New York, Dover, 1960, pp. 221-222. 28. ... Kxf6 29. Qb2+? “This move costs White a portion of his advantage and terribly prolongs the game. Here, too, 29. Rh3! Bb8 (29. ... Qb5 30. Qh5! is familiar) 30. Ne3 was very strong, giving White an overwhelming position”, Grandmaster Valeri Beim writes in his book “Paul Morphy Una Prospettiva Moderna”, Roma, Prisma Editori, 2008, p. 186. 29. ... Kf7 30. Rh3? A careless inversion of moves that allows Black to defend with ... Rg8-g7 followed by ... Kf7-g8. As Maroczy points out, after 30. Qd4! Black would have had to face unsurmontable problems. 30. ... Rg7! 31. Qd4? Now this makes no longer sense. As Beim points out, best was 31. Qb3! Kg8 32. Rh5! Rf8 33. Rh6 to be soon followed by Nc4-e5 keeping a powerful edge. 31. ... Kg8! 32. Rh6 Bf8 33. d6 Rf7 34. Rh3. Not 34. Ne5?? Qb5 and Black wins. 34. ... Qa4! Morphy is finally out of the blue, but the breathtaking pathos of the drama is not yet over. 35. Rc1!? After such a heroic epic, Anderssen refuses to accept the inevitability of a peaceful outcome: 35. Rg3+ Bg7 36. Rxg7+ Rxg7 37. Qd5+ Kh8 38. Ne5 Rf8 with virtual equality. 35. ... Rc5? It worked! Morphy’s move serves the purpose to prevent White from playing Qd4-d5-e6 (35. ... b5? 36. Qe5! bxc4 37. Rg3+ Bg7 38. Rxg7+ Rxg7 39. Qe6+±/+−), but in fact it again puts Black in a critical situation. Correct was 35. ... Bg7! 36. Rg3 h6 37. h3 Kh7! 38. Qd5 Qd7 (Beim) leaving Black slightly better. 36. Rg3+ Bg7 37. h3 Kh8 38. Rxg7? Exhausted, Anderssen misses 38. Qd2! with Nc4-e5 to follow and more than excellent winning chances for White. 38. ... Rxg7 39. Rc3 e3!! Cooly Morphy plays the only saving move, which psychologically destroys his opponent. 39. ... Kg8? was instead elegantly refuted by 40. Rg3! Qd7 41. Ne5 Rxe5 42. Rxg7+ (Morphy’s analysis), while 39. ... Rc8 (which Steinitz wrongly claims as Black’s best) would simply lose the game after 40. Qf6! Qe8 41. Ne5 Rxc3 42. d7 Rc1+ 43. Kh2 Qxd7 44. Nxd7 Rc2 45. Kg1 Rcxg2+ 46. Kf1+− (Beim’s analysis). 40. Rxe3? At last Anderssen falls into an hallucination! The right way (and the right outcome as well!) was 40. Qf6! Rxc4 41. Qf8+ drawing by perpetual check. 40. ... Rxc4 41. Qf6. Too late, but also 41. Qe5 Rc5! was dramatically hopeless. 41. ... Rc1+ 42. Kh2 Qxf4+ 0 : 1. This titanic struggle took 8 hours.

Here is a drawing of Paul Charles Morphy wearing his broad Panama hat in London, 1859. Image courtesy of Chess.com.