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.

Coming Down the Seine

Paul Charles Morphy – Jules Arnous de Rivière
Paris, January 8, 1863
Giuoco Piano C53

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. d4 Bb6 6. 0-0 d6 7. h3 Nf6 8. Re1 h6 9. a4 a5. A bit too committal. For 9. ... a6 10. Bd5 0-0 11. Na3 Ba7 see Paoli – L. Kovács, 12th Lajos Asztalos Memorial, Baja 1971. 10. Na3. In spite of the friendly nature of the game, Morphy shows himself to be an innovator and anticipates most of Nicolas Rossolimo’s strategies and maneuvers. 10. ... Nd8. The reckless 10. ... g5 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. Nc4 doesn’t promise any good for Black, Klovans – Shishov, 3rd USSR Team Chess Championship, Riga 1954, whereas instead 10. ... 0-0 – suggested by Géza Maróczy – deserves consideration. 11. Nc2 Be6 12. Ne3 Bxc4 13. Nxc4 Nd7 14. Ne3. White got a clear advantage by classic means. 14. ... g6. No better is 14. ... c6 15. Nf5 Qf6 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Nd6+ (Maróczy’s analysis). 15. Nd5 Qe6. Black knows this cannot be good, but the only other choice 15. ... Qf8 16. Be3 soonly followed by Nd5xb6 would lead him to a positional disaster.

16. Bxh6! f6. Not 16. ... Rxh6 on account of 17. Ng5 brilliantly trapping Her Majesty. 17. Bg7? Morphy unusually plays a careless move! Maróczy rightly recommends 17. Be3 which leaves White with a decisive advantage. 17. ... Rh5! The only move to survive! After 17. ... Rh7? 18. Bxf6! Nxf6 19. Ng5 White wins the Queen. 18. g4 Rxh3 19. Nxf6+ Nxf6 20. Ng5 Qd7? This is the losing move. With 20. ... Qxg4+ 21. Qxg4 Nxg4 22. Nxh3 Kf7 23. f3 Kxg7 24. fxg4 exd4 25. Kg2 Ne6 Black would have gotten enough compensation for the Exchange and therefore good drawing chances (Maróczy’s analysis). 21. Bxf6 Rh4 22. f3 exd4 23. cxd4 Rh6 24. Kg2 Nf7 25. Rh1 Nxg5. If 25. ... Rxh1 then 26. Qxh1 Bxd4!? 27. Qh7! with an irresistible attack. 26. Rxh6 Nh7 27. Qh1 Nxf6 28. Rh8+ Ke7 29. Rxa8 Bxd4 30. Qh6! Qc6 31. Rc1 Qb6. “This was the right moment for giving up the game”, says Maróczy. 32. Rxc7+ Ke6 33. Re8+ Nxe8 34. Qxg6+ Ke5 35. Qf5 mate.

瑪琪雅朵咖啡 (Caffè macchiato)

Gerolamo Tassinari – James Thompson
Paris, 1855
Evans Gambit C52

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4!? Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4. Howard Staunton’s idea. 6. ... exd4 7. 0-0 Bb6. A camouflage. 7. ... d3 transposes into Anderssen – Dufresne, Berlin 1852 — the Evergreen Game! — and 7. ... d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 into the so-called Normal Position — in fact a “tabiya”. 8. Ba3!? An original idea. After 8. cxd4 d6 White can choose among 9. Bb2, 9. d5 (Anderssen), 9. h3 (McDonnell) and 9. Nc3 (Morphy). 8. ... d3?! I don’t like this move. In another partie of the series the American player rightly preferred 8. ... d6 9. e5 Nxe5 10. Re1 Be6 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qxe5 Qf6 with some advantage to Black, Tassinari – Thompson, Paris 1855. 9. Qb3 Nh6 10. e5 Na5 11. Qa4 Nxc4 12. Qxc4 c5 13. Qd5. Clearly not 13. Bxc5?? on account of 13. ... Qc7−+ and finis. 13. ... Qc7 14. Nbd2 0-0 15. Nc4. “Mr. Tassinari will keep his advantage to the end with great vigor and skill”, wrote — a little too hastily — La Régence. 15. ... Nf5 16. Qxd3 Ne7 17. Ng5 Ng6 18. f4 h6

19. Nxf7! Well played! 19. ... Rxf7? The crisis. Correct is 19. ... d5! 20. Nxh6+!? (White can play more confidently 20. Qxg6 Qxf7 21. Qxf7+ Kxf7 22. Nd6 Rc7 23. f5 with a slight plus) 20. ... Kh7 21. Qxd5 gxh6 23. e6 and White has interesting compensation for his material disadvantage. 20. Qxg6 Rf8 21. Nd6. Now it’s over. 21. ... a6 22. c4 Ba5 23. Bb2 b5 24. f5 1 : 0. Source: La Régence, No. 5, May 1856, 15, page 144.