- Joined
- 20 Jan 07
- Moves
- 24894
I was just starting to feel a little better about my game. My understanding and tactical foresight have really come on over the past few months and for the first time in ages i'm seeing some genuine improvement in my play.
However, I was bought swiftly back to reality while playing over the following game.
Morphy - Amateur, NY 1857. Remove White's QK.
1.e4 e5, 2.f4 ef4 3.Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5.0-0 gf3 6. Qf3 Qf6 7.e5 Qe5 8. Bf7 Kf7 9.d4 Qd4 10.Be3 Qf6 11. Qh5 Qg6 12. Rf4 Nf6 13.Rf6 Kf6 14. Bd4 Ke7 15. Re1 Kf7 16.Qd5 Qe6 17.Qf3 Ke8 18. Qh5 Kd8 19.Re6 de6 20.Bh8 Resigns.
I'm afraid i just hung my head. How the hell am i ever going to be able to play like that!
Pure genius. One has to ask:Was Morphy actually human,or an Alien sent to show mankind how this game is really to be played.
Originally posted by TalismanAnd now I feel is the time to ask. How do you play two moves odd? I mean is that letting your opponent make two consecutive moves and then the game goes normally. Cause I've read that Morphy give two moves and one pawn odds and still he pretty much kicked everybody's ass.
Morphy - Amateur, NY 1857. Remove White's QK.
Simply put, the game was played at Knight odds. morphy started the game without his Queens Knight.
Originally posted by TalismanGot you. I've been playing chess so long that the letter 'K' always suggests king to me, never knight (which is, as well know, spelt with an 'N'😉.
Morphy - Amateur, NY 1857. Remove White's QK.
Simply put, the game was played at Knight odds. morphy started the game without his Queens Knight.
- Joined
- 20 Jan 07
- Moves
- 24894
Originally posted by Fat LadyYes apologies for that. I get so used to using both types of notation, i was bound to mix and match them sooner or later.
Got you. I've been playing chess so long that the letter 'K' always suggests king to me, never knight (which is, as well know, spelt with an 'N'😉.
I'm sure it doesn't make the game any less impressive.
Here is the game online: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1238164
This game is OK, but nothing special. I'm not even sure White is winning at the end.
Morphy was very good at tactics, no doubt about it, but spectacular wins against amateurs who were probably weaker players than most of us is no way to measure the greatness of a chess player.
Haven't you ever played blitz against an IM strength player? They can churn out games like this all night long if their opponent is much weaker than them.
I've never played the King's Gambit in my life but when I play in blitz against a beginner I will sacrifice material for a spectacular finish in about half the games.
Morphy was a great player, but this isn't him at his best. Look at his games against Anderssen for an idea about how well he could play against someone of near his own ability: http://tinyurl.com/347543
Originally posted by adam warlockIn Morphy's day chess players were considered gamblers. Morphy did not think that it was a good way to earn a living. Strike one. A woman he liked told him that he was just a chess player. Strike two. He was so good that the players no longer wanted to play him. Strike three. He sided with the north. When he was thirty years of age he could practice law. Nobody would use him as a attorney at law because he sided against the Confederate States of America. This last one was Paul Morphy's death. It ruined him.
What were the other three?
Originally posted by gambit3Poor Morphy, "The pride and sorrow of chess". He dominated all of the great players in europe, then retired from the game, never playing in another tournament. He lived in obscurity and suffered from mental delusions afterward.
In Morphy's day chess player were considered gamblers. Morphy did not think that it was a good way to earn a living. Strike one. A woman he liked told him that he was just a chess player. Strike two. He was so good that the players no longer wanted to play him. Strike three. He sided with the north. When he was thirty years of age he could practice law. Nobo ...[text shortened]... ainst the Confederate States of America. This last one was Paul Morphy's death. It ruined him.
That act was dupicated 100 years later by another American, Bobby Fischer.
Two great American players that beat the best in the world, then quit playing at the height of their powers. What are the odds?
Originally posted by Sam The ShamMorphy was rejected by a woman and could not practice law. Morphy wanted to be an attorny at law. These are the main things that hurt Morphy. I have no idea what happened to Fischer. The things he prized the most are chess and privacy. He was a celebrated hero so he lost some or most of the privacy he prized so much. He also felt that the World Chess Champion could not afford to play a chess game less then World Chess Title level of play. This is a level of play that he felt he could not live up to? It may be the main reason he did not defend the Title? P.S. The World Chess Title was a heavy crown for Spassky to wear and was the main reason he failed to beat Fischer?
Poor Morphy, "The pride and sorrow of chess". He dominated all of the great players in europe, then retired from the game, never playing in another tournament. He lived in obscurity and suffered from mental delusions afterward.
That act was dupicated 100 years later by another American, Bobby Fischer.
Two great American players that beat the best in the world, then quit playing at the height of their powers. What are the odds?