Paul Morphy: A Modern Perspective Valeri Beim 2005 Russell Enterprises, Inc. Milford, CT USA 1 Table of Contents Ackowledgements, Signs and Symbols 4 Introduction 5 Paul Morphy: Researching a Phenomenon 8 Part One: America 10 Part Two: Europe 51 Conclusion 152 Table of Results 155 Bibliography 160 161 Index of Openings 162 Index of Players 163 General Index 3 Introduction When I set about collecting material for my first book I wanted to ensure that the material would be as varied as possible. Looking for variety, I dove into examples from the 19th century, knowing that I would undoubtedly find them to be clear and convincing. The first source I “delved into” was Paul Morphy. All that I knew of him was that he had been a very young and colossally talented American chessplayer, that he traveled to Europe, where in a relatively short span of time he convincingly overcame the world’s best players; including the one who was un- questionably the strongest – that great master of attack, Adolf Anderssen. Upon his return home Morphy refused to play on even terms against anyone. He underwent a psychological withdrawal that progressed to the point where he re- fused to play chess, except for odds games against a childhood friend, or an occa- sional simultaneous exhibition. Morphy had an amazing eye for combinations and played a very aggressive style of chess, bravely sacrificing material for the attack. His contemporaries fell one after another, unprepared to withstand such an assault. Still, he played at a rela- tively low level compared to those who followed him, since the rules of posi- tional play were as yet unknown, pending the arrival of Steinitz. Positional blun- ders appeared ubiquitously, in great quantities; and in this sense, Paul Morphy was no exception, outclassing the others only on the strength of his talent for combinations. That is how I imagined the chess life of that era. Understandably, I was only aware of a few examples of Morphy’s outstanding play, all of them the same – crushing defeats of trusting opposition. Such was my knowledge of Morphy when I began my research. This was gleaned from a few books that often parroted one another, sometimes to the point of using the same exact words! In beginning my search for appropriate examples, I wasn’t expecting anything extraordinary. I thought only to come across something as yet undiscovered, a selection of lesser-known spectacular combinations and light- ning attacks; I could not have hoped for more. What I actually found was, as you may have guessed, something different. I tried to uncover examples that were not too one-sided, and mainly chose to study those games versus more or less serious opposition – very few of my selec- tions were odds games. Thus I found myself reviewing Morphy’s most significant games and found, some- what surprisingly, that they were hard fought battles with chances for both sides. 5 His opponents were not always lambs for the slaughter – not by a long shot! For it is only in such struggles that we uncover the player’s true character. The games especially chosen for books, articles, or other publications too often give a completely one-sided view of the real chessplayer. Take one example: the brilliant game Rotlewi - Rubinstein (Lodz, 1907), which is commonly considered Rubinstein’s “signature game.” It is, in fact, a genuine trea- sure, but the percentage of such games played by Rubinstein (and I’m talking about the style of play, not the level!) was vanishingly small. What was really typical of his play in this example was only his masterful handling of a symmetri- cal pawn structure. Many of the games I examined in this review of Morphy’s work did fit my pre- conceived opinion of his play, but they were also considerably more interesting and deeply planned. I saw much that I had never read or heard described before, which forced me to seriously examine and deeply reflect on Morphy’s play. A most interesting picture developed, which so overwhelmed and attracted me that I decided to save the majority of my examples from Morphy’s games for a more suitable time; to keep my conclusions, for the time being, to myself and preserve them for wider circulation and more ambitious goals. So it happened that the book, with which I intend to acquaint you with my discov- eries, is now written and lies before you. Everything I wanted to say on this sub- ject has been said – and, to the extent possible, shown – in this book. I consider it very important that, when I express some idea, I also present exact proof insofar as I am able. One must not merely present a hypothesis – one must also show that it really can stand on its own, and explain how it works out on the checkered board. For such proof, I send the reader to the text of my book; but one conclusion I should like to present now and I hope you will agree with it after you finish the book. Alekhine, upon the death of Capablanca, expressed the highest praise for his great opponent, saying that such a genius had never existed before and appar- ently never would again. This characterization could also apply to Paul Morphy. I present this conclusion, not as a tribute to the memory of a notable chessplayer, but also as something far more practical. Those who are blessed from birth with a great talent, and who succeed in properly appraising and developing that talent, will outstrip their colleagues, even when they are very talented people themselves. In other words, between talent and genius there is a canyon which cannot be crossed, not even by the most grueling toil. Alas, this is how it is for most. It’s a fact that must simply be accepted, just as we accept the laws of nature. And since such a gift is given to someone for a reason, then it is up to us to try to extract whatever good that talent may do us, by devot- 6 ing serious study to the legacy of that genius. To such study I dedicate this book; and I hope that I have succeeded in my presen- tation. I ask the reader to be my judge. I am interested in your opinion about any of my books and stand ready to answer any questions you may have. You may contact me via e-mail: [email protected]. Valeri Beim Vienna, 2005 7 Paul Morphy: Researching a Phenomenon To follow the thoughts of the great is a most absorbing lesson. – A. S. Pushkin I indicated in the Introduction the surprise and then delight that prompted me to begin the present work. Yet, there have been many who have written about Morphy, who have studied his biography in detail and analyzed his games. And since I consider it a waste of time to put toner to paper only to restate what is already known, or merely to touch up a small number of variations in someone else’s analysis – then how can I be of any use, or interest? Of course, there are those books which, by smartly summarizing the knowledge others have accumulated, and presenting the fullest and best organized picture of whatever subject they tackle, still manage to be interesting, useful, and even necessary. Still, I have always tried to offer my readers a personal, original thought; without this, I would not dare to write books. So – what’s this book about, and what are its goals? Much has been written about Morphy, but the main theme throughout has always been the mystery of this legendary and tragic figure, and some secret or other behind the amazing rise and astonishing results of this American genius. Alexander Alekhine put it simply and clearly: “The power, the indomitable power of Morphy was both the reason for his success and the basis of his immortality.” (Shakhmatny Vestnik, 1914) I concur in this opinion and I doubt anyone would disagree with it, but I am certain that my readers would be interested to know something more indicative of this power, of what created it and where it sprang from. Naturally, the necessary conclusions can only be obtained from an objective analy- sis of the games, and these must be games which were played against (more or less) strong opposition. Just such analysis, and the conclusions which follow from it, form the subject matter of this book. The bulk of the games are taken from the matches Morphy played in Europe, but of course we will also examine other significant games characteristic of Morphy’s style of play. I have tried to avoid odds games wherever possible. The focus of this book is not historical research, but a few historical excursions will be unavoidable. We must know the situation in the chess world during Morphy’s time, since its influence on the child, and later on the young man, was indubitably very significant. I ask your pardon in advance for any possible inaccuracies. I am, unfortunately, a 8 very minor specialist in these matters, and my knowledge of this subject comes only from the popular literature in Russian, German and English. It is, however, my hope that this level of knowledge will prove ample for the goals of our re- search. So – let us begin with a historical overview of the world of chess when our hero arrived on the scene. Chess had already acquired some amount of theory and the legacies of the Ital- ians D. C.