"Morphy" redirects here. For other uses, see Morphy (disambiguation).
For other people with similar names, see Paul Murphy.
Paul Morphy
Morphy in Philadelphia, 1859
Full name
Paul Charles Morphy
Country
United States
Born
(1837-06-22)June 22, 1837 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died
July 10, 1884(1884-07-10) (aged 47) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master.
A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 by convincingly winning the First American Chess Congress, winning each match by a large margin. He then traveled to Europe, residing for a time in England and France while challenging the continent's top players. He played matches with most of the leading English and French players, as well as the German Adolf Anderssen—again winning all matches by large margins. In 1859, Morphy returned to the United States, before ultimately abandoning competitive chess and receding from public view.
Due to his early exit from the game despite his unprecedented talent, Morphy has been called "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess". This name has often been attributed to Sheriff Walter Cook Spens, chess editor of the Glasgow Weekly Herald, but it is unclear when it first appeared in print.[1]
^Winter, Edward (December 3, 2022). "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess". Retrieved January 22, 2023.
Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s Morphy was acknowledged as...
1858 chess game, played at an opera house in Paris. The American master PaulMorphy played against two strong amateurs: the German noble Karl II, Duke of...
The Morphy number is a measure of how closely a chess player is connected to PaulMorphy (1837–1884) by way of playing chess games. People who played a...
based on whether or not Black responds with 3...a6, the Morphy Defence, named after PaulMorphy, although he was not the originator of the line. The variations...
Staunton and PaulMorphy, but it never came about. It was alleged by British Chess Association president Lord Lyttelton that Staunton misled Morphy while trying...
decisively beaten in an 1858 match against the American PaulMorphy (7–2, 2 draws). In 1858–59 Morphy played matches against several leading players, beating...
Botvinnik, Emanuel Lasker 2700: Mikhail Tal 2690: Alexander Alekhine, PaulMorphy, Vasily Smyslov Though published in 1978, Elo's list did not include...
1851 and 1862 London International Tournaments and his one superior, PaulMorphy, had retired from competitive chess. Steinitz won with eight wins and...
G. Bohn. OCLC 3561640. Lawson, David (2010). Aiello, Thomas (ed.). PaulMorphy, The Pride and Sorrow of Chess. Lafayette: University of Louisiana Press...
great international tournaments of 1851 and 1862, but lost matches to PaulMorphy in 1858, and to Wilhelm Steinitz in 1866. Accordingly, he is generally...
progressed to become World Chess Champions. Early chess prodigies included PaulMorphy (1837–1884) and José Raúl Capablanca (1888–1942), both of whom won matches...
figure who has been eclipsed by the achievements of the world famous PaulMorphy. Stanley defeated Eugène Rousseau of New Orleans in 1845 to claim the...
into the nature of chess came with the American PaulMorphy, an extraordinary chess prodigy. Morphy won against all important competitors (except Staunton...
included Adolf Anderssen, Daniel Harrwitz, Henry Bird, Louis Paulsen, PaulMorphy and Joseph Henry Blackburne. The Immortal Game, played by Anderssen and...
(1825–1874), an English player who had an impressive eight wins over PaulMorphy, including one game where Barnes answered 1.e4 with 1...f6, known as...
Champion, PaulMorphy Lawson, David (2010). PaulMorphy: The Pride and Sorrow of Chess. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press. "Alonzo Morphy, 1839 (31...
the game Louis Paulsen vs. PaulMorphy (November 8, 1857 in New York City, New York (First American Chess Congress)). Morphy did not use this mating pattern...
book of chess openings signed by Bobby Fischer, a silver set awarded to PaulMorphy, American chess player and unofficial World Champion, and cardboard plaques...
nineteenth century, when some of the world's leading players rejected it. PaulMorphy, the world's best player in the late 1850s, decried "that pernicious...
Philidor Defence named after him, based on one of his games against PaulMorphy. Morphy was of the opinion that Boden was the strongest English master, even...
move upon Black, in the initial position, and thereby winning". Morphy, 1840s? PaulMorphy is credited with composing the position illustrated "while still...
a number of top players, including Alexander Alekhine, Bent Larsen, PaulMorphy, Miguel Najdorf, and Hikaru Nakamura have used it with success. Its most...
played, "The Opera Game" played in 1858 between the American chess master PaulMorphy and two strong amateurs, the German noble Duke Karl of Brunswick and...
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