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Paul Morphy vs Adolf Anderssen
"Keep Your Eye on the Paul" (game of the day Jul-13-07)
Casual Game 1858  ·  King's Gambit: Accepted. Kieseritsky Gambit Berlin Defense (C39)  ·  1-0


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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Jan-18-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Timothy Glenn Forney: <JamesBowman> What you are saying about computer engines was true,but they are getting to the point of perfection.They will never play the dubious tactics humans use to throw opponents off,but they are now finding flaws in well known human chess theory and some can create imbalances that lead to winning tactics.Gambits have proven they are unsound not just by computer analysis but at the GM level too,but of course they work well against everybody else OTB ,you won't see them in correspondence championship games anymore either.I my opinion chess engines are rewritting opening theory ,wait and see what MCO and NCO will be like in the future.I have seen some of the programming errors by engines in the past, but not in awhile, they just keep getting stronger and stronger.
Jan-31-07   sanyas: Time travel match! Rybka vs Morphy! Start kibitzing now!
Feb-05-07   James Bowman: <sanyas> Thats a good one as Rybka seems to be the Paul Morphy of chess engines ;o] their winning % are almost identicle againt the best opponents (mostly)of their day, but not sure of the chances of Rybka would have if it played piece and move odds games or multiple players, but concede its level of opponents is much higher. But to make things fair the computer has a library of everything learned in chess for 150 yrs to operate from, Paul Morphy mostly inovated and found the moves over the board, load Rybka's tables from data only before the 1850's and Rybka doesn't have to like it in my opinion. Morphy was operating from almost no theory to start from and this lets me believe that on a talent alone scale he is the best ever, I think that if Morphy was transported to today in short order he would understand the ideas and principals used in modern chess including the incorrect ones, get him to help program a computer and now we are in trouble. All hypothetical for sure but hey you started it. ;o]]
Feb-05-07   psmith: <wolfking>

Just to say I don't "run Morphy's games through Fritz" but use Fritz as an analysis aid. That is, I look at Fritz's suggested moves, try them out, also sometimes try out my own ideas (which are often not Fritz's first choice but sometimes prove to be best). I generate analysis in this way while checking it with Fritz to make sure I don't miss anything.

As to why one might bother to do this, well, why bother (in the old days, pre-computer) to analyze at all? Because it helps you to better understand chess, I suppose.

Feb-05-07   sneaky pete: <psmith> <8... Qe7+ 9.Be2 Qb4+ seems to bust White>. Not at all, after 10.Qd2 Qxd2 11.Nxd2 .. white has sufficient compensation as in Anderssen vs Max Lange, 1859 (where both players lost their way around move 15, which detracts from the instructional value of that game). This kind of position (where one side has heavily sacrificed) is very hard to evaluate for Fritz or any of his kin. They usually prefer a futile move in an attempt to limit the damage, where one should continue the attack. You're right in continuing the analysis with a 3rd or 4th preference or a gut move of your own invention.
Feb-05-07   psmith: <sneaky pete> While Anderssen won that game, I don't see what he has if Black plays sensibly. See my comments over there.
Feb-11-07   RuyLopezFire: Wasn't Anderssen the guy that conducted the 'evergreen' game
Mar-10-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  playground player: Morphy and Anderssen played this game just for fun? I dunno--this looks like the kind of game that would make the loser give up chess forever. The way Morphy just walked in on the European chess establishment and kicked everybody's butt reminds me of the way Miyamoto Musashi singlehandedly demolished the Yoshioka school of swordsmanship. Brutal, devastating--but at least Morphy's victims lived to tell about it.
May-14-07   Dick Brain: <Satellite Dan> Morphy probably wanted to keep c3 open for his King in case of ...Bg5+; this might be more instinct than careful calculation.
Jul-13-07   Atking: I'm not sure but I think Fischer has wrote in his 60 memorable games that white sacrifice is not correct. Something like 14...Re8 or 14...Rg8 keeping 3 pieces for a Queen.
Jul-13-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: This was a fun era of chess! Sacs,quick moving attacks,and rapid finishes were the name of the game back then. Here are two of the better practicianers of the art in a classic one.
Jul-13-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: Happy Jason Day everyone!!!
Jul-13-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  outplayer: I have played this line against Chessmaster9000 and the position gets higly unclear after the black queen leaves the stage. Chessmaster manages to draw it.
Jul-13-07   Yurys student: <philid0r> White has an active queen against an inactive rook and bishop, plus white had an attack going. <ruylopezfire> Yes, anderssen was the player who conducted the immortal game.Anderssen vs Dufresne, 1852
Jul-13-07   Christopher93: Wow, that was intense! Did that game even have an opening? *sarcasm* They really started to exchange pieces early without much set up it seems.
Jul-14-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Peligroso Patzer: <This was a fun era of chess! Sacs,quick moving attacks,and rapid finishes were the name of the game back then. Here are two of the better practicianers of the art in a classic one.>

These two players were really more than just two of the better practitioners of the art of attacking chess. Anderssen was probably the preeminent representative of the purely romantic school of chess, and Morphy holds a unique role as the key transitional figure between the romantic and modern schools of chess.

In addition, in the introductory section to his book “World Chess Championship: Kramnik vs. Lékó” (Hardinge Simpole Publishing 2004), Ray Keene argues that both of these players should be included in a line of world champions that he would start with Labourdonnais (1834-1840). Keene would recognize Anderssen as World Chess Champion from 1851-1858, and Morphy as champion from 1858-1860. The period from 1860-1866 (when Morphy was inactive but still generally regarded as the world’s strongest player) Keene classifies as an interregnum, but he considers Steinitz’s tenure as world champion to have commenced in 1866 (rather than 1886) based upon his victory over Anderssen in a match held in London in that year. Keene’s well-argued thesis makes for very interesting reading, and, regardless of whether one ultimately accepts his conclusions, the historical summary he presents leaves no doubt about the hugely significant positions held by Anderssen and Morphy in the history of chess.

Nov-13-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  nimh: Rybka 2.4 mp, AMD X2 2.01GHz, 10 min per move, threshold 0.33.

Morphy no mistakes!

Anderssen 2 mistakes:
18...Na6 0.38 (18...Ng3 -0.39)
20...Bxb2 3.04 (20...Bg5+ 0.43)

Jan-18-09   WhiteRook48: Yikes! Morphy's play is incredible!
Apr-26-09   paulmorphy41: I analysed an interesting line on 8..Qe7+ 9.K-f2 Nh1+ 10.Kg1 d5 11.Nc3 c6 12.B-g5 Bxg4 13Qxg4 Qe6 14.Re1 QxR 15.Qc8#
Aug-05-09   newzild: Man, what a slugfest. I'd never throw my bits around like that.
Aug-23-09   tentsewang: Morphy was too precise at making no error that he ate Anderssen's pieces here and there which lead to his opponent's defeat.
Sep-09-09   yorkambit30: morphy plays the game with such single minded determination it's unbelievable. it's like he's blowing up the entire board just to get a nice tactical situation that's pleasing to him. remarkable.
Sep-24-09   fhl: Sick game!
Sep-24-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  Boomie: The seemingly innocuous 9. Qe2+ has fangs here because of the Ng4. Notice that the ordinary looking 9...Be7 leads to mate. 10. Nf6+ Kf8 11. Bh6# Not every day you get to mate with a knight and bishop.
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