A short bio of Harrwitz here: http://batgirl.atspace.com/Harrwitz...

But here's Frederick Edge's somewhat less favorable description:

"His [Harrwitz] opponents are generally visitors to the café, not the habitués; for these last have taken great dislike to his very offensive manner, and will not contend with him. They say, too, that he evinces an improper desire to win, and, in consequence, will only give odds of pawn and move, when he could well afford pawn and two, and the knight instead of the rook. In my character of historian, I am bound to state that the feel was very intense at the Régence in favor of Morphy, and many the prayers (French prayers) that Harrwitz might succomb to him.

The two celebrities shook hands together, and Morphy immediately asked if he would consent to play a match. The fact is, the young Paul meant mischief. Everybody in England was loud in praise of Harrwitz's skill, and prophesied a tough encounter. There was reason for this; for the Prussian player has given himself up, body and soul, to the game. Staunton's literary avocations now permit him but an hour or two weekly for chess, although the former lived in the London Divan, as Harrwitz in the Régence, and was so rabid about Caissa. that he actually wore shirts with kings, rooks, pawns, etc. printed over the bosoms and tails...

...Harrwitz is the only man I know of who seems to live for chess, and we can, therefore, easily understand why Morphy was so desirous of playing him.

Draw your own conclusions, but I believe Morphy had been put in a pickle by Harrwitz' well timed offer of an offhand game instead of a match, right when Morphy was telling Edge "He won't play a match."

Problem: if Morphy won, Harrwitz, already skittish, would be on guard, and probably create some excuse not to play. But if Morphy lost, this game might be his lone opportunity to play Harrwitz, who could then dismiss him as weak. How to play? Morphy seemed "excited", he may have been genuinely unsure how to proceed.

As you probably know, when Morphy and Edge arrived in Paris, their arrival was unannounced. They visited la Régence incognito and just took in the atmosphere. Harrwitz was out of town, so there was no rush on their part. I've always felt Edge's description of their first impression of the Café de la Régence to be the best part of his book. For those who haven't had the good fortune to read it, I put that passage here: http://batgirl.atspace.com/regence....

<Horwitz 1/8(another player with whom Harrwitz handled fairly easily in a long match called "The Battle of the Witz)>

As you can see by looking at the bio above, Harrwitz played two matches with Horwitz, and both were extremely close.

Page 4: <The first part of the magazine is devoted to discussing the recent match between Harrwitz and Löwenthal, which to Staunton's dismay was won by Harrwitz. How did Staunton congratulate the victor?

"We cannot resist recording our conviction that in no Chess match of importance ever played, was the truth of the familiar proverb which tells us 'the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,' so forcefully exemplified as in this.">

<< Lehrbuch des Schachspiels> (1862) >

http://books.google.com/books?id=t8...