foxychess.comJoin free

FoxyChess › Grandmasters › Paul Morphy

Paul Morphy

1850sWorld Champion —Peak rating Pre-FIDE242 games

American prodigy regarded as the strongest player of his day. In 1857–59 he beat the leading masters of Europe with rapid development, open lines and brilliant attacks — the Opera Game is still taught to every beginner.

Paul Morphy
Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How Morphy plays

Morphy was the first great attacking player, and the first to understand that fast development and open lines matter more than grabbing pawns. In 1857–59 he beat every leading master who would play him, then retired from chess at 22. His games are still the best introduction to open positions.

What to learn from Morphy

Morphy's games teach the basics of the attack: develop every piece, open the centre when you're ahead in development, and sacrifice to bring the king into the open. The Opera game below is the classic example.

A game to play through

Morphy, Paul vs Duke Karl Count Isouard - Paris it 1858 1-0 — the position after move 16. The 'Opera game', Paris 1858, played during a performance of The Barber of Seville. The diagram shows 16.Qb8+!, the queen sacrifice that forces 16…Nxb8 17.Rd8#.

Paul Morphy: after 31 half-moves
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.O-O-O Rd8 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.Qb8+

The rest of the game is on FoxyChess.

Play through 242 Paul Morphy games

Watch every game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get. Free to join, no card needed.

or

By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. You must be 13 or over.

Paul Morphy games on FoxyChess

Watch each game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get.

…and 202 more inside FoxyChess.

More grandmasters