Morphy's Games of Chess

by Philip Walsingham Sergeant

Do you often lose at chess simply because you are not aggressive enough? You can put boldness into your chess game by following the brilliant moves of Paul Morphy, who has been called the greatest chess player of all time.
This volume contains 300 of Morphy's best games, carefully annotated by Philip W. Sergeant. While Morphy wrote no books on chess theory and seldom expounded his methods in public, his theories are clearly demonstrated in the games in this volume. You can systematically improve your own game, you can add brilliance to your play by following the technique of quick, forceful development and opening of lines developed by the great 19th-century World Champion.
In a new introduction, Fred Reinfeld, well-known American chess authority, "By emphasizing the role of systematic, aggressive development, Morphy helped to mold chess into an art form and into the highest phase of intellectual struggle."
Included in this completely unabridged volume are 54 classic games against such masters as Anderssen, Harrwitz, Mongredien, Bird, Paulsen, and others. There are also 52 games at odds, 52 blindfold games, plus more than 100 others. These games, with explanatory text, offer a great champion's interpretation of such standard chess openings as the Dutch Defense, Evans Gambit, Giuoco Piano, and Ruy Lopez.

Genres: Chess

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1957

Reviews

[Manny]

This afternoon, Not discovered the Wikipedia page for "Morphy number", which as the name suggests is the chess equivalent of the Erdös number. We immediately had to calculate our Morphy numbers and were delighted to find we could both claim a 4.

My line of descent is as follows. I played Eric Lundin twice in our club championship when I was living in Stockholm during the early 80s (one win, one draw); Lundin beat Tartakower in 1946; Tartakower lost to Mortimer in 1907; and Mortimer played Morphy.

Excuse us for crowing, but we belong to a rather select club. Vishy Anand is apparently only a 5...

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I read (decades ago )that dealt specifically with Morphy and his games. I judge all the others against this one. If you are a beginning player and want to learn how masters play, you start here. Modern GM games are tough for advanced players to understand let alone beginners trying. Morphy's games are clear and brilliant. His opponents (though the best at that time in the world) make many of the same mistakes you will find in beginner games today. Morphy uses fast piece development and sold tactics to win his games. Much to learn and even enjoyable for stron modern players to test what they would do if in the great one's shoes. Highly recommended!

[Takipsilim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first American superstar, and this collection of his games shows why. Morphy towered over his age in his profession, and his genius permanently influenced chess play.

[Jon Ladner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true master. He played the chessboard like a painter on a canvas. Morphy's games are beautiful to play.