| Dec-19-05 | | Neurotic Patzer: Pretty unremarkable struggle but the way in which Morphy builds his attack is instructive. |
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| Sep-26-08 | | I Offer You A Resign: 6. a4! and Black is pretty much forced to take the gambit. |
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| Sep-26-08 | | I Offer You A Resign: Very well played game! Many people could learn from this! |
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| Nov-20-12 | | Cemoblanca: 13...Qe7? Already a losing move, because Morphy was sitting in front of him! ;) Better was 13...Bd6! 14.g3 (14.Bxf7?? Kf8! 15.Rd1 Dxa1 16.Nc3 Ne7 17.Bh5 (17.Nb5 Qe5!) 17...Ng6!, etc.) 14...Qxa1 15.Bb2 Qxa5 16.Bxg7 Qh5! 17.Bxh8 Nh6! 18.Nc3 Ng4 19.h4 c6!, etc.
15...Bxc3?! (15...0-0! 16.e5 & then 16...Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Ne4!, etc.) Well, Black should hold this (or (nowadays) even win), but it's definitely not an easy task. Maybe I'll check this out later, but Black definitely lost too much tempo with his forth & back Queen moves while white can calmly improves his position, for example 13...Qe7, 21...Qe5 or 22...Qe7. Completely meaningless. |
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Mar-05-21
 | | MissScarlett: The only Morphy vs. Lewis game is said to have been a draw. What's the provenance of this game? |
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Jan-03-25
 | | jnpope: <MissScarlett: The only Morphy vs. Lewis game is said to have been a draw. What's the provenance of this game?> I've only been able to take it as far as Reichhelm mentioning that he had it in 1898 prior to the publication of <Chess in Philadelphia> (see <American Chess Magazine>, v2 n1, July 1898, p36. It's unclear to me if Reichhelm ever published it in any of his chess columns, but the hunt continues. The first inclusion of the game into any Morphy canon is apparently <Paul Morphy>, Maroczy, Leipzig 1909, p429, in the "Zweifelhafte Partien" (doubtful games) section. According to Lawson the game was dropped by Maroczy in his 1925 revised edition, so perhaps it was later identified as definitively not being a Morphy game. |
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| Jan-20-25 | | Chessist: This game was included by Lange in the third edition of his collection of Morphy games in 1894. Allegedly played on June 22nd as Morphy's first game played in Europe.
David Lawson (p. 322):
"Of the F. H. Lewis game it may be said that there is no evidence that Lewis ever played with Morphy. His name never appeared on any list of Morphy games and he never suggested that he had played with Morphy." |
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| Jan-20-25 | | Chessist: In contrast to Lawson's comments, I read in The Chess-Monthly, Vol. X, July 1889, page 322: "As a young man, Mr. Lewis was an habitué of Simpson's, then the home of Chess, and there he encountered all the best players of the day. He played with Morphy, and drew the first game that most distinguished player played in this country." |
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Jan-20-25
| | jnpope: <Chessist: This game was included by Lange in the third edition of his collection of Morphy games in 1894.> Thanks. Found it on page 401 in the <zweifelhafte partieen> section. So Lange was also suspicious of it's authenticity. Do we have any contemporary reports, or anything before Morphy's death, of F. H. Lewis playing Morphy? I suspect the report of the "draw" to be just as erroneous as this game. |
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| Jan-20-25 | | Chessist: The Chess-Monthly, Vol. V, August 1884, page 360: "Morphy arrived in London in June, 1858. The first game he ever played publicly in England was at the Divan, when Mr. F. H. Lewis was his opponent, and the result was a draw. Mr. Lewis was naturally very proud of his success. But we may add that Mr. Lewis was only proud when he heard the name of his opponent, because he did not know that it was Morphy he was playing with." Maróczy (1909, page 435) gave Lewis's record against Morphy as +0 -2 =1. Perhaps Hoffer published the game in question in one of his chess columns around 1884 or later? |
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Jan-21-25
| | jnpope: The <Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News>, 1880.12.04, p278, does print that the two had met during Morphy's lifetime:
"The first game of Morphy ever played publicly in England was at the Divan, when Mr. F. H. Lewis was his opponent, and the result was a drawn game. Mr. Lewis was naturally very proud of his success. He was a most ingenious player, and, strange to say, considering he was a very unpractised player, he was also a perfect master of end games; and had he continued to cultivate chess he would no doubt have reached the foremost rank; but, fortunately for himself, he obtained a large practice at the bar, and abandoned chess."
The <Field>, 1884.07.19, p79, appears to be the source of the additional commentary: "But we may add that Mr. Lewis was only proud when he heard the name of his opponent, because he did not know that it was Morphy he was playing with."
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Kibitzing
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