But the Sicilian Defence was popular for much of the 19th century, and Morphy met one of its champions, the German master Louis Paulsen, in the first American Chess Congress.
This was held in New York in 1857 as a knockout tournament, and had the happy coincidence that the two best players met in the eight-game final.
In all four games in which Morphy had the white pieces, Paulsen replied with what is sometimes still called the Paulsen Variation of the Sicilian, and it is these four games I will be looking at in this series.
Morphy - Paulsen
Game 1
1.e4 c5 2.d4
Morphy varied between 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3 and the modern move-order of 2.Nf3 and 3.d4. He never played the Morra.
2...cxd4 3.Nf3 e6
3...e5!? is usually treated scornfully in opening publications, but it was successfully used by Howard Staunton in 1842 against John Cochrane, and is regarded by the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 as giving an equal game.
4.Nxd4 Bc5!?
This has largely been superseded by 4...a6, 4...Nc6, 4...Nf6 and 4...Qb6, but is a favourite of the Russian GM, and former Karpov second, Vladimir Epishin.
5.Nb3
Morphy is credited by an anonymous annotator in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database as the inventor of this move, at least when used with Bf4 to highlight Black's weakness at d6. While this is not true - the plan was used by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa in a game seven years earlier - it may be fair to say Morphy's use of it in his match against Paulsen was a major factor in popularising the idea.
5...Bb6 6.Nc3 Ne7
Overwhelmingly the most-popular move today, but Heydebrand's opponent, August Ehrmann, preferred the modern-looking 6...a6.
7.Bf4 0-0
7...d5!? has been successfully used by the Filipino IM Paulo Bersamina.
8.Bd6 f5
Black's position looks rather restricted, but Paulsen was apparently relying on this pawn-break to create kingside counterplay.
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| How should White proceed? |
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9.e5
Keeping the f file closed might seem a no-brainer, but Russian-born GM Sergei Tiviakov preferred 9.Qd2!? in a 1999 win over a 2294. I guess his thinking was that ...fxe4 is double-edged as White replies Nxe4 with hopes of his own quick kingside attack.
9...a6
Jim Plaskett - then an IM, now a GM - preferred 9...f4 in a 1983 draw against GM Sergey Kudrin.
10.Be2 Nbc6 11.0-0 Rf7
The game has transposed into the 1850 game Heydebrand - Ehrmann, which continued 12.a4 Ng6 13.Bh5, when the engines reckon Black could have freed his game with 13...Ncxe5!? 14.Bxe5 Nxe5 15.Bxf7+ Nxf7.
Morphy prefers to go for a kingside attack before Black can mobilise his queenside.
12.Kh1 f4!?
As the ChessBase annotator notes, this prevents 13.f4 and frees f5 for the black king's knight, but also frees e4 for White's pieces.
13.Ne4 Nf5?!
The engines prefer a ChessBase suggestion of targeting the e5 pawn by 13...Ng6, although they believe White has more than enough compensation for the fall of the pawn.
14.Bh5 g6?!
This weakens f6, which is why ChessBase and the engines prefer 15...Nxd6 followed by ...Rf8.
15.Bg4
Even stronger is 15.Bf3!, the point being that 15...Nxd6 can be met by 16.Nxd6 Rf8 (ChessBase suggests sacing the exchange with 16...Nxe5!?) 17.Bxc6, when White has a monster knight entrenched on d6.
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| Black is under pressure, but can you come up with a better move than Paulsen managed? |
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15...Ng7?
As the ChessBase annotator laconically puts it: "Not easy to understand." Better was 15...Nxd6 16.Nxd6 Rf8, when the knight on c6 gives Black distracting pressure against e5.
16.Qf3 h5 17.Bh3 Qh4
Paulsen seems to have overestimated his attacking chances. However, the engines' suggested 17...Ne8, protecting f6, does not inspire confidence - Black's queenside pieces are largely locked out of the game.
18.Nf6+ Kh8 19.Qe4 Qg5 20.g3 f3
This pawn will be lost, but it is understandable that Paulsen did not want to play 20...fxg3 and open the f file for the white rooks.
21.Nd2! Bd8
Not 21...Qxd2?? 22.Qxg6.
22.Nxf3 Qh6 23.Rg1 Bxf6 24.exf6 Ne8
Not much better is 24...Rxf6. The engines give 25.Bf4 Qh7 followed by, for example, 26.Qe2 Nf5 27.Rad1 d5 28.Rge1 Bd7 29.Ne5, when it is hard to see Black holding out for long.
25.Bf4 Nxf6
Moving the queen is equally hopeless.
26.Qxc6 Qxf4 27.Qxc8+ (1-0, 40 moves)
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