'Secret' Gambit Repertoire For White (part seven)

AGAINST Alekhine's Defence (1.e4 Nf6) there are several gambits that can be suggested.

One runs 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4, which becomes the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit after 3...dxe4 4.f3. and the Hübsch Gambit after the less-popular, but probably more-critical, continuation 3...Nxe4!? 4.Nxe4 dxe4.

Another runs 2.Nc3 e5 3.f4, although in practice this is nearly always declined with 3...d5.

White can also try 2.Nc3 e5 3.Bc4!?, when after 3...Nxe4!? White can go for complications with 4.Qh5 (4.Nxe4?! d5 is at least equal for Black) Nd6 5.Bb3!?, or for a more-manoeuvring type of game with 5.Qxe5+ Qe7 (only move) 6.Qxe7+.

Finally, I am suggesting 2.Bc4!?, which may look ridiculous but has been played by Arthur Bisguier, Jonathan Speelman and Božidar Ivanović.

Clearly the critical response to 2.Bc4!? is 2...Nxe4, but it is only played 41.9% of the time in games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database. I guess many blacks are caught by surprise and try to avoid the white player's preparation.

The main line continues 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+

Position after 4.Qh5+

4...g6 5.Qd5+ e6 6.Qxe4 Bg7, when White has regained the pawn and deprived Black of castling rights, but Black has the bishop-pair.

The most-popular continuation is 7.Nf3, but much more successful is 7.d4!? Rf8 8.Nf3, when the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon 8...d5 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.Be3 is best-met by 10...Kg8 11.Nc3 e5!? 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Bxe5 14.0-0-0 with an equal but unclear opposite-side castling position - White's lead in development should give good practical chances.

Black's main method of declining the gambit is 2...d5!?, but this is questionable as after 3.exd5 Nxd5 White gets the better game, according to the engines, with 4.Nf3 or the less-common, but seemingly strong, 4.d4.

Here is an old example of how quickly even very strong players can find themselves in trouble.

Johann Löwenthal - Howard Staunton

British Chess Association International Masters (Birmingham) 1858

1.e4 Nf6 2.Bc4 d5?! 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.d4

The players reached this position via the move-order 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxd5 4.d4.

4...e6 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bd3!?

The engines prefer Bg5, here and on the previous move.

7...Bf4!?

Staunton is understandably worried about an attack on his kingside, but the engines reckon White's advantage is smaller after 7...c5 (Stockfish12) or 7...b6 (Komodo11.01).

8.Nbd2 Nc6 9.a3

An obvious alternative is 9.c3 but Löwenthal probably wanted to save the c pawn for evicting Black's knight with c4. Staunton anticipates this with ...

9...Nf6

The game continued:

10.Ne4 Bxc1 11.Rxc1 Qe7

Not 11...Nxd4?? 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 13.Nxd4 Qxf6? 14.Bxh7+ etc.

12.Re1 b6?

This natural-looking move is a mistake, although the engines much prefer White after, say, 12...Rd8 13.c3 Bd7 14.Qe2.

13.Nxf6+ gxf6

Or 13...Qxf6 14.Be4 Bb7 15.Ne5.

14.d5 Ne5 15.Nxe5 fxe5 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kh7 18.Re3

White has a winning attack.

18...Rg8 19.Rg3+ Kf8 20.Qh6+ Ke8 21.Rxg8+ Kd7 22.dxe6+ Qxe6 23.Rd1+ Kc6 24.Qxe6+ fxe6 25.Rdd8 1-0

Opening Evolution - Philidor Countergambit (part two)

Howard Staunton & John Owen - Paul Morphy & Thomas Barnes
London 1858
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5!?
Morphy played the Philidor nine times, which compares with three times for the Petrov and 50 times for 2...Nc6, according to ChessBase's 2019 Mega database. Eight of his Philidor opponents played 3.d4, with Morphy replying 3....f5!? four times, scoring +3=1-0, and the modern favourite 3...exd4 four times, scoring +2=1-1. The one time he faced 3.Bc4, Morphy also played 3...f5!?, with the game ending in a draw.
4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Nh5 7.Nc3 c6 8.Ngxe4!? dxe4 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qe5 Rg8 11.Bxh6 Bxh6 12.Rd1

The same position as reached five times in games between Atwood and Wilson in the late 1700s (see part one of this series)

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12...Qg5!?
Wilson always played 12...Qe7, which is at first much preferred by Stockfish10 and Komodo10. But give the engines more time and their evaluations narrow, although still preferring Wilson's move. Saveilly Tartakower in 500 Master Games Of Chess calls 12...Qe7 "passive" and the text "more active," but does not explicitly state his preference.
13.Qc7
Tartakower comments: "For Black to have permitted this intrusion, which threatens Qxc8+ as well as a mate on the move, is proof of steady nerves or most-accurate calculation."
13...Bxe6 14.Qxb7 e3
Tartakower points out that this threatens ...exf2+ followed by ...Qe6#.
15.f3 Qe7!?
The engines prefer 15...e2 16.Bxe2 Qxg2 17.Rf1 Qxh2 18.Ne4! (if 18.Qxa8?! then 18...Qg3+ 19.Rf2 Be3 20.Ne4 Bxf2+ 21.Nxf2 Qc7, when material is level but the engines give Black an edge) Qh4+ 19.Rf2 Be3 20.Qxa8 Bxf2+ 21.Nxf2 Qb4+ 22.c3 Qb6, which is very similar to the line in brackets, but this time the engines slightly prefer White.
16.Qxa8 Kf7
White has emerged from the immediate complications with rook and pawn for bishop. If the white queen can escape from the corner, White must be much better.
17...Bf4?
The engines suggest 17...Kg7, while preferring White.
18.Be2?
Komodo10 likes Johann Löwenthal's suggestion of 18.g3 for quite some time, but eventually agrees with Stockfish10 and an anonymous ChessBase annotator that best is 18.Rd4, the point being to follow with Ra4.
18...Kg7 19.0-0
No longer so strong is Rd4 as Black has 19...Rc8, when 20.Ra4?? runs into 20...Na6 21.Qxc8 Bxc8. Note that if White had played 18.Rd4, the reply 18...Rc8 would not solve Black's problems as White has the pinning 19.Bc4, removing the threat of ...Na6.
19...Qc7?!
Threatening to win the white queen and also threatening ...Bxh2+. But White finds a strong reply, so it seems that better was 19...Rc8!?, when the white queen can be saved by 20.Rd6 Bxd6 21.Nxd6 Qxd6 22.Qxa7+. The engines continue 22...Bf7 23.Qxe3, when they much prefer Black, although the position is unclear as White has three pawns for a knight.
20.Nc5! Bxh2+ 21.Kh1 Bc8
White is the exchange up but the position remains complicated as his queen is still endangered and Black has mating threats.
22.Rd4 Bg3 23.Re4?
This loses. The engines give 23.Ne4! when the game's ...Kh8? loses to 24.Nxg3 Qxg3 25.Qxa7. However, Black can save the dark-square bishop, eg 23...Be5, when the engines reckon Black has full compensation for the exchange.
23...Kh8
The fate of the white queen will be irrelevant if Black delivers mate by switching his queen to the h file via g7.
24.Rd1 Qg7 25.Rh4!?
Desperation, but it contains a point Morphy & Barnes miss.
25...Bxh4?
Best was 25...Qe7 (other moves also win), eg 26.Rdd4 Qxc5.
26.Qxb8 Ba6 27.Qh2?
White had to find 27.Qf4, which, like the text, attacks the dark-square bishop, but has the crucial extra factor of covering the h6 checking square. After 27...Bxe2 28.Rd7 Be7 (the only way to save the dark-square bishop as well as Black's queen) 29.Ne6 Qf6 30.Rxe7! Qxe7 31.Qe5+ Rg7, White has a perpetual by 32.Qb8+ etc.
27...Bxe2 28.Rd7 Qh6 29.Ne4
Nothing gets White's piece back.
29...Bc4 30.Nf6 e2 31.Re7 Qc1+ 32.Qg1 Qxg1+ 33.Kxg1 e1=Q+ 34.Rxe1 Bxe1 0-1

Morphy v The Petrov (conclusions)

PAUL Morphy faced the Petrov six times, scoring +3=2-1 (66.7%).
On the face of it, that was a poor percentage for him, but the strength of the opposition, and the nature of the games, including blindfolds and simuls, should be taken into account.
In addition, Morphy failed to convert probably-winning endings in both the draws, and the loss was a wild game that could have gone either way.
The first time against the Petrov, he played the Cozio Attack (3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2), but seems to have concluded that White's edge was too small (this is in line with modern thinking about this system).
In his next two outings, he played the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit (3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3).
Despite winning both games, he switched to the Classical Attack (3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4), which Johann Löwenthal had played against him three times in their 1858 match.
Those three games ended in a win apiece and a draw, and it is tempting to think this made an impression on Morphy.
The trouble with this theory is that the two Boden–Kieseritzky Gambits came either side of the match.
Morphy scored a win and a draw with his two Classical Attacks, but for his final outing against the Petrov, he switched back to the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit.
This was the only game of the six that he lost, so it is anyone's guess what he would have played had the question arisen again.
What can be said from all six games is that, as against the French, Morphy strove for quick development in an open position as a prelude to an attack on the opposition king.

Morphy v The Petrov (part six)

PAUL Morphy's final game against the Petrov was part of a five-board simul against strong opposition, including Johann Löwenthal and Thomas Barnes.
Morphy - Barnes
St James's Chess Club, London 1859
Petrov Defence Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4!?
This game was played just six days after their previous encounter, in which Morphy chose the Classical Attack (3.Nxe5).
3...Nxe4 4.Nf3 Nxc3
The main move, and surely the real test of the Boden–Kieseritzky.
5.dxc3 f6 6.0-0!?
More popular in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database is 6.Nh4, but David Hooper in A Complete Defence To 1 P-K4: A Study Of Petroff's Defence (Pergamon Press, 1967) says 6.Nh4 "commits rather too soon to one line of attack."
6...Qe7
In a previous game between the same players in 1858, the same position was reached from a Bishop's Opening move-order, and in that game Barnes played 6...Nc6, so the text was presumably a prepared improvement.
7.Nh4
Most popular, but "not effective," according to Hooper. He preferred 7.Re1!?, which is the choice of Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
7...d6?
Hooper gave 7...g6, which is much preferred by the engines.
8.Qh5+ Kd8
The displacement of the black king, combined with White's lead in development, make for fair compensation for the pawn-minus.
9.f4 Be6
The point of 7...d6?, but the engines prefer 9...g6 10.Nxg6 Qe8 11.Qh4 Qxg6 12.fxe5 Bf5 13.exf6 Nd7, with a small edge (Komodo10), or 9...a5 10.f5 Bd7 11.Be3 c6 12.Ng6 hxg6 13.Qxh8 gxf5, again with a small edge (Stockfish10). However, in both cases there is a lot of play left in the position.
10.Bxe6 Qxe6 11.fxe5 dxe5 12.Ng6+
12.Be3!? was played in a 1998 Spanish game.
12...Bc5+ 13.Kh1 Re8 14.Qxh7
Hooper reckons the position is equal, as does Komodo10, but Stockfish10 gives White the upper hand.
14...Qg8 15.Qh5 Nd7 16.b4 Bd6 17.Bd2?!
Lowenthal: "Intending, probably, to advance c4, but it would have been much stronger play to post this bishop at e3." The engines agree.
17...Qf7 18.Qg4 Qe6 19.Qe4 Nb6!?
Lowenthal: "A very subtle, clever move, the true motive of which White entirely overlooked."
20.Qxb7!?
Löwenthal: "Curiously enough, this move, as Black foresaw, cost White his knight." But the text is the engines' top choice, so who is trapping whom?
20...Qg4 21.a4?
This is the real culprit. Komodo10 gives 21.c4!? Qxc4 22.Be3, with a slight edge for Black (although the more-volatile Stockfish10 has Black close to winning). Stockfish10 reckons best was 21.Rfe1!? Qxg6 22.c4 Ke7 23.c5 Kf8 24.cxd6 cxd6, with slightly the better position for Black.
21...Rc8!
White's knight is still trapped, and his compensation is inadequate.
22.Rad1 Qxg6 23.Be3 Nc4 24.Qc6 Qf7
Löwenthal points out that 24...Nxe3?? loses to 25.Rxd6.
25.Bxa7 e4?
Black is much better after 25...Rh8 or 25...Qe6. The text is faulty because it allows White's d1 rook strongly into the attack.
26.Rd4?
But this is not the way to menace the black knight as Black can ignore White's threat. Correct was 26.Rd5, with the engines giving best play as 26...Re5 27.Rd4 Rh5 28.Qxc4 Rxh2+ 29.Kg1, when White seems to be better despite the precarious-looking situation of his king. In this line, if Black tries 27...Ne3!?, White has 28.Rxd6+! cxd6 29.Qxd6+, with Be3 to come.

Black to play and win

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26...Qh5
Löwenthal: "Menacing mate, and capitally played."
27.Rf4
There is no salvation in 27.g3, eg 27...Rh8 28.Rf2 e3 29.Rg2 e2 30.Re4 Qf3+ 31.Rg2 Qf1+ 32.Rg1 e1=Q 33.Rxf1 Rxh2+! 34.Kxh2 Qxg3+ 35.Kh1 Qh2#
27...e3 28.g4 e2 29.gxh5 e1=Q+ 30.Kg2 Re2+ 31.Kh3 f5?!
Several other moves win more easily, but this is good enough.
32.Qxc4?!
More challenging was 32.Rxc4. Black then has to find 32...g5 33.hxg6 Ke7, when the white pieces cannot get at the black king.
32...Qf1+! 33.Kh4
33.Rxf1?? Rxh2#
33...Rxh2+ 34.Kg5 Qg2+??
Correct was 34...Qg1+, and if, as in the game, 35.Rg4, then 35...Qe3+ leads to mate.
35.Rg4! fxg4 36.Qf7??
White wins with 36.Rxd6+ (a recurring theme in this game, which makes it all the more surprising that Morphy missed it) cxd6 37.Qg8+ Kd7 38.Qxg7+ Ke8 (other moves allow a quick mate) 39.Qg6+ Ke7 40.Qf6+ Ke8 41.Qe6+ Kf8 42.Qxd6+ Ke8 43.Qe6+ Kd8 44.Bb6+ Rc7 45.Qd6+ Ke8 46.Qxc7 - a long line, but much of it forced.
36...Qxc6
Making a sac on d6 ineffective, and thus winning.
37.b5 Qd7 38.Rxd6 Qxd6 0-1
Even at this late stage it was still possible to go wrong, ie 38...cxd6?? 39.Bb6+ wins for White.

Morphy v The Petrov (part five)

PAUL Morphy's final two games against the Petrov featured the English master Thomas Barnes.
Morphy - Barnes
St George's Chess Club, London 1859
Petrov Defence Classical Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5
In this game, part of an eight-board blindfold simul, Morphy sticks with the Classical Attack that he used to such good effect earlier in the year in Paris (see part four of this series).
3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6!?
Barnes is the first to vary. This aggressive continuation has become a favourite of Caruana.
7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 Nf6!?
8...c6 is overwhelmingly more popular today, and was already the mainline when David Hooper write his 1969 classic A Complete Defence to 1 P-K4: A Study Of Petroff's Defence. Hooper credited the text to Pillsbury, and called it "worth consideration."
9.Bg5 Be6
The mainline runs 9...dxc4 10.Bxc4, transposing to a game from the 1834 first match between Louis de Labourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell.
10.Qb3 dxc4

White to make his 11th move

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11.Bxc4
Johann Löwenthal in Morphy's Games Of Chess points out that 11.Qxb7?? loses to 11...Bd5, eg 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Qxd5 Bxh2+ etc.
11...Bxc4 12.Qxc4 Nc6 13.Nc3 h6 14.Bh4 g5!? 15.Bg3 Qd7 16.Ne5 Qe6 17.Qxe6 fxe6 18.Nxc6 bxc6
Bearing in mind his airy king's position, Black can be pleased at getting the queens off, but, as Löwenthal points out, "White has somewhat the better game as Black's pawns are evidently weak."
19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.Rac1 Rab8 21.b3 Re7 22.Na4 Rb4 23.Be5 Bxe5 24.dxe5 Nd5 25.Rxc6
White wins a pawn but, as in his game against Löwenthal, Morphy's endgame technique proves insufficient.
25...Rd4 26.Rc2 Nb4 27.Rce2 Nd3
Löwenthal  states that "from this position the game ought, with correct play, to be drawn," but that is highly debatable.
28.Rd2?!
Better seems to be 28.Rd1, preventing the little combination Black plays in the game.
28...Rxa4! 29.Rxd3?
And here White should have played 29.Re3 Ra5 30.Rexd3 Rxe5 31.h3, with winning chances thanks to Black's three isolated pawns.
29...Rxa2 30.Rc1 Rf7 31.f3 ½–½

Morphy v The Petrov (part four)

PAUL Morphy's fourth game against the Petrov came in 1859, and the start of the game has quite a modern feel to it.
Morphy - Wincenty Budzyński
Café de la Régence
Petrov Defence Classical Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 Nc6
Morphy had played this line as Black three times in his match the previous year against Johann Löwenthal.
8.c4 Be6
This was Morphy's choice on the two occasions Löwenthal played 8.c4. David Hooper in A Complete Defence To 1 P-K4: A Study of Petroff's Defence (Pergamon Press, 1967) calls it "not so bad as its reputation."

White to make his ninth move

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9.Qb3!?
Löwenthal played 9.cxd5 in both games. Morphy's move, which has apparently not been repeated in master play, is not mentioned by Hooper.
9...Na5?
Immediately he has to think for himself, Budzyński goes wrong. Stockfish10 and Komodo10 like 9...0-0, and if 10.Qxb7?!, then 10...Nb4 gives Black a good game.
10.Qa4+ c6?!
The retreat 10...Nc6 seems slightly better, but Black's loss of time must hurt him.
11.Re1
Preceding this move with 11.cxd5!?, as given by the engines, looks even stronger.
11...f5
The engines prefer to offer a pawn sac by 11...0-0!, the point being that 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.Rxe4 Rc8 gives Black good compensation in the shape of the bishop-pair and better-coordinated development. But after 11...0-0!, they reckon White gets a slight edge with 12.Qc2 or 12.c5.
12.cxd5 Bxd5 13.Bd2!
Better than 13.b4 Nc4 14.b5 Nb6.
13...Nxd2 14.Nbxd2 b5 15.Qc2 g6 16.Rxe7+?
A miscalculation. White is much better after the simple 16.a4, which brings his final piece into play without, as in the game, sacrificing material.
16...Kxe7 17.Re1+ Kf7
Best, according to the engines, was the bold 17...Kf6!, which prevents White sacrificing further material. The engines reckon White would then have insufficient compensation for the exchange. 17...Kf6! also complies with the general rule that a king is safest when snug against its own pawns.
18.Bxf5! gxf5?
Black should have declined the bishop with 18...Re8 or 18...Kg7, in either case with an unclear position.
19.Qxf5+ Qf6
The engines prefer 19...Kg7, but White has a winning attack after 20.Qg4+ Kf8 21.Re5.
20.Ne5+ Kg7 21.Qg4+ Kh6 22.Re3 Bxg2
Desperate stuff, but Black cannot avoid a quick mate in any event.
23.Kxg2 Rhg8 24.Rh3+ 1-0

Morphy v The Petrov (part three)

PAUL Morphy's third encounter with the Petrov came, according to ChessBase's 2019 Mega database, against Johann Löwenthal.
The game shows Morphy using the Steinitz Attack to win in 25 moves.
But the game almost certainly never happened.
It is a move-by-move copy of Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa - Carl von Jaenisch from their 1842 match.
The supposed Morphy game does not appear in Löwenthal's book Morphy's Games of Chess, which was published in 1860 - two years after the game alegedly took place.
How it comes to be in the database, I have no idea, but I have informed Frederic Friedel at ChessBase, and I have appropriately amended the statistics given in the first part of this article: https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/09/morphy-v-petrov.html
Morphy's real third encounter with the Petrov came in one of eight games he played blindfold simultaneously at Paris's Café de la Régence in 1858.
Morphy - William Potier
Petrov Defence Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4!?
The same variation as played against Theodor Lichtenhein in the first American Chess Congress the previous year.
3...Nxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6!?
Lichtenhein played 4...d5!? The main move, 4...Nxc3, will be covered later in the series.
5.Nxe5 d5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.d4 c6 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.f4
Löwenthal: "Playing his favourite move at an early stage of the game."
9...Nb6
9...0-0, which was played in a 1997 Spanish game, looks more natural.
10.Qf3 h5?!
A weakening move that will hurt Black, except in the unlikely event that he somehow manages to castle long.
11.f5
Löwenthal: "Black's queen's bishop is now completely hemmed in, and time must be lost in extricating it."
11...Qc7?!
Presumably trying to prepare queenside castling, which at least is consistent with his 10th move. The engines prefer 11...Nbd7!?
12.Bf4
Developing with tempo - very much a Morphy trait.
12...Bd6 13.Rae1
Again developing with a threat.
13...Kf8
This appears to be Black's best, which shows what a rotten position he had after just a dozen moves.
14.Qg3 h4
Again the engines reckon this is Black's best, but it meets with a strong reply. Even worse for Black was 14...Bxf5? 15.Nxg6+ followed by Bxd6(+).
15.Ng6+ Kg8 16.Bxd6 hxg3 17.Bxc7 fxg6 18.fxg6 gxh2+ 19.Kh1
The smoke has cleared, and material is more-or-less level (White has the bishop-pair, but his light-square bishop is restricted), However, as so often in Morphy's games, the American has a lead in development.
19...Bg4 20.Re7 Nbd7

White to make his 21st move

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21.Be5?!
This works out swimmingly in the game, but better appears to be the engines' 21.Ne4!?, eg 21...Nxe4 22.Rxe4 Nf6 23.Rxf6 gxf6 24.Rxg4, with two bishops for a rook, or 21...Re8 22.Nxf6+ Nxf6 23.Rxe8+ Nxe8 24.Rf7 (24.c4!?), with much the more-active pieces.
21...Kf8?
Black had to find 21...Rh5, when White has  a number of favourable continuations, including 22.Bxh2 and 22.Bxh6, in each case with a small edge.
22.Rf7+ Kg8 23.Nxd5!
Löwenthal: "One of those beautiful combinations for which Mr Morphy is so famous, and which occur with equal frequency in his blindfold games as in those which he conducts with the board and men before him."
23...cxd5 24.Bxd5 Nb6 25.Bb3 1-0

Morphy v The Petrov (part two)

PAUL Morphy's second outing against the Petrov came in the semi-final of the first American Chess Congress, which was run in New York in 1857 as a knockout.
Despite the relative success of his opening play in his previous experience of the Petrov, against Johann Löwenthal seven years earlier (only poor endgame technique saw him held to a draw), Morphy chose a much sharper line for this game.
Morphy - Theodor Lichtenhein
Petrov Defence Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4!?
The Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit is often considered a line of the Bishop's Opening as it commonly arises from the move-order 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3!? Nigel Short is among strong modern players to have tried it from a Petrov move-order.
3...Nxe4 4.Nc3
White's most-popular choice, but the engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer 4.d3!? Their top-choice reply is 4...Nc5, when Stockfish10 continues 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.0-0 Ne6 7.Re1, with what Stockfish10 reckons is a large advantage for Black, but Komodo10 regards as dynamically equal. After 4...Nc5, Komodo10 gives 5.Bg5!? (not to be found in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database) Be7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.0-0, when both engines prefer Black.
4...d5!?
Löwenthal, in Morphy's Games Of Chess, wrote: "Mr Lichtenhein is justly considered the originator of this defence of …d5: the move is a good one and deserves the consideration of the chess analyst."
The main move, 4...Nxc3, will be covered later in this series.
5.Bxd5
This was to be Lichtenhein's choice when he twice had to face his own defence. He won both games.
5...Nf6 6.Bb3 Bd6 7.d3 0-0 8.h3 h6 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qd2 Na5 11.g4 Nxb3 12.axb3 Bd7 13.Rg1 Nh7
This is condemned as "too passive" by an unnamed ChessBase commentator, but is liked by Stockfish10. Komodo10 prefers 13...Bc6 or 13...Re8.
14.Ne4 Kh8
"Again passive," according to the ChessBase commentator.
The engines want Black to sac a pawn with 14...a5!? 15.Rxa5 Qe7, the idea being that Black will get the open a file.
15.g5 h5 16.Nh4 g6 17.Qe2
The engines reckon White is better after opening the centre with 17.d4, or preparing such an opening with 17.0-0-0.
17...Bc6
Löwenthal: "It was injudicious of Black to abandon the diagonal commanded so effectively by the queen's bishop." On the other hand, the anonymous ChessBase commentator reckons "the black position looks still OK." The engines side with Lowenthal's verdict.
18.f4?
This was a good point to castle long, which will surely be necessary sooner rather than later.
18...exf4 19.Bd4+
The black king looks in danger but, as noted in ChessBase, the open e file is problematic for White's king.
19...Kg8 20.Nf5 Re8!
It seems Morphy missed this. White would be winning after 20...gxf5? 21.Nf6+ Kg7 22.Qxh5.
21.Nh6+
21.0-0-0 may have been a little better, but still good for Black.
21...Kf8 22.0-0-0 Bxe4?
Removing a piece menacing Black's king, but almost certainly winning was 22...Nxg5, which ChessBase describes as "easy to find and critical." Best play, as given by ChessBase and confirmed by the engines, runs 23.Nxf7 Kxf7 24.Nxg5+ Qxg5 25.Qxe8+ Rxe8 26.Rxg5 f3, "and Black has two strong pawns [and the bishop-pair] for the exchange. He will play for a win."
23.dxe4
Black is a pawn up, but White's forces are zeroing in on the black king, while Black is lagging in development.
23...Qe7?
Best seems to be 23...Re6, although the engines prefer White after 24.e5 or 24.h4.
Complicated is 23...Nxg5?!, but White seems to be better after 24.e5, eg 24...Nxh3 35.Qc4 Qd7 36.Rxg6!

White to make his 24th move

24.e5?
A slip, although Black's defence is difficult to find. Correct was 24.Qc4 (threatening to win the black bishop with e5) Qe6 25.Qc3, when White again threatens to trap the black bishop, eg 25...Rad8 26.Bg7+ Ke7 27.e5. Black's best, according to the engines, is 25...Red8 26.Bc5 Bxc5 (or 26...Ke8 27.Rd5 f6 28.Qc4! Kd7 29.gxf6 Bxc5 30.f7+, with a huge position for White) 27.Qxc5+ Kg7 28.Qc3+ Nf6! 29.Rdf1 (Komodo10 prefers 29.Rde1, but Stockfish10's choice seems stronger) Kh7 30.Nxf7 Qa6 31.Nxd8 Qa1+ 32.Kd2 Nxe4+ 33.Kd3 Qxf1+ 34.Rxf1 Nxc3 35.Nxb7 Nd5 36.c4+, with much the better ending for White. These are very complicated lines, but the engines are almost completely in agreement on their analysis.
24...Bxe5
Löwenthal suggests 24...Bc5, but White's attack continues, eg 25.Qf2 Bxd4 26.Rxd4 f3! (Black cannot allow 27.Rxf4) 27.Qxf3 Nxg5 28.Qf4 Qxe5 29.h4 Qxf4+ 30.Rxf4 Re4! 31.Rff1! Rxh4 32.Rxg5 Kg7 33.Nf5+ Kf6 34.Rxg6+ fxg6 35.Nxh4+, when White has a knight for two pawns. Another long, but fairly forced, line.
25.Bxe5 Qxe5 26.Rd7 Qg7?
Black draws with 26...Nxg5 26.Rxg5 Qf6!, eg 27.Qd2 Re7 28.Rd8+ Re8 29.Rd7 etc.
27.Qc4 Re7 28.Rxe7 Kxe7 29.Re1+ 1-0
White has a mate-in-five.

Morphy v The Petrov

PAUL Morphy always played 1.e4 as White, and 79.5% of his games continued 1...e5.
Nevertheless Morphy only faced the Petrov six times, despite it being a popular defence in the mid-19th century.
Perhaps this had something to do with Morphy being recognised as a genius of Open games, and there may have been a feeling that the Petrov allowed a very-open Open game.
Although Morphy only faced the Petrov seven times, he tried three different systems against it.
He seems to have respected the Petrov - he certainly rated the defence enough to try it three times in his celebrated match against Johann Löwenthal.
Morphy first faced the Petrov in a 'casual'* game in 1850 against the same Löwenthal.
Morphy - Löwenthal
Petrov Defence Cozio Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2!?

Position after 5.Qe2!?

Wikipedia attributes this move to Lasker. But while it became a favourite of his - and of Capablanca - it is normally credited to the 18th-century Italian Carlo Cozio. This game is the first in which it appears in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database. It probably appealed to Morphy because White aims for a small lead in development in a symmetrical pawn-structure, and therefore is reminiscent of his play against the French.
5...Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nc3!?
Normal is 7.Bg5, but Carlsen, Ivanchuk, Nakamura and So have experimented with the text. It is also the preference of the engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
7...Be6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6!?
Giving up the bishop-pair in the interest of speedy development. Capablanca also played this way in a win over Marshall at St Petersburg 1914.
9...Qxf6 10.d4
Löwenthal notes in his Morphy's Games Of Chess: "10.Nd5 does not yield any advantage as Black can safely reply with 10...Qxb2."
10...c6?!
Marshall played 10...Be7?! against Capablanca, only to be hit with 11.Qb5+. Marshall was an attacking player, and probably sacrificed his b pawn deliberately (he played the same move 11 years later against Mieses), but the idea is not liked by the engines.
Those same engines reckon Black's best is 10...Qe7, in which case White has a slight lead in development, but Black has the long-term advantage of the bishop-pair.

White to make his 11th move

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11.0-0-0?!
Morphy seems to have missed a trick here. 11.d5, as pointed out by Löwenthal, is strong. After the forced 11...cxd5, Löwenthal gave 12.Nxd4, but that allows unclear complications with 12...Qxb2. Better, as given by the engines, is 12.0-0-0, when White will recover his d pawn while leaving Black with a weakness at d6 and a lag in development.
11...d5
 "In order to prevent the advance of the [white] d pawn" - Löwenthal.
12.Ne5 Bb4 13.Nxd5?
A rare miscalculation by Morphy. An anonymous annotator in ChessBase suggests 13.Qe3.
13...Bxd5 14.Ng6+
This is better than 14.Nxc6+ Be7, eg 15.Nxe7 Qxe7 16.Qh5 Qg5+.
14...Qe6?
White is better after this. What both players missed is 14...Kd7! After 15.Nxh8 Na6 19.Nxf7 Qxf7, White has rook and two pawns for bishop and knight. This may be OK materially, but Black has open lines for his bishop-pair, and White has problems untangling his kingside. Meanwhile, the black king is safe on d7 as White has no pieces that can get at it.
15.Nxh8 Qxe2
Best, according to the engines, but the whole sequence helps White activate his kingside.
16.Bxe2 Kf8 17.a3
ChessBase gives "17.c4! Be6 18.d5 cxd5 19.Bf3 Kg8 20.Bxd5 Bxd5 21.Rxd5," when ChessBase's 21...Kh8? loses to 22.Rd8+ etc. However, Black can improve with 21...Be7, when White will again emerge with rook and two pawns for bishop and knight, but this time Black will not have the bishop-pair, and White will have no problems with kingside development. The engines prefer White.
17...Bd6 18.Bd3
Better is ChessBase's 18.Bh5! as White subsequently gets rid of Black's bishop-pair with a double-capture on f7.
18...Kg8?!
Löwenthal: "18...Bxg2, although it looks hazardous, might have been played with advantage." Certainly, 19.Rhg1 is nothing to be worried about. But Löwenthal may have feared 19.Bc4 Bd5 20.Bxd5 cxd5 21.Rd3, but the engines reckon Black is much better after 21...Nd7.
19.Nxf7 Kxf7 20.f3 b5 21.Be4 Nd7 22.Rde1 Nf6 23.Re2 Re8?
A positional error that I suspect many club players today would know to avoid. The point is that, as a general rule, when you have one rook and the opponent has two, it is a mistake to exchange a pair as the opponent's two rooks have a degree of redundancy.
24.Bxd5+ cxd5 25.Rxe8 Nxe8 26.g3 g5 27.Kg2 Ng7 28.Ra1 a5 29.Kd3 Ke6 30.a4 b4 31.c4!
Löwenthal: "An excellent move."
31...Bc7
Black faced a tricky decision. Neither Stockfish10's 31...dxc4+ 32.Kxc4, nor Komodo10's 31...bxc3 32.Re1+ Kd7 33.bxc3, seems satisfactory for Black.
32.Re1+ Kd6 33.Re5 dxc4+ 34.Kxc4 Ne6 35.Rb5 Nf8 36.Rd5+ Ke6 37.Rc5+ Kd6 38.d5 Kd7 39.Rc6 Bd6 40.Ra6 Ng6 41.Rxa5
Morphy's skilful rook manoeuvres have netted him a second pawn, and an overwhelming advantage.
41...Ne5+ 42.Kb5 b3!?
Hoping to make this pawn passed and thus create counterplay. 42...Nxf3 is met by 43.Ra7+, eg 43...Kc8 44.a5 Nd4+ 45.Kb6, and the a pawn will cost Black a piece.
43.Ra7+ Kd8 44.f4 gxf4 45.gxf4 Nd3 46.Kxc4 Nxf4 47.Rh7 Be5 48.Rxh6 Bxb2 49.Kxb3 Bg7 50.Rh7 Be5 51.a5 Nxd5!?
ChessBase gives this a question-mark, but Black is lost in any case.
52.Rxh5 Bxh2 53.Rxd5 Kc8 54.Rb5 Kc7 55.Kc4 Kc6 56.Rh5 Bg1 57.Rh6+?
The engines reckon White is still winning after this, but the position now seems to be drawn. Correct, as pointed out in ChessBase, is 57.Rh7 followed by a6 etc.
57...Kc7?
In Morphy's Games Of Chess, there comes the note: "After a few moves the game was declared drawn."
But Black is losing here. He should have played 57...Kb7, which draws, as a check with the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows.
In ChessBase the game continues:
58.Kb5?
A mistake. As ChessBase points out, White wins with 58.Rh1 Be3 59.Rb1 Kc6 60.a6 Bb6 61.Rb5 Ba7 62.Rb7 Bb6 63.Rf7 followed by a7 etc. If in this line Black tries 61...Kc7, then 62.Kd5 leads to similar play.
58...Kb8 ½–½
ChessBase claims White is winning, as indeed do the engines. But the Nalimov endgame tablebase shows the position to be drawn.
*As I pointed out in my series on Morphy v The French, most games in Morphy's times were 'casual' - tournaments were rare and matches not much less so.

Morphing The French

BACK on July 17 I began a seven-part series (https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/07/morphy-v-french.html) on how Paul Morphy took on the French Defence.
Since then I have played in a 4NCL congress in Telford, the British, a CzechTour festival in Olomouc, Tim Wall's Northumbria congress and two games in London's Summer League.
Only today, in round eight of the 'Paignton' premier, did I get a chance to put what I learnt into practice.
Spanton (1881/168) - Alan M Brown (1991/186)
French Exchange
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 c6 8.Bg5!?
This move is not liked by the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10, but it was played by Morphy in wins against Johann Löwenthal and the Cuban slave José María Sicre. The engines like 8.h3 or 8.Ne2.
8...Bg4
The engines' choice. Löwenthal preferred 8...h6 9.Bh4 Bg4 in game 10 of their match.
9.h3 Be6
Morphy - Sicre, Havana 1862, saw 9...Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nbd7 with a slight edge to White thanks to having the bishop-pair (1-0, 27 moves). The main move is 9...Bh5, when the double-edged 10.g4!? is interesting.
10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.Nxd7
11.f4 looked dangerous in the postmortem, but we did not consider the engines' suggestion of 11...Qb6!? 12.Kh1 Qxb2, although White has lots of compensation for the pawn.
11...Bxd7 12.Qf3 Be7 13.Rfe1 Be6?!
More natural is 13...Re8.
14.Ne2 h6 15.Bh4 Nh7 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Bxh7+?!
Keeping more material on the board with 17.Nf4 looks a better try, but the text is enough for an edge, but one that turns out to be largely meaningless.
17...Kxh7 18.Nf4 Qf6 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Qxf6 Rxf6 21.Re5 Raf8 22.f3 Kg8 23.Rae1
White is slightly better because Black has a backward e pawn, but the reduced material means the weakness is easily defended without having to make concessions elsewhere (½–½, 30 moves).

Morphy v The French (part four)

ACCORDING to Johann Löwenthal in Morphy's Games Of Chess, the following was part of a blindfold simul given in London in 1859 against eight opponents, "including, as is well known, the most-talented players of the old London Chess Club."
Morphy - George Walker*
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Bg4
Morphy has played his normal first seven moves. Walker's 7...Bg4 was already well-known in 1859, and remains the most-popular reply today along with 7...c6 (see parts two and six of this series for examples of the latter move).
8.h3
8.Nb5!? can be parried by 8...Be7 9.Bf4 Na6, although Komodo9 and Stockfish10 are happy with 8...Nc6!? 9.Nxd6 Qxd6, presumably because Black's lead in development is deemed sufficient compensation for the bishop-pair.
8...Be6?!
Maintaining the pin with 8...Bh5 is overwhelmingly more popular, although in practice White has scored very well with Steinitz's 9.g4!?
9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qd2 Qd7 11.Bf4
Löwenthal: "The best move. An examination of the position will prove that Black meditated the capture of h3 with the sacrifice of the bishop, which might have caused White some trouble. This step, however, on Mr Morphy's part, at once frustrates any such design."
11...Rfe8 12.Rae1 Rad8 13.Ne5
Löwenthal: "A fine move, acquiring a good attacking position."
13...Qc8?!
Löwenthal: "Taking the knight with either bishop or knight would have been exactly what his adversary desired."
But considering that Black feels obliged to take the knight next move anyway, it would probably have been a lesser evil to capture now.
14.Bb5
Löwenthal: "All this is admirably played, and considering that White is playing blindfold against such an able opponent, is quite marvellous."
14...Bxe5

How would you recapture?

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15.Bxe5?!
The engines much prefer White after 15.dxe5 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Qc3.
15...Nxe5
Löwenthal: "Selecting the proper course of play, for 15...Bd7 would have cramped the game still further; and if 15...Rd6, then 16.f4 would have given White an excellent game."
Actually, 15...Bd7?? loses instantly to 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Nxd5. And if 15...Rd6?, then the simple 16.Bxd6 is strong (but so is 16.f4).
It may well be Löwenthal meant 15...Nd7 rather than 15...Bd7. The move is described in his book as "B. to Q's 2nd," and could be a printing error.
16.dxe5 Ne4 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Qf4 c6
Finally taking his king's rook off prise, as grandmaster Nigel Davies is fond of saying. The game was drawn eight moves later.
*Walker was a prolific, for his time, chess author, and an organiser of the first international tournament, London 1851.

Morphy v The French (part three)

AFTER his decent opening (spoiled by a late-game blunder) against Paul Morphy in game 10 of their 1858 match, Johann Löwenthal returned to the French in game 12.
Morphy - Löwenthal
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Be6?!
Löwenthal is the first to vary, but in Morphy's Games of Chess he comments: "Comparatively weak; bringing out the king's bishop is much better."
By no means does 5...Be6?! lose by force, but the point is that it is not clear at this early stage that Black's light-square bishop belongs on e6. Most popular today is maintaining symmetry with 5...Bd6.
6.0-0 Bd6 7.Nc3
Morphy has played the first seven moves that he always played against the French (with one exception, which we will come to later).
7...c6 8.Ne5
Löwenthal: "Gaining a good position."
8...Qb6
8...Bxe5?! was subsequently played in two other quite-high-profile 19th century games, but it is very doubtful if Black should give up his good bishop like this. However, Black will come to play ...Bxe5 in this game anyway.
9.Be3!? Nbd7
Grabbing a pawn with 9...Qxb2!? looks risky, especially against an attacking player such as Morphy.
10.f4!?
Löwenthal: "In Mr Morphy's hands, this move always seems productive of immediate advantage."
Morphy continues to offer his b pawn, confident he will get plenty of compensation.
10...Bxe5!?
This comes to be Komodo9's top choice, at least for some time, but Stockfish10 is not a fan. White is now clearly better.
11.fxe5 Ng4
As Löwenthal points out, 11...Nxe5?? loses to 12.Na4.
12.Qd2 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 Qxb2!?
The engines prefer White whether Black plays the text or 13...0-0.
14.Ne2 Qa3 15.Nf4 Qe7
Castling long is suggested by the engines, but White's king certainly looks safer.
16.Rab1 0-0-0
16...0-0?! 17.Rxb7 was hardly an option, but Black's king's position on the queenside looks draughty.
17.Be2!?
Giving the queen and knight quick access to the queenside.
17...Nb6 18.Qb3 Rd7
Moving the king into the line-of-fire by 18...Kb8!? was apparently better, although the engines reckon White has full compensation for his pawn-minus.
19.Nd3!?
The engines at first call this a mistake, because of Löwenthal's reply, but Morphy has a surprise in store.
19...Nc4

How can White successfully meet Black's threat to fork at d2?

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20.Nc5!
Löwenthal: "Exceedingly well-played."
20...Rc7?
Löwenthal: "Had Black played 20...Nd2, White's answer would have been 21.Qa4 with a menaced checkmate."
But the engines reckon 21...Kb8 is a complete answer. Instead they give 21.Qg3 Nxf1 (21...Rg8? 22.Nxb7 Nxb1 23.Rxb1, with a very strong attack for White) 22.Bxf1 b6 23.Nxd7 Kxd7 24.Qxg7, when White has got his material back and has the better pieces.
21.Qa4
Löwenthal: "Mr Morphy subsequently observed that taking the knight with the bishop, before playing this move, would have been much stronger as then Black could not have advanced ...b6."
21...b6
The engines want Black to give up the exchange with 21...Kb8!?, but after 22.Bxc4 dxc4 23.Na6+ Ka8 24.Nxc7+ Qxc7 25.Qb4, White is much better.
22.Bxc4 bxc5
Löwenthal: "If the bishop had been captured, White might have replied with 23.Rxb6!, a winning move."
23.Ba6+ Kd7 24.Bb7 Rd8?
Löwenthal: "A blunder, of which Mr Morphy at once takes full advantage."
The engines give best play as 24...Qh4 25.c3 Rd8 26.Qa5 cxd4 27.Qc5 Ke8 28.Bxc6+, with Black losing too much material to have any real chance.
25.Bxc6+! 1-0

Morphy v The French (part two)

THE second time Paul Morphy faced the French was in his 1858 match against Johann Löwenthal.
Morphy - Johann Löwenthal
Game 10
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3
So far exactly as in Morphy's Paris game against Chamouillet & Allies, who played the aggressive 7...c5?!, which soon led to Black falling well behind in development.
7...c6
Much calmer, and it has been one of the choices of strong modern players. Löwenthal commented in Morphy's Games Of Chess: "Most authorities recommend ...h6 here, but no disadvantage seems attendant on the move adopted in the text." 7...h6 was played by Judit Polgar in a short draw against her sister Sofia in 1989.
8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3!?
Giving up the bishop-pair is a very committal decision, but note that Black keeps his better bishop.
11.Qxf3 Nbd7 12.Bf5 Qc7 13.Rae1 Rae8 14.Re3 Bf4 15.Re2 Rxe2 16.Nxe2 Bd6 17.Bxd7!?
Giving back the bishop-pair in order to try to gain an initiative against Black's king.
17...Nxd7 18.Ng3!?
Löwenthal: "A very good conception. The object of this move was to plant the knight at f5, where its action, combined with that of the queen, becomes most threatening and formidable."

How should Black meet White's threat?

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18...Re8
Löwenthal: "Black dare not attempt to gain the bishop by 18...g5, on account of White's playing 19.Nf5, menacing mate in two moves if the pawn captures the bishop. The move actually made was a good one as it secured a free range for the rook."
Stockfish10 and Komodo9 agree with Löwenthal's assessment, but they also reckon 18...g6 is good.
19.Nf5 Nf8 20.Bg3
Löwenthal: "The best possible play."
20...Bxg3 21.fxg3!? Re4 22.c3 Nh7 23.h4 h5
Löwenthal: "A weak move. It was not likely that Mr Morphy would take the pawn with queen, seeing that such capture would cost him the knight." Nevertheless, the engines reckon the position after 23...h5 is dead equal.
24.c4
Löwenthal: "This is a very strong move, and gives White the advantage."
24...Nf6?
The engines reckon Black is fine after a simple queen move such as 24...Qd7 or 24...Qd8.
25.Nxg7! (1-0, 34 moves)

Morphy v The French

PAUL Morphy was hailed in his lifetime as being clearly the best player in the world, and is often listed as an unofficial world champion before the generally-recognised first titleholder, Wilhelm Steinitz.
ChessBase's 2019 Mega database lists 408 games by Morphy (along with a handful of games in which he played consulting with a partner).
Just 59 of the 408, according to Wikipedia, were "serious," ie played in tournaments or matches.
But it should be remembered that in Morphy's heyday, the late 1850s, so-called serious chess was very rare - the first international tournament had only been held in London in 1851.
Morphy's many "casual" games were anything but. However, it is striking that of the 408 games, Morphy had the white pieces, or at least moved first (the rule that White always moves first came after his time), in 284.
In other words he had white 69.6% of the time, which presumably reflects that in a lot of the games he was giving odds or giving a simultaneous display. In both cases the master often moves first.
In any event, Morphy's record in games when he had the white pieces was +221=24-39, which is an 80% score.
Just six of the games began 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5, with Morphy scoring +5=1-0. That is 91.7%, and the only draw he conceded was in a blindfold simul in which he had what may have been a disappointing score, for him, of +2=6-0 (62.5%).
His experience against the French constitutes a small sample size, but his record is impressive enough to suggest that a modern 1.e4 player could do a lot worse than adopt Morphy's anti-French repertoire.
As is commonly known, Morphy played the Exchange Variation (3.exd5) against the French, which is often, quite reasonably, put down to being due to his fondness for open positions in which piece-play dominates.
All six games featured Morphy following up 3.exd5 with 4.Nf3, 5.Bd3 and 6.0-0, with 7.Nc3 coming in all but one game.
These moves can be taken as something of a Morphy mantra as he played them even though his opponents varied their moves, at least in a small way.
The first of the six was played in Paris in 1858 against a consulting team, according to Johann Löwenthal in his famous 1860 work Morphy's Games Of Chess (I have the 1985 Batsford facsimile reprint).
Morphy - Jacques Chamouillet* & Allies
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 c5?!
Black could not keep the symmetry for ever, but this is a radical way of breaking it, and is not liked by Stockfish10 or Komodo9.
8.dxc5
Komodo9's choice, although Stockfish10 prefers 8.Bg5. The position after Black's seventh move features in four modern games, none featuring strong players, in Mega19 - no one played Morphy's move. Presumably Morphy's idea was to give Black a weakness (an isolated queen's pawn) without it costing a tempo as Black has to recapture with a piece that has already moved.
8...Bxc5 9.Bg5
We have transposed to a position that occurs 23 times in Mega19, with the Swedish grandmaster Stahlberg among those to have played the same Black reply as in this game, although his game quickly varied.
9...Be6 10.Qd2 Nc6 11.Rad1 Be7 12.Rfe1

Barely 12 moves into the game, and White has seven pieces developed to Black's four

White's numerical advantage in development is striking, and the quality of his development is better in that both white bishops are more active than their black counterparts. How did Morphy achieve this?
One of White's three extra development tempi is a natural consequence of having first move.
Another is down to Black playing the non-developing 7...c5?! Morphy met this with a non-developing move of his own, 8.dxc5, but he did not lose developing time as Black was obliged to reply 8...Bxc5.
The capture 8.dxc5 isolated Black's d pawn, which left Black feeling obliged to play the somewhat passive 9...Be6 and to later lose a third developing tempo with the retreat 11...Be7.
12...a6!?
Having written the above, you may not be surprised to find I prefer getting on with development with, say, 12...Re8. However, the text wavers between being Komodo9's first and second choice (behind ...Re8).
13.Qf4 Nh5?
Black cracks under the pressure. Best still seems to be ...Re8.
14.Qh4 g6 15.g4?
A rare tactical error by the great American. Simple and good is 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Qxe7 Nxe7, when any hopes Black had of attacking with the help of the IQP are gone, and he is left with the pawn's weakness, a bad bishop and a continuing lag in development.
15...Nf6?
Löwenthal's suggested 15...Ng7? is, if anything, even worse, eg 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Ng5 h5 18.gxh5 Nxh5 19.Bxg6! etc,
However, the engines point out 15...Nd4! 16.Nxd4 Bxg5 17.Qh3 Nf4, when White's king looks the shakier.
16.h3 Rc8
The engines suggest 16...Re8, but with a large advantage to White after 17.Bc4 (Stockfish10) or 17.Bf5!? (Komodo9).
17.a3?!
This seems rather slow. The engines like 17.Bf5!? or 17.Ne2, the point of the former being that 17...gxf5 18.gxf5 Bxf5 loses to 19.Rxe7! Nxe7 20.Bxf6, when White gets a huge attack for the exchange.
17...Re8 18.Ne2 h5?
Black is still in the game after 18...Nd7 19.Bxe7 Qxe7, although Morphy, as in the note to White's move 15, would have had a pleasant positional edge.
19.Nf4 Nh7
Black now collapses, but 19...Bd7 also lost material, eg 20.Rxe7.
20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Rxe6 Bxg5 22.Rxg6+ Kf8 23.Qxh5 Rc7 (1-0, 26 moves)
*His first name is rather improbably spelt as Jackcues in ChessBase, and there is no mention of it being a consultation game. Chamouillet is given an estimated best-rating of 2405 by Chess-DB.com.
To be continued