Vincent86
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I like this topic, I will continue now. My next pick is a personal favourite of mine.
Paul Morphy
Was an American chess player. Without a doubt one of the best players of the game in history. A true genius.
Childhood
Morphy was born in 1837 in New Orleans, USA, to a wealthy family. Young Paul learned to play the game simply by watching his father and uncle play. During one of these games, his father and uncle agreed to a draw, Upon which Paul said that one of the players had made a mistake and could have won the game. The older men being obvlious to the fact that the young lad even knew how to moved the pieces, encouraged him to point out the mistake, and what would you know? Paul was right.
By age nine, Morphy was allready one of the strongest players in New Orleans, at twelve years old he defeated a visiting master from Hungary in a match of 3.
School
Morphy attended Jefferson Academy almost right next door to his home. In 1850, he enrolled at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. Records at the college show that his conduct was impeccable and that he excelled in Latin, Greek, French and English as well as in Mathematics.
In 1855 Paul received his A.M. degree. His commencement address was entitled, "The Political Creed of the Age." According to (a long time school friend) Maurian, Morphy received the highest honors ever bestowed by Spring Hill College and that during his time there, he devoted himself to mathematics and philosophy. Maurian also claimed that during his entire stay at Spring Hill, except when he went home for vacations, Morphy rarely, almost never, played chess. He further states that, "Morphy was never so passionately fond, so inordinately devoted to chess as is generally believed."
After graduating, Paul attended the Law School at the University of Louisiana. He received his L.L.B. degree on April 7, 1857; While able to easily recite the entire Civil Code of Louisiana by heart, Paul was too young to be admitted to the bar. It would be another year before he could begin practicing law.
CHESS!
Morphy was not yet of legal age to practice law, so he had a year of free time and that's where he really starts to shine. He becomes the first unofficial US champion. At this time he's playing in the New York chess club, where he plays every American chess player at pawn AND move odds.
In this period of time chess was much more popular in Europe than it was in the US, and Paul felt that he was strong enough to beat the toughest players in Europe. There were no professional chess players yet either. Games were played for stakes. (It is said Paul never took the money for his wins, a lot of times he slipped it back to the family)
Long story short, in 1858 Paul travels to England after challenging probably the top player of the world Howard Staunton. He gets sick on the way there but upon his arrival still beats the strongest players around, only Staunton keeps dodging him.
Paul goes to Paris and beats the strongest players there. London and Paris were gathering places for chess players from all around Europe because they had famous chess clubs. He also beat strong players during simuls and blindfold simuls, which at that time were seen as a dangerous practices for the mind and might cause insanity.
Not for Paul, my personal interpretation is that he just got bored. There were no chess clocks yet and opponents could take hours to finish the game. He never really faced any tough competition. Peaked at 21(!!) when he became the first unofficial world champion. He traveled back to Europe once but never played Staunton. 'Later' in life (age 47) Morphy dies, almost as a hermit in isolation, with lots of myths surrounding him.
This man was his time far ahead and changed chess, it was through study of his games and how to defend against them, that other strong players started playing differently, 'modern chess'.
So yeah yeah, chess bla bla, but this guy was a genius, beat the best in the world, then made a promise never to play public games again. Made an effort to open a law office after the civil war, but the only people that came there wanted to talk chess, so, since his family was rich he basically did nothing for the rest of his live and died in bath.
Sorry for the wall of text, wanted to do him justice but not sure I did
Stole some info from batgirl and wiki
http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/
Here's some of his work:
allegedly the only puzzle ever created by morphy
White to move and check mate in two, the solution is to play the rook to a6 and put black in zugzwang, where every move he makes loses.
Here's a game against two weaker players played in paris during an opera, therefor know as 'the opera game'.
Yes this will be my only chess contribution to this thread.
Paul Morphy
Was an American chess player. Without a doubt one of the best players of the game in history. A true genius.
Childhood
Morphy was born in 1837 in New Orleans, USA, to a wealthy family. Young Paul learned to play the game simply by watching his father and uncle play. During one of these games, his father and uncle agreed to a draw, Upon which Paul said that one of the players had made a mistake and could have won the game. The older men being obvlious to the fact that the young lad even knew how to moved the pieces, encouraged him to point out the mistake, and what would you know? Paul was right.
By age nine, Morphy was allready one of the strongest players in New Orleans, at twelve years old he defeated a visiting master from Hungary in a match of 3.
School
Morphy attended Jefferson Academy almost right next door to his home. In 1850, he enrolled at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. Records at the college show that his conduct was impeccable and that he excelled in Latin, Greek, French and English as well as in Mathematics.
In 1855 Paul received his A.M. degree. His commencement address was entitled, "The Political Creed of the Age." According to (a long time school friend) Maurian, Morphy received the highest honors ever bestowed by Spring Hill College and that during his time there, he devoted himself to mathematics and philosophy. Maurian also claimed that during his entire stay at Spring Hill, except when he went home for vacations, Morphy rarely, almost never, played chess. He further states that, "Morphy was never so passionately fond, so inordinately devoted to chess as is generally believed."
After graduating, Paul attended the Law School at the University of Louisiana. He received his L.L.B. degree on April 7, 1857; While able to easily recite the entire Civil Code of Louisiana by heart, Paul was too young to be admitted to the bar. It would be another year before he could begin practicing law.
CHESS!
Morphy was not yet of legal age to practice law, so he had a year of free time and that's where he really starts to shine. He becomes the first unofficial US champion. At this time he's playing in the New York chess club, where he plays every American chess player at pawn AND move odds.
In this period of time chess was much more popular in Europe than it was in the US, and Paul felt that he was strong enough to beat the toughest players in Europe. There were no professional chess players yet either. Games were played for stakes. (It is said Paul never took the money for his wins, a lot of times he slipped it back to the family)
Long story short, in 1858 Paul travels to England after challenging probably the top player of the world Howard Staunton. He gets sick on the way there but upon his arrival still beats the strongest players around, only Staunton keeps dodging him.
Paul goes to Paris and beats the strongest players there. London and Paris were gathering places for chess players from all around Europe because they had famous chess clubs. He also beat strong players during simuls and blindfold simuls, which at that time were seen as a dangerous practices for the mind and might cause insanity.
Not for Paul, my personal interpretation is that he just got bored. There were no chess clocks yet and opponents could take hours to finish the game. He never really faced any tough competition. Peaked at 21(!!) when he became the first unofficial world champion. He traveled back to Europe once but never played Staunton. 'Later' in life (age 47) Morphy dies, almost as a hermit in isolation, with lots of myths surrounding him.
This man was his time far ahead and changed chess, it was through study of his games and how to defend against them, that other strong players started playing differently, 'modern chess'.
So yeah yeah, chess bla bla, but this guy was a genius, beat the best in the world, then made a promise never to play public games again. Made an effort to open a law office after the civil war, but the only people that came there wanted to talk chess, so, since his family was rich he basically did nothing for the rest of his live and died in bath.
Sorry for the wall of text, wanted to do him justice but not sure I did
Stole some info from batgirl and wiki
http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/
Here's some of his work:
allegedly the only puzzle ever created by morphy
White to move and check mate in two, the solution is to play the rook to a6 and put black in zugzwang, where every move he makes loses.
Here's a game against two weaker players played in paris during an opera, therefor know as 'the opera game'.
Yes this will be my only chess contribution to this thread.
