Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Rue de Rivoli

Adolf Anderssen – Paul Charles Morphy
Paris, December 1858
King’s Gambit Accepted C33

One afternoon, following the conclusion of their official match, Anderssen and Morphy agreed to pose for a picture sitting at the board table at Hôtel de Breteuil in Paris. They also took the occasion to play – within about three hours – six parties sans façon, of which Morphy won five to Anderssen’s one.

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. e5? A pernicious digression from the usual 4. Nc3. 4. ... d5 5. Bb3 Ne4 6. Nf3 Bg4! 6. ... g5 7. d3 Nc5 8. h4 g4 9. Nd4 Nxb3 10. axb3 Bc5 is also better for Black, de Rivière – Dubois, Paris 1855, but as usual Morphy’s moves touch perfection. 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. Ba4. Something went terribly wrong for Anderssen. Now 8. d4? was trivially refuted by 8. ... Nxd4!, so, after all, White’s clumsy way to arrange his own development seems quite justified. 8. ... g5 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. d4 c5 11. c3 Be7 12. b4 cxb4 13. cxb4 0-0 14. Qb3. “A good move is not to be found: but 14. Qe1 is perhaps better than the text-move”, Philip W. Sergeant writes in his book “Morphy’s Games of Chess”, New York, Dover, 1957, pp. 275-276. In such case Black could even continue by 14. ... a5!? 15. bxa5 c5! with a crushing initiative. 14. ... Rb8 15. a3 c5! Black’s supremacy is manifest, to say the least. 16. Nc3 Nxc3 17. Qxc3 cxb4 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. Qd3 a5 20. h4 h6 21. hxg5 hxg5 22. g3 Rb6! 23. Ra2 Rg6 24. Rg2. Anderssen tries a vain and desperate Exchange sacrifice, still hoping for something that won’t happen. 24. ... Bh3 25. e6 Bxg2 26. exf7+ Kg7. Naturally! 27. Kxg2


27. ... Qc8! Wilhelm Steinitz, who was never tender with Morphy, called it “A move of high strategical genius”. 28. Ne5 Rh6 29. gxf4 Rfh8 30. fxg5 Rh2+ 31. Kg1 Rh1+ 32. Kf2 R8h2+ 33. Ke3 Rh3+ 34. Nf3 Rxf3+! 35. Rxf3 Qxc1+ 0 : 1. For if 36. Kf2 there follows 36. ... Qe1+ 37. Kg2 Qg1 mate.

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