Some Facts About Paul Morphy - Maybe the Best USA Player of All Time

Paul Morphy was born June 22, 1837 and died July 10, 1884 at the age of 47. Here are some facts.

• Paul became the best player in the world at the age of 21, when the current world champion Howard Staunton, avoided playing a match with Paul at all costs.
• Paul learned to play chess simply by watching games between his father and uncle. He never had a lesson from any person to anyone's knowledge. At at nine, he was already considered New Orleans best player.
• At age 12, Paul played a match against visiting Hungarian GM Johann Lowenthal and won 3 games and drawing one.
• Paul relied on his remarkable memory and natural intuition to play chess. He never studied, practiced or trained for chess.
• Began playing chess competitively only because he was too young to start his law practice after graduating from law school at the age of 19.
• Gave a blindfold chess against 8 master players in an 1858 exhibition in Paris that rocked the chess world by winning every game.
• Paul's chess career in total lasted only 18 months. Lack of the ability to get a championship match soured Paul's desire to continue playing. 
• Paul never truly got his law business going. He was nicknamed "The pride and sorrow of chess" because even though he may have been the greatest natural chess player ever born, he left chess without being champion and struggled to be a lawyer as mental illness crept in.
• An interviewer asked Bobby Fischer who was the 2nd best US player of all time. Even Bobby said, he didn't really think he was the best. Bobby credited Paul Morphy as being possibly greater than him, since there were no chess books, teachers, clubs or tournaments to play in during Paul's lifetime. Bobby said, "I played over all of Paul's games and he may have been the most accurate player that ever lived."

Here is the chess engine's analysis of the best players. Paul finished 16th - without ever studying, getting a lesson or reading a chess book. Amazing!

LCCC is Still Going Strong On-line at Chess.com and Lichess! Also a Queen Sac!

 

Photo of GM Nikolai Krogius

The instructions on how to join us on line are on the right side of the blog. We welcome a new member - Jakob or on Chess.com - Fiskoal. Glad to have you as a member.

Now for a little chess entertainment. 

Grandmasters of course are special people with a special talent. Their ability to see things on a chessboard and calculate combinations and sequences of moves astounds us mere mortals. Here is a game where the Grandmaster sees the real 'best move, but I will let GM Nikolai Krogius tell the story:

"White has a big advantage here. 14. Kh1 followed by 15. f5 leads to a won game for White. White's attention had been constantly aimed at the d4 square (Ed. Note: Did you take notice of what the GM mind focuses on? Square control. That is a lesson in itself.). 

But who can resist a queen sacrifice? Even though the vanilla 14. Kh1 is the shortest win, (Ed. Note: Igor3000 says White's advantage is +3.1 pawns after that move) the aesthetic factors won the day. (Ed. Note: GM's are also very mean people on a chessboard!) 

My heart stopped beating when I played ....."

GM Krogius - GM Kuznetsov

14.   Qxd4!          Nxd4        (Ed. Note: White's text move is only worth +2.8 pawns)

15.   Nd6+           Kf8

16.   Nxb7            Qa4

17.    b3               Nxb3

18.    axb3            Qxa1

19.    Be3             Qb2

20.    Bxc5+         d6

21.    Bxd6+         Kg8

22.    Ne7+           Kf8

23.    Re1             .........

First of all, who in the world but Grandmasters could calculate a queen sac 10 moves out? Well, Krogius even admitted "I did not understand the win at the time I made the sacrifice, but I sensed it would be correct."  

This is why chess fascinates us! 

23.   ......               h5

24.   Ng6+            Kg8

25.   Re8+             Kh7

26.   Nxh8             Qd4+

27.   Kf1                a6??

The final mistake, not that it matters at this point. Correct was 27. .......Nc6. (White up only +1.6 pawns instead of a mate in nine moves.

28.   Nxf7              axb5

29.    Ng5+            Kg6

30.    Bf7+             Kf5

31.    Re5+             Kxf4

32.    g3+                Black Resigns

GM's can not only see winning positions, they can sense them as well. Your author can't do either one, but that does not stop me from enjoying the best game in the world.

Akiba Rubinstein - Final Installment - LCCC Live Closed - On Line Open!

Hello there LCCC'ers. Take a look at the instructions on the right hand side of the blot to learn how to play in and join our club on line. Our live chess site remains closed for now. 

Please join us on line! 

 LCCC is using 2 of the best on line chess services available and offering two different forms of chess. Live tournament play on Monday Night on Lichess.

And on-line "postal" style chess on Chess.com. 

 Not to mention that both chess sites offer their own lists of games, time limits, tournaments and chess variations - 24 hours a day! Come join us! 

Akiba Rubinstein

 Now back to our story of Akiba Rubinstein: 

 When looking at the games of Akiba Rubinstein, his approach was one of smooth transision from the opening, to the middlegame and the endgame. In pure harmony, every move seemed perfectly necessary. No extra or wasted moves were tolerated. Like the building of a house, every stone is in it's place and every stone has a role. It was the same with his chess pieces.

Rubinstein spend a great deal of time studying the general principles of the game. This led him to being the master of endgame play over his contemporaries. No one came close in that department until Capablanca came along. 

 Despite being the World's #2 player, if not #1, Akiba never got to play in a championship match. There were several reasons for this. One being the financial conditions set forth by the current champion Emanuel Lasker. Another was the arrival of another chess great - Jose Capablanca. And of course the start of World War I (WW1). 

 But there were other issues as psychological problems began to plague him and lead to his eventual retirement from the chess scene. WWI destroyed many lives and fortunes and Akiba was no different. He invested heavily in German war bonds. 

 After WWI Rubinstein played in more tournaments, but never revisited his past highs. The exception was the super-tournament in Vienna in 1922, where Rubinstein won over Alexander Alekine and Richard Reti. 

 But soon after this win, he visited a psychiatrist complaining of a fly that he imagined always settled on his forehead, breaking his concentration. The doctor sent him ot a leading psyco-neurologist in Munich. The doctor said, "My friend, you are quite mad! But what does that matter? You are a brilliant chess master." 

 It seemed to have mattered plenty. Rubinstien never wrote books to cash in on his legendary chess accomplishments. He was very conscious of his lack of a complete education. And his mental health issues kept him from being able to complete projects. 

Akiba Rubinstein spent the last 30 years of his life in a sanitorium and died in 1961. A sad end to one of the most brilliant chess minds that ever lived.

Akiba Rubinstein - 2nd Installment - LCCC Still Closed for Live Play

We hope to open soon, but since we are located at a Senior Center......who knows?

But now the next installment of the Akiba Rubinstein story.

In 1905, a 5th place finish at a Kiev tournament gave Rubinstein his first Grandmaster title  and that cemented his decision to become a chess professional. That was a benefit to the entire chess world!

Between 1906 and 1911, Akiba played in 17 international tournaments and placed first in 11 of them!
In 1912, he shocked the world by winning 5 straight international tournaments!

Now to present Rubinstein's "Immortal Game".
White: Georg Rotlevi
Black: Akiba Rubinstein

1. d4               d5
2. Nf3             e6
3. e3               c5
4. c4               Nc6
5. Nc3            Nf6
6. dxc5           Bxc5
7. a3               a6
8. b4               Bd6
9. Bb2            O-O
10. Qd2          Qe7
11. Bd3           dxc4
12. Bxc4         b5
13. Bd3           Rd8
14. Qe2           Bb7
15. O-O          Ne5
16. Nxe5         Bxe5
17. f4 ?           .........

Position after White's 17th move - f4?

What is there to do for White! This move doubles White's disadvantage to a small (-.6), Igor3000 suggests 17. Rfd1, but White would still be slightly behind.

17. ......            Bc7
18. e4 ?!          Rac8
19. e5 ?            ......
White exposes his King and Akiba jumps on that chance (-3.6). 19. Kh1 was needed here first.

19. ......             Bb6+
20. Kh1            Ng4 !
21. Be4             ......
This allows a beautiful finish but 21. Qxg4, Rxe3 is just as bad for White.

21. ......             Qh4
Well, 21. ......Nxh2 was better but a different sacrifice looms!

22. g3 ?            Rxc3 !!
23. gxh4           Rd2  !
24. Qxd2          Bxe4+
25. Qg2            Rh3 !
White resigns in the face of mates in 3! An incredible game!

We will wrap up the Akiba Rubinstein story next time.
         

Still Dark - But You Can Join Us on Chess.com

We are on Chess dot Com, having matches with other clubs!
We are on Lichess.org, having fun tournaments among ourselves. Come join the action there until our location re-opens!

Now for Part 1 of an article on a famous chess player!


Akiba Kivelovic Rubinstein was born December 12, 1882 in the Polish border town of Stawiski. It was then part of the Russian Empire. He was the youngest of twelve children. His family expected him to become a rabbi, but when he was 16, he discovered some chess books written Hebrew and the rest we say is history!

Akiba took to studying chess 6 to 8 hours a day for 300 days a year, for 5 straight years. Results came fast due to his enormous God given talent and tenacious work ethic.

In 1901, he won this beautiful game against a strong Polish master:

      1.     e4             e5

      2.     Nf3           Nc6 

      3.     Bc4           Nf6

      4.     d4             exd4

      5.     O-O          Bc5

      6.     e5             d5

      7.     exf6          dxc4

      8.     Re1+!       Kf8

      9.     Bg5?         ……..

This is a very dubious move. Much better is 9. fxg7, Kxg7  10. Ne5 with some compensation.


 9………..            gxf6

10.  Bh6+            Kg8
 11.  Nxd4!

This was the point of White’s combination.


  11………..          Bxd4

  12. c3                  Bf5?

Position after Black's move 12. …...Bf5?

Missing 12. ….Be5! 13. Qxd8, Nxd8  14. f4,  Nc6  15. Fxe5, fxe5 – leaving Black with a winning position.


       13. cxd4           Nxd4

       14. Nc3             Bg6?


This is a terrible blunder. Black has to give the knight on d4 more protection with 14. ……. C5

        15. Re8+!           Qxe8

        16. Qxd4            Qe5

        17. Nd5!             Resigns

               
Mate is soon to follow.

More on Akiba Rubinstein next article.

Still Dark - But Not on Chess dot com! Join the LCCC On Line!

LCCC is upgrading our focus on our internet presence on the biggest chess site in the world. And it is all FREE!

It is free to join Chess . com and it is free to join our Club once you make an account there.

Some members opened up a tournament on Monday Nights on Li Chess that was successful and fun. 

But on Chess dot Com we are going to up the game where our Club challenges other clubs to matches!

We will set the tournaments up. You will see an invite either to your message board on the site or the Note section on the Club site on Chess. com.

Each tournament will allow 3 days for you to make a move! 

Pick and choose how many tournaments for the Club you want to enter.

Lets walk you thru how to make an account on Chess. com and join LCCC there:

Hit the sign up button

Pick a cool username and sign up to Chess. com

Click on the 'chat' bubble (red circle) and then click on "Clubs"

Type in Livingston County Chess Club in the search box

Click on the Club name

Hit "Join" and you are done!

Hey, I'm Winning! Now I Can Relax - NOT! (LCCC Still Dark - Due to C-19)

IM Yates (White) vs GM Tartakover (Black) - Hamburg, 1927

Having a winning position in a chess game is a great feeling. But sometimes you can feel too good and lose your focus.
Is there a psychological reason for this? Yes, as we all tend to let our guard down when we no longer perceive any danger. We all tend to relax when no threat seems imminent.
But, in chess that is rarely the case even in dominating positions.
We also tend to want to 'finish things up'. In our minds we are screaming "Look pal, this game is over. You are toast! Resign already. I want to go grab a sandwich and get ready for the next round."
And it can be especially true if you have been playing for a long time before getting the advantage or have been building an ever bigger advantage over time.
Look at the position here, as played by two very strong chess masters. Black has a big advantage both material wise and position wise.  According to Igor3000 the lead is the equivalent of 11 pawns (-10.9)! An overwhelming advantage.
But the GM was frustrated that his opponent had not given up yet and decided to end things quickly.

1. ……          Qxb4?
Black gives up his queen to eliminate White's last defender while winning a pawn (-2.2)and is sure his extra pawn will bring his queen back to life to win the game

2. axb4           axb3
3. Kb2            Kc4
4. Ka3            ........

Black to make move #4

 None of this was a surprise to GM  Tartakover. He had seen all of this. He also saw that if he plays 4. …Kc3, it is a stalemate.
Tartakover saw that 4.....b2 5. Kxb2, Kxb4 is a win for Black. So, 

4. ……            b2
5. Ka2!
But White had one other legal move available to him and he took it!
Now the game is a book draw.

GM Tartakover was guilty of shutting down his full analysis of the position and getting in a hurry to win a won game.