Napoleon Marache vs Paul Morphy

jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var selector = '#' + "rpbchessboard-63e0f29508fd0-1" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor'; RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {"pgn":"[Event \"USA-01 Morphy Casual Games\"] [Site \"New York,NY\"] [Date \"1857.10.11\"] [White \"Marache, Napoleon\"] [Black \"Morphy, Paul\"] [Result \"0-1\"] [ECO \"C52\"] [Annotator \"ChessBase\"] [PlyCount \"40\"] [EventDate \"1857.10.??\"] [EventCountry \"USA\"] {Paul Morphy for those who don’t know was the most dominant player of his lifetime. He only played competitively until his early 20’s but he set the chess world ablaze. This game is a good example of his domination and you will not forget the finish!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 $2 {[#][%csl Re5] This is an absolutely awful move. In an opening like the Evans gambit there is absolutely no time to waste at all. Rather than develop or castle, white overextends their center and gives black time to hit back in the center.} (7. Qb3 {This is also a good move. I have played this several times myself. It has the benefit of avoiding the more explored variations that start with 7. 0-0.} Qe7 8. O-O Bb6 9. cxd4 {With compensation.} ) (7. O-O {Paul Morphy played this move frequently with the white pieces and did exceptionally with it. It is very principled. White takes care of the king and can recapture on the following turn with cxd4 building a powerful center.} dxc3 $6 {This is an ill-advised pawn grab. White gets more than enough compensation for the current 3 pawn deficit. Often times black will not survive the opening after…} (7... Nge7 8. cxd4 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 {This is a much better defense for black.}) 8. Qb3 $1 Qe7 $2 {This natural move has led to many miniatures.} 9. Nxc3 Nf6 10. Nd5 $1 {With an irresistible attack.}) 7... d5 $1 8. exd6 Qxd6 (8... cxd6 $1 {The computer likes this option for black in order to play d5 a second time. That will effectively shut down white’s bishop and keep black up a healthy extra pawn.} 9. O-O d5 $1 10. Bb5 { [%cal Ge1e8]} Nge7 {[#][%csl Ye7][%cal Ge8g8]}) 9. O-O Nge7 10. Ng5 $4 {[%csl Ra1, Rb1,Rc1] Another slow move from white which completely abandons control of the center. White is giving up any hope of winning back the central pawn or developing the queenside in the near future. It is almost never a good idea to attack with so few pieces.} (10. Ba3 $1 {This would have given white some compensation for the pawn deficiency.} Qf6 $1 $17 {Black is still doing well here though.}) 10... O-O {[#][%csl Ga5,Gc6,Gd6,Ge7] Black is two pawns up with the better development! This is the reverse of how a gambit is supposed to go!} 11. Bd3 (11. Qh5 {Perhaps white thought he had this move available but black has it well covered.} Qg6 $1 12. Qxg6 Nxg6 {White is busted.}) 11... Bf5 (11... h6 {This also would have been very strong.}) 12. Bxf5 Nxf5 13. Ba3 Qg6 14. Bxf8 Qxg5 15. Ba3 (15. Bb4 $1 $19 {White is still lost but this was the best hope. With an exchange of pieces and change of pawn structure on the queenside, white could hope to complete development. The move played in the game leaves white hopelessly lagging behind.} Nh4 $1 16. g3 Bb6 {[%cal Gb6g1]}) 15... dxc3 {[%csl Ra1,Rb1,Rd1,Rf1] The exchange that white managed to win back was hardly any consolation for the complete neglect of development. Black has a winning position here but the way Morphy wraps it up is something you will never forget!} (15... Nh4 {Black could have gone for this as well but it wouldn’t have changed much.} 16. g3 dxc3 $19) 16. Bc1 {[#][%csl Ra1,Ga5,Rb1,Rc1,Gc6,Rd1, Rf1,Gf5,Gg5] A very telling position. After 16 moves, all of white’s pieces are on the first rank.} Qg6 17. Bf4 Rd8 18. Qc2 Ncd4 19. Qe4 Ng3 $3 20. Qxg6 Nde2# {That might be the most beautiful mate ever played!} 0-1","nboSquareSize":50,"idoSquareSize":50,"nboCoordinateVisible":true,"idoCoordinateVisible":true,"nboColorset":"greenvintage","idoColorset":"greenvintage","nboPieceset":"new-set-mac","idoPieceset":"new-set-mac","nboAnimated":true,"nboMoveArrowVisible":false,"nboMoveArrowColor":"b","pieceSymbols":"native","navigationBoard":"frame","withFlipButton":true,"withDownloadButton":true}); });