Paul Morphy vs. Adolph Anderssen
 Morphy & Anderssen |
Morphy finally realized that any chance of a match
with Staunton was wishful thinking. Since he was in mainland Europe, Morphy
had intentions of going to Germany, but the desire to return soon to America,
and his poor health, made him decide not to make the journey. His poor health
however caused his to delay his return home since the doctors didn't think
the trip would be good for him. After many difficult hurdles, Anderssen accepted
the invitation to come to Paris and Morphy sent his winnings from the Harrwitz
match to Anderssen to defray his traveling expenses. Anderssen was using his
Christmas vacation from school. He arrived in Paris on December 15th
. Morphy was in bed with intestinal influenza. He had been leeched of
3 or 4 pints of blood and was extrememly weak. When informed of Anderssen's
arrival, Morpy said, "I have a postivie chess fever coming over me. Give me
the board and pieces and I'll show you some of Anderssen's games....(showing
the Evergreen game) ...There, that shows the master!"
Anderssen was reluctant to play Morphy under these conditions, but Morphy, knowing how limited Anderssen's time was, assured him he could play. They agree that the first one to win seven games would be the victor. There were no stakes involved. After two weeks in bed, on December 20, Morphy was able to walk with assistance and proceeded to the room where the match would take place. The room was in Morphy's hotel, the Breteuil at 1 Rue du Dauphin. Boards were set up at the Cafe de Regence where spectators could follow the moves carried there by couriers every half hour. Morphy's appearance was so dreadful that Anderssen wondered if he was in condition to play, but Morphy relied that his mind was in good shape. The first game had Morphy playing white and offering the Evan's Gambit. After seven hours, Anderssen won. Oddly enough, Morphy, who usually was an extremely fast player, moved much slower than Anderssen. Morphy is on record to have played about 80 Evan's Gambits and lost only 2 either as black or as white. This game, as Morphy told Edge afterwards, "proved to him that the Evan's Gambit is indubitably a lost game for the first player, if the defense is carefully played; inasmuch as the former can never recover the gambit pawn,and the position, supposed to be aquired in the outset, cannot be maintained." |
| Dr. Johnston, a reporter for the
N.Y. Times, was present and offered this astute observation: "...Nothing could be more unlike than than the physique of the two players. Mr. Morphy is a frail, small boy, with a fine face and head, and a modest, almost timid, air. Prof. Anrerssen, on the contrary, is a tall man, slim, about fifty years of age, with a small, bald head, a slight stoop in the shoulders, lively black eyes, a clean-shaven face, and a decidedly German cast of features. He is a quiet, gentlemanly man, with a sympathetic expression of the face, which immediately predisposes in his favor..." The second game ended in a draw. Morphy won the next five in a row. Anderssen was able to win one more and draw one more before the inevitable Morphy victory: 7-2-2. A reporter from the N.Y. Express wrote: "On the morning previous to his departure he (Anderssen) said in my hearing: - "I consider Mr. Morphy the finest chess player who ever existed. He is far superior to any now living, and would doubtless have beaten Labourdonnais himself. In all his games with me, he has not only played, in every instance, the exact move, but the most exact.He never makes a mistake (Morphy, present, here quietly smiled); but, ifhis adversary commits the slightest error, he is lost." A year after the match, Anderssen wrote a letter to Von Heyderbrandt der Lasa (1818-1899, a chess historian, theoretician, chess author, owner of the finest chess library in the world..and possibly one of the strongest player in his day.. however, he played very little competitive chess, though when he did, he invariably won). This letter was very revealing of Aderssen's opinion of Morphy: ".....you have evaluated correctly the miraculous talentof this foreign master...He who plays Morphy must not only renounce everyhope of concealing even the subtlest of traps, but he must also start with the idea that Morphy will see clearly through all, and that there can be no question of a misstep. On the contrary, if you see Morphy make a movet hat, at first glance, seems to yield you a chance to get some advantage,examine it carefully, because you will find that it is correct and that trying to take advantage of it will lead to disaster. But most fatal, when opposed to him, is overconfidence on account of a better position and a strong attacking game. I cannot describe to you better the impression that Morphy made on me than by saying that he treats chess with the earnestness and conscientiousness of an artist. With us, the exertion that a game requires is only a matter of distraction, and lasts only as long as the game gives us pleasure; with him, it is a sacred duty! Never is a game of chess a mere pastime for him, but always a problem worth his steel, always a work of vocation, always as if an act by which he fulfills part of his mission....It goes without saying that he himself likewise during a game does not utter any sound other than Schach (check), to wit, really Schack, not Scheck, as the English players say. His figuring is, in general, not of remarkable, or even tiring duration; he always takes as much time as such a tireless and experienced thinker requires depending on the position, but never makes the impression of useless and tormented pressure or stress - an impression I occassionally had with Staunton. And, in addition, he sits there with a face so lamb-pious as if he wantedto convey the impression that he could not do harm to a child; but when he executes a move with an expression so really harmless and pretending tiredness,one can always presume that he is preparing the greatest meanness..." |
 Adolph Anderssen |
Adolph Anderssen was a professor
of mathematics at the Friedrich's Gymnasium in Breslau, Germany. He started
his brilliant chess career at age 30. An attacking player and a tactical genius,
he quickly became one of the best players in the world. In 1848 he drew a
match with Harrwitz ... after beating him blindfolded. Then he won the great London Tournament of 1851. In this tournament he created one of the most elegant games in history against Kieseritzky appropriately called the Immortal Game. In a casual game in 1853 Anderssen created a second classic, the Evergreen Game, played against J. Dufresne. Between 1857 and 1861, Anderssen experienced some set backs. First was apoor showing in the 1857 Manchester Tournament and then his loss of a match against Morphy in 1858. However in 1861 he won a match against Ignatz Kolisch, a strangely powerful, yet not well known, professional player of that time. His roll continued with first place at the London Tournament of 1862 anda drawn match against Louis Paulsen that same year. By that time, with theretirement of Morphy, Anderssen was the undisputed, though unofficial World Champion. In fact, Steinitz proclaimed himself World Champion after defeating Anderssen in their match of 1866. That marked the final days of Anderssen's illustrious career. He lost a match to Zukertort in 1871, then two matches to Paulsen in 1876 and 1877. As much as for his chess, Anderssen is remembered for for his character. He was loved by everyone. Reverend George MacDonnell (a talented amateur) describes Anderssen: "He was massive in figure, with an honest voice, a sweet smile, and a countanence as pleasing as it was expressive. I never saw morelight and sweetness from any eyes than from his." Edge describes Anderssen: "I have never seen a nobler-hearted gentleman than Herr Anderssen. He would sit at the board, examining the frightful positions which Morphy had forced him, until his whole face was radiant with admiration of his antagonist's strategy, and positively laughing outright, he would recommence resetting the pieces for another game, without a comment." |
| After defeating Andersson, Morphy's
distaste for chess, especially chess politics, became more and more obvious.
Before leaving for Europe, he had offered odds of "pawn and the move" (usually
meaning he would play black and remove his Queen's Knight's pawn) to any American
player. Now he extented that challenge to the world, including Staunton.
On even terms, he played a promised match against Augustus Mongredian, winning 7-0; three games with Lowenthal; one with Boden; and a few casual games against Riviere and Mongredian (in 1863). Other than these, Morphy never played another game without giving odds. His brother-in-law, John D. Sybrandt, on the direction of Morphy's family, came to Paris to hasten his return to America. On April 6, they left Paris for England. On April 30, he boarded the Persia bound for New York, never to return to England. |