Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s, Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master. Later commentators have concluded that he was far ahead of his time.
A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 by convincingly winning the First American Chess Congress, winning each match by a large margin. He then traveled to Europe, residing for a time in England and France while challenging the continent's top players. He played matches with most of the leading English and French players, as well as the German Adolf Anderssen—again winning all matches by large margins. In 1859, Morphy returned to the United States, before ultimately abandoning competitive chess and receding from public view.
Morphy was born in New Orleans to a prominent wealthy family. His father Alonzo Morphy, of Spanish and Irish ancestry, was a lawyer. He later served as a Louisiana state legislator, Attorney General, and a Louisiana State Supreme Court Justice. Morphy's mother, Louise Thérèse Felicitie Thelcide Le Carpentier, was a musically talented woman from a prominent French Creole family. Paul grew up in an atmosphere of cultivated, genteel civility, where chess and music were the typical highlights of a Sunday home gathering.
Sources differ about when and how Morphy learned to play chess. According to his uncle, Ernest Morphy, no one formally taught the young Morphy how to play chess; rather, he simply learned by watching others play. After observing Ernest and Alonzo abandon what had been a lengthy game, conceding that it was a draw—Paul spoke up, stating that Ernest should have won. This surprised the two men, who had not realized that Paul knew the rules of the game, let alone any notion of strategy. They were even more surprised when Paul proved his claim by resetting the pieces and demonstrating the win his uncle had missed. Biographer Frederick Milnes Edge dismisses this anecdote as apocryphal, however. In 1845, Ernest acted as the second for Eugène Rousseau in his match against Charles H. Stanley, and took the young Paul along with him.
By 1846, the nine-year-old Morphy was considered one of the best players in New Orleans. That year, General Winfield Scott visited the city while on his way to the war with Mexico. He informed his hosts that he wanted to spend an evening playing chess against a strong local opponent. While he only played infrequently, Scott enjoyed chess and considered himself to be a formidable player. The arrangements were made, and a game was set up after dinner. When Morphy was brought in, Scott initially took offense to a child being offered as his opponent, believing he was being made fun of. However, after being assured that his wishes had been scrupulously obeyed, and that Morphy was a chess prodigy who would prove his skill, Scott agreed to play. Morphy easily defeated Scott in both of the games they played, ending the second game by announcing a forced checkmate after only six moves.
During 1848 and 1849, Morphy competed against the leading players in New Orleans. He played at least fifty games against Eugène Rousseau, considered to be the strongest of Morphy's opponents during this era, and lost at most five. In 1850, Hungarian chess master Johann Löwenthal visited New Orleans. Löwenthal, a refugee of the Hungarian revolution of 1848, had visited various American cities and competed successfully against the best local players. He accepted an invitation to Judge Morphy's house to play against Paul, now twelve years old. Löwenthal soon realized he was facing a formidable opponent: each time Morphy made a good move, Löwenthal's eyebrows shot up in a manner described by Ernest Morphy as "comique". Löwenthal played three games against Morphy during his stay in New Orleans, with sources recording him as either having two losses and one draw, or as losing all three games.
Schooling and the First American Chess Congress
Beginning in 1850, Morphy played relatively little chess for a number of years, instead focusing on his education. Diligent in his studies, he received a bachelor's degree in 1854 from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, with his graduating thesis detailing what he saw as the narrow logical limits on justifications for war and secession by the southern states. He proceeded to spend an additional year on campus studying mathematics and philosophy, and in May 1855 was awarded a master's degree with the highest honors.
Morphy went on to study law at the University of Louisiana (now Tulane University), receiving an LL.B. degree on April 7, 1857. It has been claimed that Morphy memorized the complete Louisiana Civil Code during the course of his studies.
Not yet the required age to practice law, Morphy found himself with free time after graduation. That year, he received an invitation to participate in the First American Chess Congress, to be held from October 6 to November 10, 1857, in New York. Morphy initially declined, but later changed his mind at the urging of Alexander Beaufort Meek, a judge and close family friend. The main event of the Congress was a 16-man knockout tournament, with each round consisting of short multi-game matches contested by the opponents. Also competing was the strong German chess master Louis Paulsen, who was already aware of Morphy's talent, and said openly beforehand that he would be the tournament's victor. Moreover, while the competition was underway Paulsen repeatedly stated that if Morphy were to visit Europe, he could prove his status as the game's greatest living player. As predicted by Paulsen, Morphy defeated James Thompson in the first round, his family friend Meek in the quarter-finals, the German master Theodor Lichtenhein in the semifinals, and ultimately Paulsen himself in the finals, to win the tournament's grand prize.
After his victory, Morphy was immediately hailed as the chess champion of the United States, but he appeared to be unaffected by his sudden fame. According to the December 1857 issue of Chess Monthly, "his genial disposition, his unaffected modesty and gentlemanly courtesy have endeared him to all his acquaintances." While staying in New York during the fall of 1857, Morphy played 261 games, both with and without odds. In regular games, Morphy's overall record was 87 wins, 8 draws, and 5 losses.
Also in 1857, Morphy founded the Chess Club of New Orleans, becoming its first President. Early in the following year, he was recruited by Daniel Fiske to serve as co-editor of his Chess Monthly publication, a position he held until the end of 1860.
Up to this time, Morphy was not well known or highly regarded in Europe. Despite his dominance of the American chess scene, the quality of his opponents was relatively low compared to Europe, where most of the best chess players lived. European opinion was that they should not have to make the journey to the United States to play a young and relatively unknown player, especially as the United States had few other quality players to make such a trip worthwhile.
The American Chess Association, it is reported, are about to challenge any player in Europe to contest a match with the young victor in the late passage at arms, for from $2,000 to $5,000 a side, the place of meeting being New York. If the battle-ground were to be London or Paris, there can be little doubt, we apprehend, that a European champion would be found; but the best players in Europe are not chess professionals, but have other and more serious avocations, the interests of which forbid such an expenditure of time as is required for a voyage to the United States and back again.
Morphy returned to his home city with no further action. The New Orleans Chess Club determined that a direct challenge should be made to European champion Howard Staunton.
Sir,—On behalf of the New Orleans Chess Club, and in compliance with the instructions of that body, we the undersigned committee, have the honor to invite you to visit our city, and there meet Mr. Paul Morphy in a chess match ... ... it was suggested that Mr. Morphy, the winner at the late Congress and the present American champion, should cross the ocean, and boldly encounter the distinguished magnates of the transatlantic chess circles; but it unfortunately happens that serious family reasons forbid Mr. Morphy, for the present, to entertain the thought of visiting Europe. It, therefore, becomes necessary to arrange, if possible, a meeting between the latter and the acknowledged European champion, in regard to whom there can be no scope for choice or hesitation—the common voice of the chess world pronounces your name ...