8. A Coverup in Game 3?

On page 58 of The Pride and the Sorrow, David Lawson writes:

On Thursday, October 8, Thompson resigned his third game with Morphy after forty-six moves, and two hours and thirty-six minutes of play. Now Morphy advanced to the second section. Later that day he played side games with H. P. Montgomery, Louis Paulsen, and James Thompson, winning all games, the last given here in facsimile of Morphy’s writing.

Lawson then gives the game as recorded by Morphy himself. The reader can click the picture at the left and see an example of Morphy's neat handwriting. A modern politician could accuse Lawson of ignoring "the elephant in the room" when he declares this game played after the tournament game. Clearly, Morphy noted at the top of the score that this is game 3 of the CI or Congress I.

It is hard to explain Morphy writing this heading for a game that, according to Lawson, was played after he had already beaten Thompson in game 3 of their match. Also surprising is that Morphy recorded an offhand game at all. He was known for simply remembering such contests and dictating them at a later time. One possibility is that D.W. Fiske simply made a mistake in the tournament book. The volume was long delayed and was eventually published in September 1859, nearly two years after the Congress. Perhaps the two games played on the same day by the same opponents were simply filed in the wrong place. Is the short game (Shibut 125) really the tournament game? Is the longer game (Shibut 003) actually a casual game? This explanation, however, would not seem to be correct as both Lange and Löwenthal had the shorter game at a time when the official tournament games were being withheld pending publication of the tournament book. Morphy approved the Löwenthal collection and he must have been sure that Shibut 125 would not be in the Congress book as a tournament game.

A better explanantion is that Shibut 125 was played before Shibut 003 which was published as the actual tournament game. Thompson played poorly and as Löwenthal noted:

The termination of this game is pretty, and it was solely on that account that we included it in our selection, as it otherwise presents few points of interest

Could it be that, given the poor quality of play and short nature of the game, Morphy allowed Thompson to play the third game again? Could the players have turned in their second game played that day (Shibut 003) as their tournament game? We may never know for sure but at the very least the exact date of Shibut 125 is known.

[Event "Unofficial Games From the 1st ACC"]
[Site "New York, USA"]
[Date "1857.10.08"]
[Round ""]
[White "Thompson, James"]
[Black "Morphy, Paul C"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C52"]
[Opening "Evans gambit"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3 Qf6 8.O-O d6 9.e5 dxe5 10.cxd4 exd4 11.Nbd2 Nge7 12.Bb2 O-O 13.Ne4 Qg6 14.Bd3 Bf5 15.Nh4 Qh5 16.Nxf5 Nxf5 17.f4 Rfe8 18.Rf3 Nb4 19.Ng5 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Qg6 21.Rh3 Re3 22.Qb5 Rxh3 23.Qxb7 Re8 24.Nxh3 Bb6 25.Rf1 Ne3 26.f5 Qg4 27.Nf2 Qe2 28.Rb1 Nd1 0-1

Game Sources:
Lange - Game XIII
Löwenthal - Page 397
Maroczy - Game 054
Sergeant - CLXXVII
Shibut - Game 125

Date Source:
Lawson, page 58

7. Morphy plays Hammond and Mead

On October 7, Morphy played some offhand games. In the tournament book, D.W. Fiske wrote:

A number of disinguished amateurs, such as Mr. George Hammond, of Boston, who arrived too late to enter the Grand Tournament, Mr. Morphy, Colonel Mead, and others, encountered each other in side games.

- ACC1, page 75

David Lawson concurs:

However, Morphy did not remain idle, for he played several side games with George Hammond of Boston and Colonel Mead of New York."

- The Pride and the Sorrow, page 58


George Hammond (1815-1881)


Hammond was considered the top player in Boston, but Morphy beat him 7 to 1 on even terms. Two game scores survive, but the exact dates are unknown. Its is likely that one or both took place on 7 October since Morphy had a free day and most of their games would have taken place at that time. However, there is not enough evidence to place a date in the pgn file.









Colonel Charles Dillingham Mead (ca.1812-1876)

Mead was President of the New York Chess Club and an organizer of the chess congress. He played only one even game with Morphy (see TMF3 table) and one score survives. Therefore we can safely date the game on the 7th of October, 1857.


[Event "Unofficial Games From the 1st ACC"]
[Site "New York, USA"]
[Date "1857.10.07"]
[Round ""]
[White "Mead, Colonel Charles Dillingham"]
[Black "Morphy, Paul C"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C26"]
[Opening "Evans Gambit Reversed"]

1.h3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Bc4 b5 5.Bxb5 c6 6.Ba4 O-O 7.Nge2 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 Qb6 11.Nce2 Ba6 12.c3 Bxe2 13.Kxe2 Bxd4 14.Qxd4 Qa6+ 15.Kf3 Rc8 16.b3 Ne4 17.Bb2 Nc6 18.Bxc6 Rxc6 19.Ke3 Re8 20.Rhe1 Nxc3+ 21.Kf3 Rf6+ 22.Kg3 Qd6+ 23.f4 Ne2+ 24.Rxe2 Rxe2 25.Rf1 Rg6+ 26.Kf3 Rgxg2 0-1

Game Sources:
Lange(3rd) - Game 054
Maroczy - Game 057
Sergeant - Game CLXII
Shibut - Game 109

Wanted:
Original publication for all Hammond and Mead games.
Dates for Hammond games.

6. The First American Chess Congress Begins

The First American Chess Congress began on 6 October 1857 at the Descombes' Rooms. Paul Morphy was paired with the veteran player, James Thompson.



James Thompson (1804-1870)


The tournament book (page 75) reported that Thompson and Morphy played two games that day, Morphy winning winning both. They were the only pairing to contest two games on opening day. Lawson (page 62) gives further details:

Play began as 1:40 P.M., but Thompson resigned at 2:30 P.M. Nevertheless, the second game twenty minutes later and ended at 5:40 P.M., Thompson again resigning.

The collections of Lange, Maroczy, Sergeant and CKR fail to date the second game on 6 October, mistakely assuming it was played on the same day as the other second games of the first round matches.

[Event "1st American Chess Congress, First Section"]
[Site "New York, USA"]
[Date "1857.10.06"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Thompson, James"]
[Black "Morphy, Paul C"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[EventDate "1857.10.06"]
[Opening "Giuoco Pianissimo"]
[Variation "Four Knights"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 h6 6.Ne2 d6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 Kh8 9.Ng3 Nh7 10.Qc2 f5 11.exf5 d5 12.Bb3 e4 13.dxe4 dxe4 14.Ng1 Ne5 15.Be3 Nd3+ 16.Ke2 Bxe3 17.fxe3 Qh4 18.Nxe4 Qxe4 19.Qxd3 Qxg2+ 20.Kd1 Bxf5 21.Qe2 Qxh1 0-1

Game Sources:
ACC1 - Game I
Lange(3rd) - Game 22
Maroczy - Game 023
Sergeant - Game I
Shibut - Game 001


[Event "1st American Chess Congress, First Section"]
[Site "New York, USA"]
[Date "1857.10.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Morphy, Paul C"]
[Black "Thompson, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B44"]
[EventDate "1857.10.06"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Taimanov"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Be3 Be7 6.Nc3 h6 7.Bd3 d5 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.exd5 exd5 10.Nxd5 Nf6 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.c3 O-O 13.O-O Qc7 14.Qa4 Rfe8 15.Rad1 Re4 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Qc2 Be5 18.g3 Bxd4 19.cxd4 Qe7 20.d5 Bd7 21.Bc5 Rc8 22.Bxe7 Rxc2 23.Ba3 b5 24.Rfe1 f5 25.f3 Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Rd2 27.d6 a5 28.Bc5 b4 29.Re7 Rd5 30.Bxb4 axb4 31.Rxd7 Kf8 32.Rb7 Rd4 33.Kf2 Rxd6 34.Rxb4 Rd2+ 35.Ke3 Rxh2 36.a4 Rc2 37.a5 Rc5 38.Ra4 Ke7 39.b4 Rc8 40.b5 Rb8 41.a6 Kd7 42.b6 Kc6 43.b7 Kb6 44.a7 Re8+ 45.Kf4 Kxb7 46.a8=Q+ Rxa8 47.Rxa8 Kxa8 48.Kxf5 1-0

Game Sources:
ACC1 - Game II
Lange(3rd) - Game 22
Maroczy - Game 024
Sergeant - Game II
Shibut - Game 002

Date Source: ACC1, page 75

Today's post is a rather minor correction, but, because of playing two games in one day, Morphy and Thompson did not resume their match on the next day. This left Morphy free for some offhand games on 7 October.

5. Charles Stanley Arrives

Steinitz (see TMF 4) does not say why Perrin agreed to a draw in an advantageous position, but Frederick Edge (page 7) gives this account:

Who that was present that evening does not remember Paul Morphy's first appearance at the New York City Chess Club? The secretary, Mr. Frederick Perrin, valorously offered to be his first antagonist, and presented about the same resistance as a musquito to an avalanche. Then who should enter the room but the warrior Stanley, Loud cries were made for “Stanley! Stanley!” and Mr. Perrin resigned his seat to the newcomer,in deference to so general a request. Thus commenced a contest, or rather a succession of contests, in which Stanley was indeed astonished. "Mate" followed upon "Mate", until he arose from his chair in bewildered defeat.

Charles Henry Stanley (1819-1901)

Edge overstates Morphy's dominance of Perrin, given that Morphy, at best, had a draw in the second game. I suspect part of the excitement was due to Stanley and not Morphy. He was considered the best player in the United States after he beat Eugène Rousseau in 1845. He is also credited with the first chess column and the first chess magazine in the country. He appears to have been relatively inactive for a few years and perhaps the players were just glad to see him entered in the congress. The other factor was, of course, that he was viewed as the ideal player by which to measure the young Morphy. Stanley, however, proved to be past his prime. He provided little resistence to Morphy in offhand games and lost to Lichtenhein in the first round.

According to David Lawson, "Of the four games played Stanley lost all.", (page 55). Four game scores exist between the players at level terms. Shibut 124 is Stanley's lone win against 12 losses and could not have been played 5 October if Lawson is correct. Shibut 121 is dated 22 October 1857 by Lawson (game 49, page 366). This leaves Shibut 122 and Shibut 123 as possibilities for Morphy's first night in New York. The CKR file dates Shibut 122 as 5 October, but I am unable to confirm the date anywhere else. Shibut 123 appears to be dated only as 1857 or October 1857 in all sources. Can anyone provide a date source for Shibut 122 or 123?

Wanted: Dates and Date sources for Shibut 122, 123 and 124.

4. Morphy's Second Game in New York City

Morphy's second game in New York is also imprecisely dated in the major game collections. The game remained unpublished for about 30 years until Frederick Perrin gave the score to Wilhelm Steinitz for publication in the latter's International Chess Magazine (ICM). Unfortunately, I have lost the reference for exact number of ICM but believe it was first published in 1887 or 1888. In the magazine, Steinitz wrote:

The following game, played by Mr. Paul Morphy against Mr. F. Perrin, has been sent to us for publication by the latter gentleman who states that it has never before appeared in print, and that it was the second game played by the youthful master in New York, in 1857, after his arrival for the purpose of entering in the tournament of the First American Congress which laid the foundation for his fame. The game occurred at the old New York Chess Club, which was located at the corner of University Place and 12th Street.

[Event "Unofficial Games From the 1st ACC"]
[Site "New York, USA"]
[Date "1857.10.05"]
[Round ""]
[White "Perrin, Frederick"]
[Black "Morphy, Paul C"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[Opening "Giuoco Piano"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb3 Ne4
8.cxd4 Bb6 9.O-O Bg4 10.Be3 O-O 11.Nc3 Ne7 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3
Nxc3 14.bxc3 f6 15.e6 c6 16.Bc1 Bc7 17.Ba3 Bd6 18.Bxd6 Qxd6
19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.Bc2 Ng6 21.Bxg6 hxg6 22.Qg4 g5 23.Qf5 Re7
24.Re3 Rae8 25.Rae1 Qf4 26.Qg6 Qh4 27.Qf5 Qh7 28.Qg4 g6
29.f4 Qh4 30.f5 Kg7 31.Qxh4 gxh4 32.g4 Kh6 33.Rf3 Kg5 34.Kf2 Rc7
35.Re2 1/2-1/2

The final position:

Steinitz commented:

The game was abandoned as drawn by mutual consent. We believe that White has the best of the game, on account of his impregnable chain of pawns on the Kingside and in the center, but it would have been very difficult to win in actual play, especially against such a formidable opponent.

Game Sources:
International Chess Magazine -- 188?
Maróczy - Game 058
Lange (3rd ed.) - Game 55
Sergeant - Game CLXVI
Shibut - Game 113

Date source: ICM

Wanted: Reference for ICM issue

3. Morphy's First Game in New York City

Paul Morphy arrived in New York City on October 4, 1857 and registered at the St. Nicholas Hotel. On October 5, he visited the New York Chess Club and defeated Frederick Perrin in an offhand game. The game was published in Löwenthal's collection and, in fact, is in all the major works, but nowhere is the exact date given. In January, 1858 (page 30), The Chess Monthly published Morphy's score in New York. The table below is from David Lawson's book (page 86) which presented the data in a more compact form than TCM:

Frederick Perrin (1815-1889)


Morphy, as can be seen, defeated F. Perrin in only one game on even terms. Therefore, we can date following game as Morphy's first in NYC:

[Event "Unofficial Games From the 1st ACC"]

[Site "New York, USA"]

[Date "1857.10.05"]

[Round ""]

[White "Morphy, Paul C"]

[Black "Perrin, Frederick"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B44"]

[Opening "Sicilian"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Be3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Bb4+ 7.c3 Ba5 8.O-OBb6 9.Nd2 Ne5 10.Be2 d5 11.f4 Nc6 12.e5 Bxd4 13.cxd4 Nd7 14.Bd3 f5 15.g4g6 16.gxf5 exf5 17.Kh1 Nf8 18.Rc1 Ne6 19.Bxf5 Nexd4 20.Bxc8 Rxc8 21.f5Nxf5 22.Rxf5 gxf5 23.Qh5+ Kd7 24.Qf7+ Qe7 25.e6+ Kd8 26.Bg5 1-0

Game Sources:

Löwenthal - page 376

Lange - Game XX

Maróczy - Game 061

Sergeant - Game CLXV

Shibut - Game 112

Date source: TMF 3 , determined by deduction

Wanted - Date of original publication.

2. The Mystery of F. de L'A

The Chess Monthly of January 1858 (page 22) published a Morphy game against "Mr. Charles St. Amant and another Parisian Amateur in consultation."

Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant (1800-1872)

A few pages later in that issue (page 29), a summary of Morphy's score in Paris was given and St. Amant's partner identified as "F. de L'A." The major collections of Morphy's games that appeared over the next 60 years included books from J.J. Löwenthal (1860), Max Lange (1859, 1881, 1894), Geza Maroczy (1909) and P. W. Sergeant (1916). All of these used "F. de L." or "F. de L'A" to designate St. Amant's partner.

Sergeant, for one, seemed intent on solving the mystery. He commented on St. Amant's partner in a footnote on page 150 (Dover edition, 1957) : "his present ally, whose name I cannot discover". Some 16 years later in his Morphy Gleanings (Printing-Craft, 1932), he noted on page 103 that “Bell's Life in London gives initials of St.Amant's partner as "M.F.de B." ” These initials suggest Monsieur Florimond de Basterot as a likely candidate. Frederick Edge in his book, The Exploits and Triumphs in Europe of Paul Morphy (London, 1859), reported that "Basterot" attended the Morphy-Anderssen match in December 1858 and Count de Basterot himself in the book, Traite Elementaire du Jeu des Echecs (Paris, 1863), related that he had tested Morphy with a chess problem. Unfortunately, Florimond de Basterot was not in Paris at the time of the consultation game. In his travel book, De Québec à Lima: journal d'un voyage dans les deux Amériques en 1858 et en 1859 (Paris,1860), Florimond Basterot reports departing Europe on 5 August 1858 and not returning until early March 1859. He apparently only met Paul Morphy in Morphy's final month in Paris. The "Basterot" in the Edge book, therefore, must refer to Florimond's father, Barthélemy de Basterot (1800-1887).

Remarkably, an important piece of the puzzle has been overlooked. Frederick Edge in the table of contents reveals:

F. de L., then, is the Baronne de L. Note that this detailed table of contents is not available in the Dover edition. David Lawson's Paul Morphy, The Pride and the Sorrow of Chess (New York, 1976) gives full names of many of the society ladies whose names had been truncated by Edge. Lawson discusses Duchess de la Trémoille and Princess Murat, for example, but even he refers only to the "Baronne de L" (page 158). Can anyone supply her full name?

Wanted: The full name of La Baronne F. de L'A

1. Our Mission

The purpose of The Morphy File (TMF) is to seek improvements to the set of game scores attributed to chess master Paul Morphy (1837-1884). An improvement to the accuracy of a game will fall into one of four categories:

1. Proof that the game is spurious, that is, not played by Paul Morphy.


2. Corrections to the name of Morphy's opponent. This includes the spelling, supplying a full name and indentifying an unknown player.


3. Correct dating of the game.


4. Corrections to the score.

The generally acknowledged full set of Morphy games was finally published in Paul Morphy and the Evolution of Chess Theory by Macon Shibut (Caissa Editions, 1993). Initially, even that book missed 52 games which were later included as a supplement. A paperback edition (Dover,2004) with a complete set of games is now available Morphy by Shibut. Often, I will identify a game by its Shibut number, i.e., "Shibut 232", refers to the famous opera house game.

A pgn of the full set of Morphy games is available at Morphy PGN . I will call this file the CKR file after the person who labored long and hard to assemble it. All the Shibut numbers are in the CKR file. Some of the corrections that we will discuss have already been applied to the CKR file but there is some additional information which I would like to document. Be sure to visit the rest of the SBC site for all things Morphy.