, 1886-02-19
THE NAPOLEON OF CHESS PLAYERS


Iteminiscenees of Paul Morphy-His Won
derfui Playing In Boyhood.
When Paul Morphy first appeared as a
great chess player in the city OF New
York. at the first American chess con-
gress in 1857. he met in a social way the
players Of New York at a at
Nassau and Fulton streets. Over a glass
of sherry and biscuit, which he usually
took there before beginning one of his
famous games, the then leading players
OF America first made his acquaintance.
He was 81 years of age, small of stature,
and Of slight frame. His eyes were dark
and piercing, and they glowed under a
broad, square forehead. In his bearing
he was a prince in politeness, and never
seemed conscious OF the possession Of
great abilities. Probably the most salient
point in his character was his self-pos-
session.
Paul Morphy was of a CHI ess- playing
family. He was born In New Orleans in
1897. His grandfather was a Spaniard,
and on his mothers side he was French.
When a mere child he watched his
father play chess. Seeing the boys
interest in the game, Pauls father taught
him the value of the pieces and the laws
OF the game, and at 10 years old the old
gentleman found his time pretty fully
occupied when the, young Morphy sat
opposite him at the chess-board. Within
two years Morphy %contended successfully
with the foremost amateur chess-players
in New Orleans. He considered pawns
as h~indrances, and exchanged or even
sacrificed them in order TO give free
range to his pieces, which he threw into
his adversary's territory like n little
avalanche. and kept up so fierce an
attack that his opponent had hardly a
chance TO breathe. Once in a while a
foreign player of distinction visited New
Orleans, and every time the foreigner
tackled the boy the foreigner was
metaphorically wiped out.
When not II years old Paul Morphy
won nine-tenths of the games he played
in New Orleans with Eugene Rousseau.
who had played with the famous Stan
ley in 1915, and with Kierseritzky, the
Hungarian player. Ernest Morphy,
Paul's uncle, was almost equal 10 Rous-
seau. and the boy won every game he
played with his uncle. Loewenthal, a
really great player, visited New Orleans,
and in five games with him Paul won
two games, lost one, and two We're
drawn. In the New York chess congress
In 1857 Morphy easily defeated Paulsen,
the great blindfold player. Fiske. Mara
sche, Iitchtenhein, Thompson, Meade,
Perrin, and others, who were considered
H.. IA =. -. i. Al
year he went TO London, and won a
majority Of the games against the best
players in the British kingdom. per-
formed the then unparalleled feat of play
ing eight games without the board, de-
feating six of his opponents. At Paris
he played at the Cafe de la Regence, and
defeated Riviere, Laroche, Jowmand,
and Divinck. Harwitz he defeated five
times in seven games. Out of eleven
games with ANDERSEN, Andersen was
beaten seven times, and two games were
drawn.
On his return to New York in 1859 a
reception was rendered Morphy, at
which the intellect, wealth, culture.
fashion, and beauty of the metropolis
We'd in doing him honor. Charles
O'Conor presided. Prince John Van
Buren, made the address of welcome.
Mr.. Morphy's admirers, through Mr.. w.
j.. A. Fuller, presented him with a set
of gold and silver chessmen. Morphy
was shortly afterward admitted to the
practice of law in New Orleans, but he
was never active as a lawyer. 1t was
believed by his friends that he greatly
injured his health by the strain on his
faculties occasioned by blindfold play
ing. He gave up playing chess many
years before he died.-New York Sun.