Paul Morphy

The Sheer Enjoyment of Paul Morphy>In the middle of the nineteenth century, a soft-spoken young man from New Orleans would upend the conventional chess world. Perplexing positional pressure coupled with breath-taking combinations would leave him virtually in a class by himself.>In 1909, Hungarian Grandmaster Géza Maróczy – himself a world-class player in the first decade of the 20th century – penned a wonderful compendium of all-known games of the American champion. The book, in German, was an instant success. And now (finally!) it is available in English.>The book contains over 400 games by Morphy, most deeply annotated by Maróczy. He uses a light hand when explaining the logical and positional concepts of the games, while not overlooking the historical background and context in which they were played.>In addition, a brief section on Morphy’s endgame skill has been added by GM Karsten Müller and a look from “a modern perspective” has been provided by GM Valeri Beim.>Maróczy’s subtle, often poetic insights regarding Morphy’s greatness provide an indispensable perspective… Why read Maróczy’s magnum opus today? There are of course several good reasons, from a historical standpoint the book is a must-read… From a chess perspective, a complete collection of Morphy’s games makes a very deep impression… In short, there are a host of good reasons for chess lovers to celebrate Maróczy’s classic Paul Morphy, not the least of which is the sheer enjoyment of watching the incomparable maestro at play. – From the Foreword by Charles Hertan, author of The Real Paul Morphy> Read more