Daily Tactic January 20, 2014

Morphy-Bornemann, Paris simul, 1858. The Black Queen is on the same diagonal as the Black King. Is there a way to exploit that? White to move.

Daily Tactic January 16, 2014

Morphy-Baucher, Paris simul, 1858. White to move and win at least a piece.

Daily Tactic January 12, 2014

Harrwitz, Daniel - Morphy, Paul, Paris, 1858.

Harrwitz lived in England from 1849, and founded the British Chess Review. In 1856 he moved to Paris, where he won a match against Jules Arnous de Rivière. In 1858 he played a match against Paul Morphy in Paris. Harrwitz won the first two games, but lost the match 5½-2½. Wikipedia

White is threatening to win black's c-pawn and to promote his own. Morphy makes a simple but instructive maneuver. Black to move.

Daily Tactic January 9, 2014

Medley - Morphy. London, 1858. Black (Morphy) to move and win a pawn.

Daily Tactic January 8, 2014

Owen, John - Morphy, Paul, London, 1858. Morphy played this game in London, 1858, against John Owen at "pawn and move" odds -- as Black and without his f-pawn. Owen just moved Re1-e3 to protect the vulnerable f2 and f3 squares. Can you see how Morphy finished him off?

Daily Tactic January 7, 2014

Barnes, Thomas Wilson - Morphy, Paul, London, 1858.

Barnes was one of the leading British chess masters at the time of Paul Morphy's visit to the UK in 1858. Barnes had the happy fortune of having the best record against Morphy during the latter's visit, winning eight games and losing nineteen. wikipedia

Black (Morphy) to move. Can you see his surprising move and why it is winning?

Daily Tactic January 6, 2014

Morphy, Paul - Paulsen, Louis, New York, 1857. First American Chess Congress (1857)

The first American Chess Congress, organized by Daniel Willard Fiske and held in New York, October 6 to November 10, 1857, was won by Paul Morphy. ... First prize was $300. Morphy refused any money, but accepted a silver service consisting of a pitcher, four goblets, and a tray. Morphy’s prize was given to him by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

White to move. How does Morphy finish the game quickly?

Daily Tactic January 5, 2014

Maurian - Morphy,1854 New Orleans. This is an odds game and Morphy is currently down a Rook. White was in check and played Kf3. How does Morphy gain material? Black to move:

Daily Tactic January 4, 2014

Morphy, Paul - NN, New Orleans, 1849. NN has just played ...Nxd4, capturing a pawn, with a double attack on Morphy's Queen from the N at d4 and the Bishop at g4. Pin and Skewer are tactical devices used in today's position. What does Morphy do about his attacked Queen? White to move.

In 1850, when Morphy was twelve, the strong professional Hungarian chess master Johann Löwenthal visited New Orleans. Löwenthal, who had often played and defeated talented youngsters, considered the informal match a waste of time but accepted the offer as a courtesy to the well-to-do judge.
By about the twelfth move in the first game, Löwenthal realized he was up against someone formidable. 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 with Paul Morphy during his New Orleans stay, scoring two losses and one draw (according to another source – losing all three). wikipedia

Daily Tactic January 3, 2014

MacConnel, James - Morphy, Paul New Orleans, 1849. Morphy's opponent does not put up the best defense but, I guess, the pain is over quicker that way and it makes for a prettier finish. Black (Morphy) to move.

Daily Tactic January 2, 2014

Thomason - Fischer, USA-ch U18, 1955. Today's tactic is from a game of Bobby Fischer's played in the 1955 USA Under 18 Championship. Black (Fischer) to move:

Daily Tactic January 1, 2014

Morphy-Rousseau, New Orleans 1849. In today's game Eugene Rosseau has just played 13. ...d5 attacking Morphy's queen. Twelve year old Morphy plays this brilliantly! White to Move:

Daily Tactic December 30, 2013

Morphy-Jefferson, New York simul, 1859. This game ends with the mating pattern know as Philidor's Legacy. Morphy sets it up with two Deflection moves. To help learn this pattern and solidify it, practice going over the final moves in your head from move 19. Qa3+ to the end. Once you learn the pattern or if you already know it, go over the game in your head from move 17. e5! onwards to practice your visualization skills.

Deflection is forcing an enemy piece away from some useful position. In this game Morphy deflects the black queen off of the d8-h4 diagonal.

Decoying is attracting an enemy piece to a square useful for you. In this game as part of the final mating pattern, a black rook is decoyed to the f8 square.

Daily Tactic December 29, 2013

Morphy-Julien, New York simul, 1859. This knight odds game features a double attack and multiple deflections. Morphy's 12. Bg5! and 19. Rd1+ are great examples of deflection and 13. Qxb7+ is a double attack threatening the rook on a8 and mate in three.

Daily Tactic December 28, 2013

A pretty little study by H. Rinck from 1907. To win, White needs to promote one of the pawns, but how? The first move may be obvious -- save the g-pawn.