Morphy's Masterpiece

Paul Morphy met Louis Paulsen in the final of the First American Chess Congress, held in New York from October to November 1857. Paulsen was already known for taking a very long time over his moves, and Morphy, who played quickly and intuitively, had to sit and wait through some of his opponent's longest thinks of the tournament while working out the position for himself.

The critical moment came on move seventeen. Paulsen had just played 17.Qa6, and Morphy replied with 17...Qxf3, giving up his queen for a pawn. He reportedly took about twelve minutes over the decision, a long time by his own standards, to be certain the combination worked all the way through. The point is not a forced mate but a permanent bind: Morphy's bishops and rooks swarm around the white king while Paulsen's extra queen never gets the chance to do anything useful, and Paulsen resigned a few moves later rather than watch the mating net close.

Club players get real value from working out why 17...Qxf3 is sound before checking the follow up. It is a lesson in piece activity outweighing material when the material is stuck defending and the attacking pieces are all pointed at the same squares.