Big big thanks to Bill Wei for sponsoring this lecture for us plebs with no dollars to spare. Big thanks, the man deserves to get paid and I'm glad he's getting paid. This content is of such quality that it should absolutely continue to be produced if possible. Thank you for making it possible for the rest of us.

Even Fischer admitted that Morphy could be the better player and that we just don't know because times were so different. If Morphy would be teleported to the times of Fischer, Karparow/Karpov respectively Carlsen and therefore would have access to the same knowledge of the time he was in, that might have supercharged him. And some words about Morphys aggressive play style: Back then it was all about showmanship, you didn't just wanted to win, you wanted to do so in the most spectacular manner. It was like every game that had spectators was like a streamer today playing "for content" rather than for safe wins. As a fellow streamer once said, Morphy was a surgeon, not a butcher. And yes, because of his superior calculation skills he was able to walk the fine line between going flashy and risking too much. Remember his match against Harrwitz where he lost the first two games? He then famously announced in response to Harrwitz bragging and teasing him that from now on Harrwitz will not win a single game. And that's what happened, even with Harrwitz dictating the schedule, denying Morphy a day off when he was sick but taking himself days off to prepare something new etc. It's like Morphy had a "play for the audience mode" and a "no-BS-mode" and could switch at any time.

Didn't Bobby Fischer say in an interview that Morphy was the most talented player who ever lived? Clearly a genius

This is going to be good. Ben is a huge Morphy fan.

I love that Finegold is carrying the torch for the aesthetic principle in chess. Chess, like any pursuit, must tickle the artistic sensibility -- not just the competitive.

You can't go wrong with Morphy, one of the most interesting chess players of all time!

I've long been an advocate for Morphy being the best player to have ever lived, I am so happy to hear such a well-reputed educator such as yourself say so as well!!

I want to see a movie made of Morphy's life. He deserves to be known by more people.

Murphy always chose the coolest mate. It was always with great substance and style

What timing! I was actually binging your previous paul morphy lectures earlier today! And ive been looking into the kings gambit as well, this is great. Btw Ben, my family has noticed me watching your lectures and have nicknamed you "panda".

I miss your live lectures with the students. Please go back to teaching at clubs. the way your style of comedy bounced off the kids was pure gold

My Top 5 of "The Greatest Chess Players of All Time": 1. Paul Morphy (because he had a PhD at a time the best players were just in elementary school of chess) 2. Magnus Carslen (because he is the best at a time where all super grandmasters useing AI and super computers solving chess) 3. Garri Kasparov (because he has remained a chess champion for over a decade, at a time when chess was already very advanced) 4. Bobby Fischer (because he beat the nation of chass at that time, UDSSR and of course he was a genius) 5. Emanuel Lasker (because he was the first 18th century chess player that played modern strategic type of chess with a deep understanding of the principles of chess. Also he was the longest period of time chess champion of the world)

@28:40 you show a smothered mate. I have been very fortunate in my 50 years of playing chess to have actually delivered a smothered mate twice, both in tournament play. So satisfying for this 1800 rated player.

GOoooooooooo Billlllll Wayyyy

Modern chess players have computers, books, coaches, and the Internet to develop their skills. Morphy had none of these things. In fact, I read that Morphy's parents didn't let him play chess on any day but Sunday, because chess was a gambler's game. This is why I admire Morphy so much - he was self-taught under difficult circumstances. Can Ben name any other chess masters who were completely self-taught?

Gonna be awesome. I'll never get tired of Morphy games.

Oh my god, thank you so much for this lesson! I just had my FIRST EVER SMOTHERED MATE, because I remembered the pattern of this video! That's the coolest thing I've ever done in chess, thank you so much, GM Finegold!

Great content as usual. Thanks to Bill Wei for sponsoring it. Looking forward to the next episodes.

There are many good chess teachers and commentators out there but can you watch them for more than 30 minutes without getting tired? GM Finegold has such high IQ, he can make chess funny, not just slapstick funny, high IQ funny, entertaining and still conveying the ideas and conclusions about the game with razor sharp precision. I can watch him for days. To use GM Finegold's example about imaginary worlds, in a world where everyone has a 95 IQ, he comes in at a solid 300. If I had to choose just one streamer, commentator and a teacher - it would be GM Finegold.

NEW PAUL MORPHY LECTURE BY BEN?!? What a day to be alive I’m hype

Another fantastic lecture by Ben. Go Ben!

I gotta say I am loving these lectures on the old masters! I am trying to use the King's Gambit as my main opening currently.

Great lecture series, thanks!

Thank you to sponsor Bill 🥇💰. Thank you GM Finegold another awesome video

Great video. You have earned my subscription from this video. Paul Morphy and the Kings Gambit always wins my heart! Thanks for the amazing games!

can't wait for the rest of the series

Thank you Ben and Bill so much

Awesome! Looking forward to this lecture series :)

Definitely want more parts to this. Love it.

Your explanation of how u play chess is exactly how i play any game. Solid play with small advantages that equals a win

Great Video Ben! :) Thank you for your Input on the Kings Gambit. I am playing the kings gambit from time to time as well.

Beautiful games! Thanks Ben!

I love this stuff. Thank you for doing this for us.

Thank you Bill and Ben.

I love Ben lecturing on Morphy!!

GM Ben Finegold is absolutely right about Morphy. Truth matters. So does humour.

Excellent Morphy to me is immensely fascinating so I'm hyped for this series thx Mr finegold 😊❤

Not reupload? Go Ben!!

Putting aside any question of what Morphy's effective FIDE rating would have been, and putting aside his games against amateurs, consider just his games against the world's best, right around or near 1858. The question I have is, how did he become so dominant immediately, without years of practice against strong players? Even Fischer and Carlsen spent quite a few years climbing the ranks against strong opposition before they reached the very top.

Love the lecture and the topic. GO BEN!!! GM Ben Finegold is an excellent teacher of chess. 99999

The last game shown here is nice, I love those forcing moves sacing an exchange to set up a brutal pin

I agree with you completely sir. bravo, bravo!!!

Thank you sponsor, thank you Ben, go Ben, great stuff like always!

Thanks Bill!

A new video, and it's on Paul Morphy? Oh boy...!!! THANK YOU BILL WEI!

Comparing later chess geniuses to Morphy is a bit like comparing later scientific geniuses to Aristotle. Was he eventually surpassed? Yes. Was he ever equalled? No.

Very good presentation. That Kings Gambit is a wild ride 🥳🤪🤣🔥👊🏾

Four-part Morphy lecture, good idea Bill Wei

I never understood and appreciated this until Cecil Purdy mentioned this in Action Chess: Development is all about the rooks. Anybody can develop the minor pieces. But to make the right pawn exchanges and bring out the rooks and queen to destroy the opponent's structure, expose the king, then checkmate with remaining pieces... Nobody really did that until Morphy came along. 1. Develop quickly 2. Pawn exchanges that favor open lines for your rooks and not the opponent's. 3. Sacrifice to open lines to the king. 4. Calculate to checkmate. Morphy didn't care about the typical pawn structures that modern GMs study and use daily. He just wanted the pawns out of the way so his pieces were more active. Of course this requires accurate calculation which is why beginners like closed games that slow the pace down and reduce calculation load.

Thanks Ben I learned a lot

great lecture 👍! and thanks to the sponsor! the more he pays, the more we learn! :)

"morphy was so good that it doesnt even make any sense" idk why but i cant stop laughin, luv your vids!

Amazing mr Ben Finegold.

Morphy lectures are the best.

It's so great and I'm grateful to you and your sponsor that you publish these fantastic lecture videos! 🙏 That's a big service to the chess world: lecturing about these great players of the past. I love Morphy's games, and am happy to own Maroczy's Morphy biography 🍀♟

Love this Ben, great job. Paul Morphy an Enigma. Morphy was so good he lost his mind,yes? Morphy: The Pride and Sorrow of Chess

Love the Ben Morphy lectures won’t lie. Wish I could afford another 4 part series after this one. Ben’s Man crush is fascinating to watch. Haha j/k it is great content tho.

Thank you! 👍

Thanks Doc finegold

33:05 "And this is called the Falkbeer Countergambit, named after a famous chess player, Mr. Countergambit." God I love this guy.

27:51 I have only been able to do that pattern a few times, but it is one of my favorite checkmates.

If i were to take a test after this lecture I'd ace it no doubt the way it was explained is out of this world ❤🤞💯

Thumbs up immediately!!! Exclam❗

Thanks!

Thank you...❤❤❤

That was fantastic. Well done GM Finegold. Never knew there was a recorded game of Morphy vs Morphy (dad). That was memorizing to watch, though most Morphy games are. Thoroughly enjoyed the vid. Edit - I just realized 1848 ??? Morphy was only 11 yo at the time? Incredible.

awesome!!!

I love it when I get to play Philidor's legacy in a game, especially against players who've never seen it before, you look like a wizard.

Nice. It's been a while since you made a lecture on Morphy.

The King's Gambit has been analyzed to the end, meaning the full tree from the gambit-accepted position is known with exact evaluation, win/lose draw. This was a very long computer search. The results are surprising, and I don't think a lecture on the gambit can be complete without a discussion of the known perfect play for the line.

I love seeing Morphy games

“And, they didn’t have a lot of good internet service in the 1850s…” 😂 Love your videos! Love me some Paul Morphy.

At 20 mins 0 secs is a position I get often playing the Kings Gambit. Good to see its a good position to have.

Hopefully you will cover a few of his positional games. A lot of his fans don't know that his positional play was quite skilled when required.

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Morphy was a time traveler.

Uncle Ben reminding us all to respect the morph.

First time viewer, awesome video and great recap of morphy games excited to see more. Only one criticism but.. why is the chair moving so much?

Barnes wasn't that bad at defending... Probably why he was the best opponent of Morphy (even though Morphy has a plus score against him as well) The Barnes defense game is nice to see, how Barnes slowly strangled Morphy, move by move, avoiding direct lines.

Thank god for those annotaded Morphy games, who compiled them for posterity. Do the original notations are still archived somewhere ? They could be worth something.

I made a little Alonzo Mourning joke in my mind just before Bensaid his. Finally, I am on the same page as a GM 😆

Morphy was in the same category as Capablanca. He was just naturally gifted, a child prodigy in chess.

2:32 -- That's a great point -- the disparity between Morphy and the best contemporaries. Good criteria, Ben, I think.

Fischer though Morphy was the greatest, thats enough for me. No one knew the game better than Fischer.

just got morphy 25 games to memorize on chessable and this is the third one.... and i so happend to be on the third one. Guess I will play along with the video.

Great lecture love Morphy, Go Ben!

Found mate in 2! Moving on up!! Road to 800!!!

Great!😃

If Morphy plays his style today against stronger defenders, it’s hard for him to win. The position at 13:45 is -3.9 on Stockfish. At 14:10 the position suddenly got even. 14:49 Stockfish suggests d6 which is +0.2. 16:11 QxN was Stockfish suggested move. 18:34 Qh4# is Stockfish suggested move -1.2. At 19:24 the position is even. Black lost ground according to Stockfish.

Movin' on up to the King side! I spit my coffee. To a deluxe position on the h-file! I'm movin' on up!

what is wrong with the chair, it's vibrating constantly...? or maybe it was meant to be so... massaging chair

You missed 11. - Nf6 or 12. - Nf6 black could develop the knight and attack the white queen.

Nice work, go Ben, etc…… Mostly etc.

Yes! Thank you for also saying Paul Morphy was the greatest chess player ever. I have a t-shirt with Morphy on it and when people ask who that is I say he is Paul Morphy an American that was the greatest chess player ever. For me it’s 1. Paul Morphy, 2. Magnus Carlsen, 3. Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov (tied)

Morphy was the first chess boogeyman. Morphy often play strong players with a piece down. A true monster.😂

aint easy to measure genius !! genius does not contradict the measuring, a genius makes up a new ruler by definition

Paul 'Alpha 2 Zero' Morphy. They say you will never amount to anything if you spend all your time playing with yourself. Clearly these two are the exception.

Thx Ben, you're the best. How many people told you that they like your chair? Many? I'll be another - I like your chair. Please keep it. (I Love that chair, I tried to hide it for so long because it sounds stupid, and not sounding stupid matters. Can we do a lecture on / by the chair?)

I love your chair Ben. Makes you look like a green winged demon chess bat 👍 plus Paul Morphy is the greatest 😮❤

This Morphy guys seems pretty good

Let's go!!!!