Paul Morphy: Part 4, Lecture by GM Ben Finegold

Рет қаралды 37,998

Жыл бұрын

Check out Ben's Chessable courses here! www.chessable.com/author/BenF... Part 4 of 4 of the Paul Morphy Lecture Series by GM Ben Finegold. This lecture focuses on four of Morphy's best games that are relatively unknown.
Living before chess had a formal world championship, Morphy was widely acknowledged to be the greatest chess master of his era. He won the tournament of the First American Chess Congress of 1857, winning matches with each opponent by lopsided margins.
00:53 Paul Morphy - Schrufer, Paris 1859
09:47 Paul Morphy - Hart, USA 1854
18:43 Paul Morphy - Adolf Anderssen, Match 1858
30:59 Paul Morphy - Pierre Bonford, Blindfold Simul 1858
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Пікірлер: 179

@sciencefaction2646 Жыл бұрын

Bill Wei the People's Champ™

@Compassiron1 Жыл бұрын

Bill Wei 2024 starts here

@pommes34 Жыл бұрын

their name shall not be forgotten

@RyanHarris77 Жыл бұрын

My favorite part of this series is when you talk about Paul Morphy.

@jalapablocrypto Жыл бұрын

Morphy's blindfold simuls, especially the one he gave in Paris in 1858, created stunningly beautiful works of chess art. In Paris he went up blindfolded against eight strong French masters, crushing six and drawing two. The combinations he calculated in these games are just breathtaking, more beautiful and impressive IMO than any modern Carlsen or Karpov game. Simply gorgeous chess, before engines.

@thetjt Жыл бұрын

Yes, Morphy's games are a delight, Carlsen's a bore. And I think engines underestimate his Elo... unlikely that any modern players played as consistently brilliant and flawless attacking games as Morphy. Also, he played the opponent and I assume for flair as well... meaning that the strongest machine move is not always the best move against every opponent and every occasion.

@jalapablocrypto Жыл бұрын

Fun fact: Morphy was sick with intestinal influenza and couldn't walk when he played his match with Anderssen and he still smashed him. Adolf Anderssen was considered the strongest player in Europe at the time. Morphy gave all the prize money to him.

@cparks1000000 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! This was a great series.

@rathelmmc3194 Жыл бұрын

This was great. I could listen to Ben go over Morphy games for like a year straight.

@Evilanious Жыл бұрын

Sadly Ben doesn't get paid by the year.

@perkalov 10 ай бұрын

You'd start getting "replays" a few weeks into that. Not that many Morphy games to analyze tbf.

@tolkienfan1972 Жыл бұрын

I love the five types of pawn moves by the one true pawn! I can't believe someone noticed! Also, loving these lectures. Love Morphy too

@RMF49 11 ай бұрын

That pawn also forked and pinned.

@danjeory3659 Жыл бұрын

Can't even imagine how good Morphy would be today with access to today's theory and resources. Surely the best ever.

@BluejeansProphet Жыл бұрын

I'm a simple man, I see new lecture from GM Ben Finegold, I click. Go Ben!

@laidbackstrat9491 Жыл бұрын

These lessons on Morphy have been incredible. Something I wish we had was some Morphy defeats (without odds) and longer Morphy games, or games in quieter positions. Most Morphy games involve either the opponent going into really sharp lines and crumbling, or Morphy sacrificing a bunch of pieces to get a mating attack. I know people didn't really play "passively" back then, but I'd love to see Morphy with black against a slow Queen's Gambit or something. Learning from Morphy's games is fun and instructive, but not every game can be a raging attack.

@MuffinProCSGO Жыл бұрын

Look up his games against Harrwitz, he beat him badly playing the dutch defense. He could play slow positional games just as good, he just didnt enjoy them as much.

@konigsrustung8115 Жыл бұрын

Agadmator made a whole series or saga about morphy. There are defeats and quiet Games.

@mauer1 Жыл бұрын

@@MuffinProCSGO i am not exactly sure if its about enjoying. but players like harrwitz were just better than the avarage morphy opponent.

@OArchivesX Жыл бұрын

that's the thing.. there aren't that many losses lol. Morphy had to really mess up

@perkalov Жыл бұрын

@@MuffinProCSGO Actually, to be fair, even if he enjoyed slow positional games... Its not as if his opponents are encouraging that.

@isaakvandaalen3899 Жыл бұрын

Morphy has to be my favorite chess player by a landslide. The way he plays just shows how well he understood the game, favoring activity and threats over material. Really instructive play.

@scottniu8297 Жыл бұрын

In Paul Morphy we trust!

@ClassicPass_ Жыл бұрын

THANKS BILL! Thanks Ben! These where great! Last game was the best!

@umpatte0 Жыл бұрын

That pawn was amazing. Just.......wow.

@Derkalerk Жыл бұрын

"Black resigned because, ridiculous." That's way funnier than it should be

@curtisfox1233 2 ай бұрын

"I sac material and then I resign because my pieces are gone." I love your humor. 😂

@steven99456 Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately I can't watch this Ben, as there will be no more Morphy lectures left after I do so .. the truth hurts

@Travizeno92 14 күн бұрын

5:42 is one of the funniest moments. Black could literally castle any direction and morphy says nope. Its so funny after watching the other series and how morphy always seems to put his opponents in precarious positions. I should have saw it coming.

@Das_geht Жыл бұрын

Absolutely gobsmacked by that blindfolded mate game ... nothing pedestrian about it, definitely captures genius at work. A big thanks to GM Finegold, a mundane intellect like mine has now seen what genius looks like

@thetree1994 Жыл бұрын

Bill and Ben showing us the Wei.

@jtdavis62 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Ben! Thanks, Bill! I grew up in New Orleans, which has such a rich cultural history crammed with musicians, artists, writers, and eccentrics that Morphy is often forgotten. I once had a book of his games published mid-century so it was in Descriptive Notation, Fischer's favorite. Terrible! I agree that people underestimate Morphy's genius. He'd be at least a mid-2700 today. I like to think of Aronian as a modern-day Morphy, very inventive and always looking to make a statement on the board, although the real Morphy seemed to have a rather humorless personality, especially later in life.

@beaut7811 8 ай бұрын

It’s fascinating to see someone compare aronian and morphy, I love aronian! Do you remember any games/tournaments that stood out to you for the morphyness of them?

@12jswilson Жыл бұрын

Can't you sac the queen at 29:05 because of Bg4+?

@tomrockefeller4620 Жыл бұрын

Your lectures are morphing into some of my favorites.

@madxenotheanti-hero Жыл бұрын

I see what you did there! 😂

@hitchikerspie Жыл бұрын

The pawn odyssey at 17:10 was glorious

@sebastiandesign5216 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the Morphyseries. You're one of the most entertaining and best together with Seirawan and Naroditsky. At least according to me. And that means a lot!! at least to me!! 🙂

@NS-mm6jq 2 ай бұрын

Mr Ben, you have such a great sense of humor😂 even as an Ukrainian I laugh at your jokes. Of course, your game’s vision is super cool too. Please don’t stop publishing these lectures.❤

@Man20045 6 ай бұрын

29:09 the light square bishop of black can give a check and capture the white's queen

@gm2407 7 ай бұрын

There is a video of you wearing a suit and giving a blindfold simul. It is super impressive.

@trent797 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ben and Bill Wei...awesome series.

@firstnamelastname7476 Жыл бұрын

Many thanks to Bill Wei!

@askthepizzaguy Жыл бұрын

Second, thirded, fourthed, I even pleads the fif.

@chanky1000 Жыл бұрын

The last game was a beatdown and a half, god damn! Also his opponent seemed like a pretty good player for the time, bringing his pieces out, and castling etc.

@matthewevansteush6461 Жыл бұрын

Good is a pejorative term

@robertomariani626 11 ай бұрын

27:00 always ask the engine, ahah, that's a new one!

@kapa1611 Жыл бұрын

18:00 that pawn lived a full life xD

@pnutbutrncrackers Жыл бұрын

Thanks for unearthing these buried gems, Ben.

@NS-mm6jq 2 ай бұрын

Schrufer sounds like Dufus. I cried as a child 😂😂

@elijahzarwan Жыл бұрын

really enjoying this series. thank you!

@MrSupernova111 Жыл бұрын

Excellent series! Thanks!!

@danielroberger2374 5 ай бұрын

Mr Finegold. Amazing music.🎺🎷

@ZmajevKralj Жыл бұрын

Loved these lectures on Morphy. Thanks again to the sponsor!

@PsychedelicRealities Жыл бұрын

Lovely lectures! Go Ben!

@DimPlaysChess Жыл бұрын

these lectures are the best!

@dennisnizzle2851 Жыл бұрын

This was a great series! I am waiting for the 4 part Ken west series anonymously sponsored but highly suspected to be Ken west

@cspell Жыл бұрын

Great series, this blindfold game seems supernatural

@a_doggo Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ben! Loved this! Big thanks to Bill Wei for sponsoring this! You've got great taste in great chess players, Mr. Wei!!! Thanks so much!

@wesleythomas9131 Жыл бұрын

Great series! Go Ben!

@highgroundchess Жыл бұрын

This was insightful. I knew of Paul Morphy but did not know this much about him. Thanks for a great series.

@donovan665 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic series of lectures, amazing play Go Paul Go Ben! Big thanks to the sponsor!

@JimmyLundberg Жыл бұрын

Great series, thanks! Loved every bit of it. You do so well in this format, hope there's plenty more to come! I saw the first two games a few years back when looking at scotch games (mainly Kasparov's) in some database and noticed Morphy had played the scotch gambit a couple of times (but never the scotch game). Luckily for me I don't have the memory of a GM so it was like seeing them for the first time. The fourth game really blew me away! Especially Qxg7+, just wow.

@r302112 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic series thank you. Morphy becoming one of my faves

@qd4192 6 ай бұрын

Excellent series. Thanks.

@KingClem7 2 ай бұрын

"oh gimme the knight" 😂 14:50

@harmadavtian2916 Жыл бұрын

GM Finegold, re: 5 things to do with a pawn, Morphy also checked the king with the E pawn (also forked), so 6 or 7 things, quite amazing :)

@StahliCell Жыл бұрын

I love Morphy and this lecture was amazing! Thank you and thanks Bill!!

@bobthompson3739 Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much, most articulate, highly educational and a pleasure to watch and listen.

@thetjt Жыл бұрын

Thank you Bill & Ben. (aka Larry & Stretch) Morphy is certainly my favourite player and seems to me that he's the most talented player ever lived.

@andrewlijoi Жыл бұрын

Thanks Bill :)

@Mrspeedwell Жыл бұрын

Top job! Cheers from Oz.

@blazevandine5819 Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@IsaacBenevides Жыл бұрын

That last game was insane for a blindfold simul!

@MrRichi251 Жыл бұрын

At 4:15 Imagine if Morphy new about the Nakhmanson Gambit you know he would play it :) Nc3 here then after xc3 then Bxf7+! Kxf7 and Qd5+!

@Erik_001 Жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@lukeflanagan9247 6 ай бұрын

Incredible, I couldn't see some of the moves shown in this series' games if i had unlimited time and my opponent had to play with 3 mins

@markritchie8874 Жыл бұрын

Great series of lectures, thanks to you and to Bill Wei. Any chance of adding a Paul Morphy hoodie/t-shirt to your merch?

@pschneider1968 Жыл бұрын

Amazing games! I wonder why, as you say, many of your Grandmaster colleagues insist that Morphy, by today's measure, was just "average" FM or IM strength, when as a matter of fact, he was really outstanding?

@zemm9003 5 ай бұрын

It is difficult to understand. Maybe they are jealous? Some moves that Morphy plays in some situations are extremely hard to find even for super GMs. It takes tremendous pure innate god given talent to spot them in the first place before any calculations. A 2400 certainly wouldn't be able to do it even with hours left on the clock.

@lollycopter 2 ай бұрын

@@zemm9003 Jealousy powered by recency bias in assuming that those from over a century ago can't possibly be as bright as the brightest minds of today. Every field of endeavour has this type of Dunning-Kruger effect, be it science, technology, medicine, music, arts, or sport. Many of us like to think that we're smarter or more superior just because we have more access to information when that is very obviously not always the case.

@frankr2246 Жыл бұрын

Wow, That e-pawn is like Mario Lemieux (who once scored 5 goals in the same game: even-strength, power-play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and into the empty net).

@scheimong Жыл бұрын

29:06 if Ne8+ Qxe8 Qxe8, doesn't black win with Bg4+?

@frantiseklhotsky2702 Жыл бұрын

Yeah, that looks good for black

@frantiseklhotsky2702 Жыл бұрын

But instead of Ne8, Rf1 is mate in three moves

@forrestkennedy5458 Жыл бұрын

My man Bill Wei

@joelcuerrier4833 Жыл бұрын

I know Paul Morphy very well, because I've been watching you do lectures about his games for over 10 years. There is no doubt to me that his games are the most entertaining, along with Tal and Ivanchuk. Because when they win, it often is in a spectacular way. Of course, they do lose and we always skip those. But I saw some videos showing when Morphy lose and it's a lot like Tal. Sacrifices that backfire and the opponent figures out a way to wiggle out and end up 2 pieces up. Agadmator covered his losses since he basically covered all of his games. Would love to hear your take on some of his losses. Like covering his famous matches where he didn't win them all.

@joshuahitchins1897 Жыл бұрын

Hey Ben, remember to tell me something special at the end of the game. Edit: I'm glad he heard me.

@rainerausdemspring3584 Жыл бұрын

I have seen Morphy - Schrufer before - well known example for a smothered mate.

@tomwaters8409 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ben, you have made me into a Morphy believer.

@briankaren604 Жыл бұрын

Next time someone tells me Morphy was 2000-2200, Im going to strap them in a chair, prop their eyelids open clockwork orange style, and force them to watch Finegold's 4 part Morphy series.

@gaberobison680 Жыл бұрын

People arguing Morphy isn’t the best player are crazy. Chess GM’s today are excellent but aided by computers that can brute force solve positions. It’s a totally different paradigm today based on memorization and practically academic approaches. While it’s not necessarily and, Morphy crushed in an era that had far fewer resources. The guy clearly would dominate if given prep time today

@JimmyLundberg Жыл бұрын

5:30 after 10...Bb4 the move Nxe6 is shouting at me. The coolest part is if Bxe1 Nxg7+; you don't often see a knight fork picking up a queen on g7 and h5, or at least I don't.

@joe0633 Жыл бұрын

I remember seeing the finish of game 1 as a puzzle in lichess practice section

@benlundgren3760 9 ай бұрын

Why doesn’t a current grandmaster play a low rank player like in the 1400 range to show us how easy it is to look like Morphy?

@angeloantonucci9577 5 ай бұрын

I agree Paul Morphy is the GOAT! If Morphy played today only armed with what he knew in 1850 he would probably be 2600 however if Albert Einstein were to appear in a community college armed with what he knew in 1930 he would be behind a community college Physics professor. We consider Newton and Einstein two of the greatest scientists of all time they knew far less than even mediocre scientists know today, but they paved the way. If Morphy had modern training and if chess were his profession my guess he would be 2950 he was a giant of chess the GOAT! I ask the same question that you have asked -how did he get so good when his strongest opposition was only about 2000 strength? He just saw so much more than everyone else. To coin your phrase - Frankly amazing!

@petargadev6630 Жыл бұрын

Yesss its upp ma boi

@seinfan9 Жыл бұрын

40:34 Morphy: Yay. I'm the best.

@MuhammadIqbal-dp2es Жыл бұрын

Super super genius....❤❤❤❤ paul morphy

@sublimeade Жыл бұрын

32:10 and it was in this position that Ben acknowledged Agadmator, as there is nothing more to be done

@Curufin1984 Жыл бұрын

29:04 Ne8+ Qxe8 Bg4+ and white loses. That's not the right move. Stockfish wants to play Rf1+

@albertmagician8613 Жыл бұрын

There is a scientific method to better estimate Morpys rating. Collect 6 blind simultaneous matches. Estimate the adversaries based on their accuracy. Then rank Morphy amongst those given these matches. You, Ben, are in a position to challenge those 2300 players. Select a group of 6 who are estimated as strong as the adversaries were in the Morphy matches.

@Sevenigma777 9 ай бұрын

I so badly hope that right before he was about to win he would yell "Its Morphy Time!" like the Power Ranger he was lol

@rudicde 6 ай бұрын

And you can pin with a pawn, which also happened with e. :)

@DerKenste Жыл бұрын

I wonder what he's gonna morph into this time!

@captainnewbi2410 Жыл бұрын

Morphy is my new favorite chess player

@albertmagician8613 Жыл бұрын

Hoi Ben, are you yourself playing in those jazz intro? I like it vey much.

@CorneliuZeleaCodreanu9 Жыл бұрын

Someone played with a lawn mower on Ben s face😢😂

@klodm.2064 Жыл бұрын

I think you showed Morphy Schrufer in one of your many Morphy videos

@greennin Жыл бұрын

This 4 part lecture was amazing. Thanks ben and thanks to the sponsor (bill I think)

@windowpain1 Жыл бұрын

28:37 White also could have forced the Ne8+ line here instead of capturing the pawn, no?

@GK-il3fn Жыл бұрын

I would give this video NEIN out of 10

@answeris4217 Жыл бұрын

I wonder if New Orleans was a hotbed for chess or that Morphy was just really famous and promoted as the world's greatest chess player which attracted players to seek him out. Likely the former...seeing his father was a successful politicians and lawyer. So knew how to promote himself and of course Paul.