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Paris, 1858

The Opera Game

Paul Morphy – Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard · 1-0

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Result
1-0
Moves
17
Opening
Philidor Defense
The names end at
3. d4

Watch it on the mapFinal position on the map

The story

In the autumn of 1858 Paul Morphy, the young American who was touring Europe and beating its best players, was invited to the Duke of Brunswick’s box at the opera house in Paris. The Duke and Count Isouard played Black together, consulting on every move, while the performance went on below.

Morphy develops a piece with nearly every move, sacrifices a knight on b5 to open lines, castles long and puts a rook on the open d-file. His last two moves are a queen sacrifice and a mate with the two pieces he has left: 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8#.

The game is short, every move has a point, and the final mate uses all of White’s remaining pieces. That is why teachers still use it to show what quick development and open lines can do.

The Opera Game: the map where the opening names end
The position where the game leaves the named openings, with every game of the next four moves around it.

The moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.O-O-O Rd8 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1-0

Through the openings

  1. 1. e4King's Pawn Game
  2. 1... e5King's Pawn Game
  3. 2. Nf3King's Knight Opening
  4. 2... d6Philidor Defense
  5. 3. d4Philidor Defense

Source of the moves: en.wikipedia.org

More famous games

The Immortal GameAnderssen, London 1851Anderssen gives up both rooks, a bishop and his queen, then mates with the minor pieces he has left. The Evergreen GameAnderssen, Berlin 1852Anderssen sacrifices his queen and mates with a bishop; more than 170 years on, the game is still fresh. The Game of the CenturyD. Byrne – Fischer, New York 1956Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer gives up his queen and wins. Kasparov's ImmortalKasparov – Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999A rook sacrifice on move 24 starts a hunt that chases Black's king across the whole board. Deep Blue Beats KasparovDeep Blue – Kasparov, New York 1997The last game of the first match a computer won against the world champion, over in 19 moves. The Game Spassky ApplaudedFischer – Spassky, Reykjavik 1972Fischer almost never opened 1.c4; here he did, and at the end even Spassky joined the applause. The Octopus KnightKarpov – Kasparov, Moscow 1985Kasparov's knight digs in on d3 and paralyses White; that match made him world champion. Botvinnik's Bishop SacrificeBotvinnik – Capablanca, AVRO 1938Botvinnik beats former world champion Capablanca with a bishop sacrifice on move 30. The Immortal Zugzwang GameSämisch – Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1923White still has plenty of pieces, but every move he could make loses.