Game of the Day: Morphy's Opera Game

Some games are worth replaying again and again. Paul Morphy's win in Paris in 1858, known as the Opera Game, is one of them. Morphy, then 21, played White against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, who were consulting together, in a private box at the Paris Opera while a performance of Norma was under way.

Black chose the Philidor Defense. Morphy ignored the pawn structure and went straight for development: by move 9 he had a bishop pinning the knight on f6 and a queen eyeing both f7 and b7. Black's reply 9...b5 let him open the position with the sacrifice 10.Nxb5, and from there every move comes with a threat.

The finish is the reason the game is taught everywhere. After 16.Qb8+ the queen is given up, Black's knight has to take, and 17.Rd8 is checkmate. Every White piece takes part, and Black's queen on e6 never gets a move that matters.

Use the board below to step through the game. Click any move in the list, or use the arrow keys, and see how each of Morphy's moves creates a new problem for Black. A good exercise: pause before moves 10, 13 and 16 and try to find the continuation yourself.

The game is more than 160 years old and is widely published; the notes here are WR Chess News's own.