Morphy's Games of Chess [Paperback]

Philip Sergeant (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Chess | Publication Date: June 1, 1957

300 games by the greatest player of all time: 54 against such masters as Anderssen, Harrwitz, Mongredien, Bird, Paulsen, and others; 52 of the best blindfold games; 52 games at odds; and 142 in consultation, informally. Detailed annotations of games by such expert analysts as Sergeant, Steinitz, Anderssen, and Morphy himself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; First Edition edition (June 1, 1957)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486203867
• ISBN-13: 978-0486203867
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #852,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Morphy - No better player to learn from!, July 3, 2001

By 

A.J. Goldsby I "A.J.G." (Pensacola, FL (U.S.A.)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morphy's Games of Chess (Paperback)

Before we go any further, I want you to know I am a Chess Master and I teach chess for a living.

All my students who have purchased this book have loved it.

All the great teachers of the game (GM L. Evans, SM Ken Smith, IM Silman, GM Soltis, GM Alburt; etc.) say you must FIRST master tactics before you can do anything else. This is the MANDATORY first step in the game of chess.

The best way to learn and master TACTICS is to study the OPEN GAMES. In my own opinion, there is no better way to do this than to study the games of Paul Morphy very carefully. (I personally believe Morphy was - easily - the greatest chess player who ever lived. See my web page on "The Greatest Chess Players" for more details.)

The games in this book are well written and easily understood by any class of player. The author did a great job here, and this probably remains the best book - dollar for dollar - on Morphy.

And in case you think these moves are easy to find, I once tested some of these moves on a GM ... who was approximately 18 months away from winning the U.S. Championship ... and he failed to find some of the moves that Morphy found quickly and easily!

The story in here is good, the games are great. Paul Morphy's games are the best vehicle for mastering the basics of chess. They are also very beautiful.

If you buy this book AND play through a few of the games - I personally guarantee you will not be disappointed with it. (And if you are, you can sell it on e-bay for almost what you paid for it.)

Come on! What else do I have to say? I make all my students study Morphy. I promise you will get better. GET THIS BOOK!!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Low-Priced Classic From Dover, January 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Morphy's Games of Chess (Paperback)

The author assembled 300 of Morphy's games, more than enough for the reader to form a solid opinion on this extraordinary player. I can say without hesitation that if you are not charmed by his games, there is very little chance that you will ever be much of a chessplayer.

14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars better books around, March 21, 2002

By 

Joan Cass (Acon, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morphy's Games of Chess (Paperback)

the main issue i take with this book is the poor annotation done. He'll make cryptic comments like "he cannot afford to do so and so move" at a critcal point in the game and not explain himself. What he means isn't self-explanitory either. As far as books annotating games go I'd recommend Alekhines best games of chess between the 1920's and 1940's (or whatever the title is). Much better book with better games too (in my humble opinion.