![Opera Game, 1858](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Opera_Game%2C_1858.gif)
The Opera Game was an 1858
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
game, played at an opera house in Paris. The American master
Paul Morphy
Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was c ...
played against two strong amateurs: the German noble
Karl II, Duke of Brunswick, and the French aristocrat Comte Isouard de Vauvenargues. It was played as a , with Duke Karl and Count Isouard jointly deciding each move for the black pieces, while Morphy controlled the white pieces by himself. The game was played in a
box
A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
while an opera was performed on stage. Morphy quickly his opponents following rapid of , involving a
queen sacrifice
In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move that sacrifices a queen in return for some compensation, such as a tactical or positional advantage.
Queen sacrifice: real versus sham
In his book ''The Art of Sacrifice in Chess'', Rudolf Spielmann disti ...
.
It is among the most famous of chess games. The game is often used by chess instructors to teach the importance of piece development, the value of
sacrifices
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
in mating combinations, and other concepts.
The game
White: Paul Morphy Black: Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard
Opening:
Philidor Defence
The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 d6
The opening is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative ...
(''
ECO'' C41)
Paris, October/November
1858
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6
:This is
Philidor's Defence, named after
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor (7 September 1726 – 31 August 1795), often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the ''opéra comique''. ...
, the leading chess master of the second half of the 18th century and a pioneer of modern chess strategy. He was also a noted opera composer. It is a solid opening, but slightly passive, and it ignores the important d4-square. Most modern players prefer 2...Nc6 or 2...Nf6, the
Petrov Defence
Petrov's Defence or the Petrov Defence (also called Petroff Defence, Petrov's Game, Russian Defence, or Russian Game – russian: Русская партия) is a chess opening characterised by the following moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nf6
Th ...
.
3. d4 Bg4
:Though common at the time,
3...Bg4 is considered inferior. Today 3...exd4 or 3...Nf6 are usual. Philidor's original idea,
3...f5, is a risky alternative.
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 1 ...
, in his analysis of the game, calls it a weak move.
4. dxe5 Bxf3
:If 4...dxe5, then 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Nxe5 and White wins a
pawn
Pawn most often refers to:
* Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game
* Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral
Pawn may also refer to:
Places
* Pawn, Oregon, an his ...
and Black has lost the ability to
castle, and White is threatening Nxf7+ winning the rook. Black, however, did have the option of 4...Nd7 5.exd6 Bxd6, when he is down a pawn but has some
compensation in the form of better
development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
.
5. Qxf3
:
Steinitz Steinitz may refer to:
* Steinitz, Germany, a town in the district of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany
* Steinitz (surname)
{{Disambiguation ...
's recommendation 5.gxf3 dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.f4 is also good, but Morphy prefers to keep the
queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
on. After Black recaptures the pawn on e5, White has a significant lead in development. Queen capturing is the most natural move as it keeps a healthy kingside pawn structure.
5...dxe5 6. Bc4 Nf6
:This seemingly sound developing move runs into a surprising . After White's next move, both f7 and b7 will be under attack. Better would have been to directly protect the f7-pawn with 6...Qd7, making White's next move less potent.
7. Qb3 Qe7 (diagram)
:Black's only good move. White was threatening mate in two moves, for example 7...Nc6 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 (or Kd7) 9.Qe6#. 7...Qd7 loses the
rook
Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to:
Games
*Rook (chess), a piece in chess
*Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game
Military
* Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft
* USS ...
to 8.Qxb7 followed by 9.Qxa8 (since 8...Qc6? would lose the queen to 9.Bb5). Notice that 7...Qe7 saves the rook with this combination: 8.Qxb7 Qb4+ forcing a queen exchange.
:Although this move prevents immediate disaster, Black is forced to block the f8-
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
, impeding development and castling.
8. Nc3
:Morphy could have won a pawn by 8.Qxb7 Qb4+ 9.Qxb4 Bxb4+. White can also win more material with 8.Bxf7+ Qxf7 9.Qxb7, but Black has dangerous counterplay after 9...Bc5 and 10.Qxa8 0-0, or 10.Qc8+ Ke7 11.Qxh8 Bxf2+!. "But that would have been a butcher’s method, not an artist's." (
Lasker).
In keeping with his style, Morphy prefers rapid development and
initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
over material.
8... c6
:The best move, allowing Black to defend his pawn without further weakening the , which have been weakened by Black trading off his light-square bishop.
9. Bg5 b5?
:Black attempts to drive away the bishop and gain some , but this move allows Morphy a strong
sacrifice to keep the initiative. This move loses but it is difficult to find anything better; for example 9...Na6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Bxa6 bxa6 12.Qa4 Qb7 and Black's position is very weak.
10. Nxb5!
:Morphy chooses not to retreat the bishop, which would allow Black to gain time for development.
10... cxb5
:Black could have prolonged the game by playing 10...Qb4+, forcing the exchange of queens, but White wins comfortably after either 11.Nc3 or 11.Qxb4 Bxb4+ 12.c3!
11. Bxb5+
:Not 11.Bd5? Qb4+, unpinning the knight and allowing the rook to evade capture.
11... Nbd7
:11...Kd8 holds out longer, but 12.0-0-0+ still gives White a winning attack.
12. 0-0-0 Rd8 (diagram)
:The combination of the
pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch ...
s on the
knights and the
open file
An open file in chess is a with no pawns of either color on it. In the diagram, the e-file is an open file. An open file can provide a line of attack for a rook or queen. Having rooks or queens on open files or half-open files is considered ...
for White's rook will lead to Black's defeat.
13. Rxd7 Rxd7
:Removing another defender.
14. Rd1
:White's piece activity is in marked contrast to black's passivity. Black's d7-rook cannot be saved, since it is pinned to the
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
by the bishop and attacked by the rook, and though the knight defends it, the knight is pinned to the queen.
14... Qe6
:Qe6 is a futile attempt to unpin the knight (allowing it to defend the rook) and offer a queen trade, to take some pressure out of the white attack. Even if Morphy did not play his next crushing move, he could have always traded his bishop for the knight, followed by winning the rook.
15. Bxd7+ Nxd7
:If 15...Qxd7, then 16.Qb8+ Ke7 17.Qxe5+ Kd8 18.Bxf6+ gxf6 19.Qxf6+ Kc8 20.Rxd7 Kxd7 21.Qxh8 and White is clearly winning. Moving the king leads to mate: 15...Ke7 16.Qb4+ Qd6 (16...Kd8 17.Qb8+ Ke7 18.Qe8#) 17.Qxd6+ Kd8 18.Qb8+ Ke7 19.Qe8# or 15...Kd8 16.Qb8+ Ke7 17.Qe8#.
16. Qb8+!
:Morphy finishes with a
queen sacrifice
In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move that sacrifices a queen in return for some compensation, such as a tactical or positional advantage.
Queen sacrifice: real versus sham
In his book ''The Art of Sacrifice in Chess'', Rudolf Spielmann disti ...
.
16... Nxb8 17. Rd8
:This
mating pattern is sometimes called the "opera mate" in reference to this game.
Jonathan Tisdall
Jonathan D. Tisdall (born August 26, 1958 in Buffalo, New York) is a grandmaster of chess (title awarded 1993) and works as a freelance journalist. An American citizen by origin, he became Irish and later Norwegian. He was born to a Japanese ...
, ''Improve Your Chess Now'', Everyman Chess, 1997, pp 192, 194, 201-202, Other than the king, all of White's remaining
pieces play a role in the checkmate. Therefore, the position satisfies the definition of an
economical mate. Economical mate is one of a few terms used by
chess problem
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...
composers
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
to describe the
aesthetic properties of a checkmate position; related concepts include
pure mate,
model mate A model mate is a type of pure mate checkmating position in chess in which not only is the checkmated king and all vacant squares in its field attacked only once, and squares in the king's field occupied by friendly units are not also attacked by ...
, and
ideal mate
In chess, an ideal mate is a checkmate position that is a special form of model mate. While in a model mate, each piece on the mating player's side (possibly excluding the king and pawns depending on context) participates in the mate, an id ...
.
The final position nearly satisfies the criteria of a model mate, but fails for one reason: there are two reasons why the black king cannot be moved to the square f8. It is occupied by a bishop of the same color, and it is guarded by the white rook.
Notes
References
Further reading
* ''The Exploits & Triumphs in Europe of Paul Morphy the Chess Champion'' by Frederick Milne Edge, with a new introduction by David Lawson. Dover 1973; 203 pages.
*
External links
Le mat de l'opéra{{in lang, fr, variations of the game's final in other chessproblems and games, 2 July 2008
Video commentary on the gameby
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 1 ...
Chess games
Chess in France
Opera history
1858 in chess
1858 in France
October 1858 sports events
1850s in Paris
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