Chess Strategy and Tactics: Paul Morphy's amazing games
What you'll learn
- Be able to play the King's Gambit with key Morphy model games in mind
- Be able to play the Italian game and in particular the exciting Evans Gambit with key Morphy model games in mind
- Be able to play the Scotch game more comfortably with key Morphy model games in mind
- Be able to understand the dangers of the Evans Gambit more clearly as Morphy had nearly a 90% success rate with this in preference to the Ruy Lopez
- Be able to see clearly how going for the King can even overcome material odds given at the start of games
- Be able to maximise win probability even when playing with extreme material odds using techniques of pawn fragmentation around opponent's king or "Thorn pawns"
- Be able to calculate forcing variations more accurately with a Morphy King hunting mindset
- Be able to have a number of options and mindset for opening up positions and creating tactical opportunities
- Be able to study a master without being distracted too much by modern technical opening theory to more easily grasp key concepts and ideas fundamental to chess
- Be able to learn from one the greatest tactical old master to reinforce tactics, forcing moves and combinations and imaginative win-generating concepts
- Be able to see how to win against inferior play by non masters who are less familiar with opening theory, tactics and positional play than todays masters
- Be able to appreciate more the so called "Romantic era" of chess which featured intuitive sacrifice and mate instead of often tedious modern grinding games
- Be able to appreciate a wide range of Paul Morphy iconic games - not just the "Opera" game which Paul Morphy is mostly remembered for
- Be able to appreciate why a6 in the Ruy Lopez is named after Morphy - known as the Morphy defence to the Ruy Lopez and is seen in over 65% of Ruy Lopez games
- Be able to form a more "concrete" mindset about downside actual exploitability in concrete moves as opposed to what looks intuitively or vaguely promising
- Be able to experience a fine "chess game art gallery" with many beautiful and brilliant games which also have great instructiveness to them
- Be able to play exciting attacking dynamic chess and especially Gambits which were common in the Romantic era of chess
- Be able to understand that Chess understanding concretely is an evolving community database of example games, and Paul Morphy is an essential foundation of that
- Be able to understand more what chess commentators mean when they use terms like "principled"
- Be able to handle Open positions - Mikhail Botvinnik indicated that in such handling there has been nothing new since Morphy
- Be able to see why Bobby Fischer called him one of the most accurate players who ever lived
- Be able to see why Bobby Fischer considered Paul Morphy to be probably the greatest genius of them all
Requirements
- Know how the pieces move
Description
Embrace the brilliance of Paul Morphy, an American chess virtuoso renowned for his outstanding abilities and hailed as an unofficial World Chess Champion. Learn from the memorable games of the genius whose prowess influenced future World Champions like Bobby Fischer and inspired timeless admiration from masters like José Raúl Capablanca and Wilhelm Steinitz.
Dive into Morphy's thrilling short games, especially those of 25 moves or less, each rich with instructive value. Morphy's celebrated 'Opera game' serves as a prime example of his gift for precision and flair, prompting Fischer to label him as one of the most accurate chess players in history.
Capablanca admired Morphy's inconceivably deep understanding of technique, strategy, and tactics, recognizing his extraordinary chess brain. Steinitz celebrated Morphy's profound book knowledge and unprecedented mastery of open positions, a sentiment echoed by Mikhail Botvinnik, the 6th World Chess Champion.
Immerse yourself in key principles that Morphy expertly embodied, a valuable guide for chess beginners:
Rapid development of pieces
Assertive control of the Center
Expertise in opening lines of attack
Distinguish yourself as a follower of the 'Romantic School of Chess,' where 1.e4 openings and spectacular tactical play often lead to swift checkmates in under 30 moves. However, Morphy was no stranger to strong positional play, excelling in open games and showcasing his tactical genius.
Join the ranks of Garry Kasparov (13th World Champion), Viswanathan Anand (15th World Champion), and Max Euwe (5th World Champion), who recognized Morphy as a trailblazer far ahead of his time. Like the rapid-fire brilliance of Vishy Anand, Morphy executed his moves swiftly in an era devoid of time control, making his style relevant to the demands of modern chess.
Favoring the King's Gambit and the Evans Gambit with white, Morphy invites you to explore his preferred opening systems. Grasp his approach, designed to fuel aggressive and sharp tactical battles, and carry forward his legacy in your games. This course aims to infuse the participants with Morphy's spirit of creativity, precision, and tactical brilliance, contributing to their evolution as well-rounded chess players.
Who this course is for:
- Beginner to Intermediate chess players
Instructor
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 2,444 Reviews
- 11,692 Students
- 30 Courses
Tryfon Gavriel, also known as "Kingscrusher" on the Internet. I am a FIDE Candidate Master (CM), and British Regional Chess Master, and run a popular Youtube channel for many years with over 114k+ Subs as of 2021 and a Silver Button Award.
I have done many shows on commercial chess servers. I am also the Webmaster of the correspondence-style chess server Chessworld which emphasizes game quality and research.
Playing experience
Over 35 years of playing activity both online and offline. Peak ICC blitz rating of 2625 (18-Jun-1999). Peak ICC 5 min auto-pairing of 2383 (29-Jun 2012). ECF Grading peak classical: 212 (A) ECF. Peak Rapid rating: 217 (C).
Lichess marathon top 10 finishers in 4 marathons so far. Top 50 finisher in 7 marathons so far. Top 100 finisher in 4 marathons so far. And top 500 in 1 marathon so far. Won quite a few tournaments at lichess - in fact giving me 3rd rank overall behind Lance5500 and papasi in a recent detailed statistical blog analysis titled "Lichess Marathon Statistics".
One of my earliest Over-the-board achievements in Chess was winning the Lloyds Under 18 national UK tournament in 1989. My trophy was awarded to me by Grandmaster and Ph.D. Mathematician Dr John Nunn.
Teaching experience
I have done teaching in Schools and also have done teaching online with several Lichess students on a regular basis, and have a very good coaching rating at lichess.
Other experiences
Played twice in the main British Chess championship. Many of my Youtube viewers claim big rating increases after watching my videos.
Best skills
I particularly love attacking chess, chess tactics, and combinations, and it is probably no accident that my "Complete Guide to Chess Tactics" has been a best-seller shortly after its release here at Udemy.
In general, I will try and give you greater enthusiasm for the game and in particular the dynamic attacking, aggressive tactical aspects of playing chess. My favorite heroes are mainly Attacking style tactical players: Paul Morphy, Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. if you want to be a dynamic aggressive attacking style player, I may be able to encourage you and find you relevant resources on that path. The dynamic aggressive attacking players were particularly strong tactically and would often trade off pawn structure neatness and material to try and checkmate the opponent's kings. Checkmate does win the game :) They were masters of finishing combinations naturally as they sought to reduce the king's safety of the opponent in various ways including bringing the King out for often beautiful mating combinations.
Chess Openings
In terms of concrete openings to make use of potentially teaching here at Udemy through courses. I like Solid openings on such as the London System. I also like provocative openings like the Knight's Tango systems to encourage weaknesses from opponents. I am also at faster time controls especially, particularly fond of aggressive openings and gambits. For example, the Smith-Morra Gambit vs the Sicilian Defence, and other gambits can be used aggressively even with the black pieces such as the Albin Counter Gambit. Gambits vary of course in soundness and it is important to teach what "ticks many boxes" for use in various time controls. Also, I like surprising opponents with openings such as the Nimzo-Larsen attack, the King's Indian Attack, The London System, and Queen's Knight attack system 1. Nc3, all of which I have courses for here at Udemy.
In the search for the ideal courses to provide you, I like to search within myself for my core strengths and passions within the passion of Chess.
I truly hope you enjoy my courses and they improve your chess and your enjoyment of chess generally - and life generally :)