In olden times the object was to win with beautiful strokes, and fans often felt cheated when good defense frustrated a brilliancy. Morphy was the father of positional play, and his style was the antithesis of romanticism. Instead of going for the quick kill, he brought out all his pieces as rapidly as possible. But close scrutiny of his 400 recorded games reveals that many of his combinations were flawed. Here, a pawn ahead with a routine win in sight, he embarks on a celebrated sacrifice that needlessly allowed Bird drawing chances.
In olden times the object was to win with beautiful strokes, and fans often felt cheated when good defense frustrated a brilliancy. Morphy was the father of positional play, and his style was the antithesis of romanticism. Instead of going for the quick kill, he brought out all his pieces as rapidly as possible. But close scrutiny of his 400 recorded games reveals that many of his combinations were flawed. Here, a pawn ahead with a routine win in sight, he embarks on a celebrated sacrifice that needlessly allowed Bird drawing chances.