And so it came to pass that inside the August 1924 Austrian Chess Magazine the 'Neue Wiener Schachzeitung', Max Weiss (1857-1927) wrote an article about a Dr. Streber who presented him with an unknown Morphy game played in 1908.
Now every chess enthusiast knows Morphy died (sorry passed over) in 1884 so this had to be wrong. However Dr. Streber attached, along with the game, a form signed by three witness’s saying that Dr. Streber had played Morphy’s ghostly spirit!
(why Morphy would want to play the good doctor when he can have a game with Steinitz, Anderssen, or even Pillsbury in the Afterlife Chess Club is suspicious. Maybe the only other player to manifest himself that night was Howard Staunton.)
"From World Cup Chess by Kavalek"
The game was published, people suspected it was a hoax (no kidding!)
and it was discovered that the game Morphy v Dr. Streber was infact:
Josef Krejcik - Konrad Krobot, a casual game played at the Cafe Victoria, Vienna 1908.
Which is indeed a great pity because if it was so easy to summon up the spirit of a past master then chess books could come with an Ouija Board and the spirit contact password (a bit like logging onto a chess site but without all the insults one gets from the forums) we could then get the past master to explains things to us.
Here is the game in question. (It was claimed Morphy was White.) |
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1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4
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The Centre Game, but there's already a problem as there is no record of Morphy ever playing this opening as White, unless my records are incorrect or incomplete?
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  2 comments
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3... Nc6 4. Qe3 g6
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I won a number of OTB games when my opponent played 5.Qc3 here to attack the h8 Rook.
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5. Bd2
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5.Qc3 Bb4 and 0-1 This merry mistake has been played many times by countless victims known as my opponents who are still learning the game...
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5... Bg7 6. Nc3 Nge7
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!? - 6...Nf6 is OK. 7.e5 Ng4
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7. O-O-O O-O 8. f4
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?! - Aggressive but Black can play 8...d5 here with a reasonable game.
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8... a6
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? - Too slow. ?! - 8...d5 is OK. Black never gets d5 in. White eventually sacs a Rook to prevent it.
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9. Nf3 f5
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?! - I thought we were going to see 9...b5 after 8...a6. White now starts with the threats.
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10. Bc4+ Kh8 11. Ng5 Qe8
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? - When you have a Queen defending weak spots you know things are going badly.
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12. exf5
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12...Nxf5 13.QxQ then Nf7+ and Nd6+ winning.
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12... Rxf5
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?! - 12....gxf5 also leads to a grim position with a White attack that plays itself.
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13. g4 Rf8
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Now 14.Nxh2 seems to work but White wants more and is in a creative mood.
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14. Qh3 h6 15. Rhg1
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! - 15.Nd5 is very good here. 15.Rhg1 could have allowed Black to put up a stiffer defense.
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15... b5 16. Nxb5
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! - The idea is to vacate the c3 square with a gain of time.
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16... axb5 17. Bc3
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!! - With the threat of Qxh6+ and mate. Black is in bind here but they have a d5 idea.
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17... h5
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?! - 18.gxh5 d5 and Black is fighting back but White now plays....
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1 comment
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18. Rd6
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!! - A wonderful move stopping d5 which should have been played ages ago.
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1 comment
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18... cxd6 19. gxh5
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! - The threatened discovered checks win in all variations.
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19... gxh5 20. Bxg7+ Kxg7 21. Nf7+ Ng6 22. Rxg6+
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White is playing an inspired game.
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22... Kxg6 23. f5+
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It's all over, we get treated to a mini King hunt.
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1 comment
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23... Kf6 24. Qh4+ Kxf5 25. Qg5+ Ke4 26. Nxd6+ Kd4 27. c3#
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!! - Checkmate. An extraordinary game. 18. Rd6 was a great move to find.
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1 comment
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