Morphy Game: Develop with Threats

Opening Theory: Develop with Threats

In the previous game, you may have realized that Morphy forced his opponent to
respond to his moves in certain ways by making threats of captures, checks, and
checkmates. We frequently refer to these actions as force moves. Force moves require
the opponent to act in a certain way which limits their strategic options.

Threats are powerful because when a player utilizes them, their opponent must
respond to that move. Otherwise, the threatening player will carry out their threat. To
efficiently control the board, players should make threats that mobilize new pieces.
After all, the more strong pieces a player can use, the better.

Coach’s Comment:

Morphy is actually playing a blindfolded simultaneous game in this match. This means
that he is playing multiple people at the same time without looking at the board.

Game Information:

Blindfold simultaneous exhibition
Birimingham 1858
White: Paul Morphy
Black: Lord George WIlliams Lyttleton
Opening: King’s Gambit