The Real Paul Morphy

Paul Morphy might well be the most brilliant and enigmatic chess champion of all time. He burst onto the scene in 1857 as a 20-year-old and dominated the chess world for two short years, convincingly defeating all the strongest players. After conquering the European chess scene, Morphy was universally recognised as the greatest player of all time. But at the age of 22 he suddenly and permanently retired from serious competition.

Morphy's greatness shone so brightly that 75 years later he was still considered the greatest by world champions Lasker and Capablanca. He is still revered for his brilliant combinations and other contributions to chess. Bobby Fischer called him 'perhaps the most accurate player who ever lived'. Garry Kasparov regarded him as 'the prototype of the strong 20th century grandmaster' and 'the forefather of modern chess'.

There are many important biographies and game collections about Morphy. Award-winning chess author Charles Hertan brings us something new - a comprehensive modern biography that delves deep into his fascinating history, unearthing new information about Morphy's origins, intertwined with an in-depth exploration of Morphy's games, often overturning over 160 years of previous analysis.

Hertan uses his experience as a professional psychotherapist to shed new light on Morphy's tragic mental deterioration. The author also examines the state of chess before Morphy, wading into the current debate about the role of the great masters Howard Staunton and Adolf Anderssen in chess history, and whether Morphy's time should rightly be called the 'Romantic Era'.

The Real Paul Morphy brings you everything you need to know about Paul Morphy's life, chess and legacy in a single volume.

Charles Hertan is a FIDE master from Massachusetts with several decades of experience as a chess coach. He is the author of the award-winning Forcing Chess Moves and the bestselling Power Chess for Kids series.

Reviews

GM Matthew Sadler (New In Chess magazine)
“Sometimes you really need someone to take you by the hand and really show you and explain to you the qualities of a certain book, or piece of music or chess player and Hertan did exactly this for me with Morphy! 5 stars!”
(full review)

Fernando Offermann (Berliner Schachverband)
“It was a golden age for the chess world, and Hertan brings it back to life with this book. Even though I could initially read the work digitally, I will buy the printed edition. It is a must for anyone who wants to not only understand the history of chess but also experience it.”

Nick Visel (nickplayschess.com)
“Because the subject matter isn’t about helping any particular subset of player improve, I think anybody who likes to study chess games should consider picking up this book if they want to study Morphy’s games and get a nice side dish of chess history with a whopping heap of chess culture seasoning. Has Hertan produced the magnum opus on Paul Morphy’s life on and off the board? I’m not sure yet, but this one is very good and I happily recommend it to basically anyone.”
(full review)