Paul Morphy can be considered the first modern player, although his
games might not look modern, it is because he didn't need the sort of slow
positional systems that modern
grandmasters use, or that Staunton, Paulsen, and later Steinitz developed. His
opponents hadn't yet mastered the open game, so he played it against them and he
preferred open
positions because they brought quick success. He played open games almost to
perfection, but he was equally good in handling positional games. Morphy was a genius who intuitively knew what was best, much like Capablanca.
He was considered to
have been the strongest chess master of his time and an unofficial World
Champion. He was the first
recorded chess prodigy in history!
....more >> 
(391) Comments
