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Classic game replay

Alexander Beaufort Meek vs Paul Morphy, 1855

This replay preserves the complete 42-ply score of Morphy playing Black across 21 numbered moves. The board can be advanced one ply at a time; the notes stick to observable board changes rather than guessing at the players’ intentions.

On this page
  1. Practice positions
  2. Replay with move-by-move board facts
  3. PGN
  4. Sources and checking
  5. Continue with another game
White
Alexander Beaufort Meek
Black
Paul Morphy
Event
Mobile
Year
1855
Result
0-1
Opening
C44 Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation

Opening reference: Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation (C44).

In this game, 20 half-moves are labelled opening, 22 middlegame and 0 endgame. The score contains 9 captures and 5 checks or mates; before a recorded move, the position offered a median of 37 legal choices. The source score ends after 21...Ke8 with the recorded result 0-1. Its termination tag was not retained, so this record does not infer whether the game ended by resignation, time or another cause.

Practice positions

The daily trainer uses a short set of positions from this complete score. Each link goes to the exact half-move rather than only the numbered move.

  1. 9...d6 — Create pressure on c59...d6 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  2. 14...Qh4+ — A forcing check14...Qh4+ was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  3. 19...Bh3 — Develop the bishop19...Bh3 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.

Replay with move-by-move board facts

The board, fact panel and transcript use the same legal score. “Fixed engine check” means Stockfish 17.1, one thread, a fixed 25,000-node search and 3 candidate lines. It compares moves under one reproducible setting; it does not claim to reconstruct a player’s thoughts.

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Alexander Beaufort Meek vs Paul Morphy, 1855

Start position

Use Previous and Next on the board, or select a move in the transcript. The board fact and fixed engine check remain visible until you choose another move.

Opening · 1.e4 to 10...Re8

  1. 1.e4 Claim central space

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from e2 to e4; from there it controls d5 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6.

  2. 1...e5 Claim central space

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from e7 to e5; from there it controls d4 and f4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e5 Nf3 Nc6 d4.

  3. 2.Nf3 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from g1 to f3; from f3 it attacks Black's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf3 Nc6 d4 exd4.

  4. 2...Nc6 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from b8 to c6; from there it controls d4 and e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nc6 d4 exd4 Nxd4.

  5. 3.d4 Change the pawn structure

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from d2 to d4; the move changes the central pawn contact; from d4 it attacks Black's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d4 exd4 Nxd4 Nf6.

  6. 3...exd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the pawn on d4; the move changes the central pawn contact; Black accepts doubled pawns on the d-file; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · exd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nxc6.

  7. 4.Bc4 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from f1 to c4; from c4 it attacks Black's pawn on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bc4 Nf6 O-O d6.

  8. 4...Bc5 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from f8 to c5; from there it controls d4 and d6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bc5.

  9. 5.Ng5 Create pressure on f7

    Board fact: White moves the knight from f3 to g5; from g5 it attacks Black's pawn on f7 and Black's pawn on h7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ng5 Nh6 Nxf7 Nxf7.

  10. 5...Nh6 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from g8 to h6; from there it controls f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nh6 Bxf7+ Nxf7 Nxf7.

  11. 6.Nxf7 Exchange on f7

    Board fact: White's knight takes the pawn on f7; from f7 it attacks Black's queen on d8 and Black's rook on h8; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxf7.

  12. 6...Nxf7 Recapture on f7

    Board fact: Black's knight recaptures the knight on f7; from f7 it reinforces the queen on d8; black is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxf7 Bxf7+ Kxf7 Qh5+.

  13. 7.Bxf7+ Recapture on f7

    Board fact: White's bishop recaptures the knight on f7; the move checks Black's king; from f7 it reinforces the pawn on a2; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxf7+ Kxf7 Qh5+ g6.

  14. 7...Kxf7 Recapture on f7

    Board fact: Black's king recaptures the bishop on f7; from f7 it reinforces the pawn on g7; black is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kxf7 Qh5+.

  15. 8.Qh5+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the queen from d1 to h5; the move checks Black's king; from h5 it attacks Black's bishop on c5 and Black's pawn on h7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qh5+ g6 Qxc5 d5.

  16. 8...g6 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the pawn from g7 to g6; from g6 it attacks White's queen on h5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · g6 Qxc5 d5 O-O.

  17. 9.Qxc5 Exchange on c5

    Board fact: White's queen takes the bishop on c5; from c5 it attacks Black's knight on c6 and Black's pawn on a7; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qxc5 d6 Qa3 d5.

  18. 9...d6 Create pressure on c5

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from d7 to d6; from d6 it attacks White's queen on c5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d6 Qa3.

  19. 10.Qb5 Create pressure on c6

    Board fact: White moves the queen from c5 to b5; from b5 it attacks Black's knight on c6 and Black's pawn on b7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qb5 Re8.

  20. 10...Re8 Rook on the semi-open e-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from h8 to e8; the rook now works on a semi-open e-file; from e8 it attacks White's pawn on e4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Re8 O-O Rxe4 Qd5+.

Middlegame · 11.Qb3+ to 21...Ke8

  1. 11.Qb3+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the queen from b5 to b3; the move checks Black's king; from b3 it attacks Black's pawn on b7.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Qb3+ Kg7 O-O Rxe4.

  2. 11...d5 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the pawn from d6 to d5; the move changes the central pawn contact; from d5 it attacks White's pawn on e4.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Kg7 ranked higher · d5 O-O Be6 exd5.

  3. 12.f3 Advance the f-pawn

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from f2 to f3; from there it controls e4.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; O-O ranked higher · f3 Na5 Qa4 Qh4+.

  4. 12...Na5 Create pressure on b3

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from c6 to a5; from a5 it attacks White's queen on b3.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Na5 Qb5 c6 Qe2.

  5. 13.Qd3 Create pressure on d4

    Board fact: White moves the queen from b3 to d3; from d3 it attacks Black's pawn on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qb5 ranked higher · Qd3 Qh4+.

  6. 13...dxe4 Exchange on e4

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the pawn on e4; the move changes the central pawn contact; from e4 it attacks White's queen on d3 and White's pawn on f3; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · dxe4.

  7. 14.fxe4 Recapture on e4

    Board fact: White's pawn recaptures the pawn on e4; the pawn is now passed; the move changes the central pawn contact; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · fxe4 Qh4+ Kf1 Rxe4.

  8. 14...Qh4+ A forcing check

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from d8 to h4; the move checks White's king; from h4 it attacks White's pawn on e4 and White's pawn on h2.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qh4+ Kf1 Rxe4 Qg3.

  9. 15.g3 Answering the check

    Board fact: White answers the check by moving the pawn from g2 to g3; from g3 it attacks Black's queen on h4.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Kf1 ranked higher · g3 Qxe4+ Qxe4 Rxe4+.

  10. 15...Rxe4+ Capture with check on e4

    Board fact: Black's rook takes the pawn on e4; the move checks White's king; the rook now occupies the open e-file; from e4 it reinforces the queen on h4; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Rxe4+ Kf2 Qf6+ Kg2.

  11. 16.Kf2 Answering the check

    Board fact: White answers the check by moving the king from e1 to f2; from there it controls e3 and f3.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Be3 ranked higher · Kf2 Qf6+ Kg2 Bf5.

  12. 16...Qe7 Reposition the queen

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from h4 to e7; from there it controls e4, e5 and c5.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qf6+ ranked higher · Qe7 Bh6 Bf5 Nd2.

  13. 17.Nd2 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from b1 to d2; from d2 it attacks Black's rook on e4.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Bg5 ranked higher · Nd2 Re3 Ne4 Rxd3.

  14. 17...Re3 Rook on the open e-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from e4 to e3; the rook now occupies the open e-file; from e3 it attacks White's queen on d3 and White's pawn on g3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Re3 Ne4 Qxe4 Bxe3.

  15. 18.Qb5 Create pressure on a5

    Board fact: White moves the queen from d3 to b5; from b5 it attacks Black's knight on a5 and Black's pawn on b7.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Ne4 ranked higher · Qb5 c6 Qf1 Bg4.

  16. 18...c6 Create pressure on b5

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from c7 to c6; from c6 it attacks White's queen on b5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · c6 Qf1 Bg4 h3.

  17. 19.Qf1 Reposition the queen

    Board fact: White moves the queen from b5 to f1; from there it controls c4 and d3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qf1 Bg4 Kg1+ Kg8.

  18. 19...Bh3 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from c8 to h3; from h3 it attacks White's queen on f1.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bh3 Nf3 Bxf1 Rxf1.

  19. 20.Qd1 Reposition the queen

    Board fact: White moves the queen from f1 to d1; from there it controls f3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qd1 Re8 Rf1 Kg8.

  20. 20...Rf8 Rook on the open f-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from a8 to f8; the rook now occupies the open f-file; from f8 it reinforces the king on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rf8 Rf1 Kg8+ Kg1.

  21. 21.Nf3 Create pressure on d4

    Board fact: White moves the knight from d2 to f3; from f3 it attacks Black's pawn on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Rf1 ranked higher · Nf3 Kg8.

  22. 21...Ke8 Reposition the king

    Board fact: Black moves the king from f7 to e8; from e8 it reinforces the queen on e7.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Kg8 ranked higher · Ke8 a3 Qe4 Kg1.

PGN

[Event "Mobile"] [Site "?"] [Date "1855.??.??"] [White "Meek, Alexander Beaufort"] [Black "Morphy, Paul"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Nxf7 Nxf7 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Qxc5 d6 10. Qb5 Re8 11. Qb3+ d5 12. f3 Na5 13. Qd3 dxe4 14. fxe4 Qh4+ 15. g3 Rxe4+ 16. Kf2 Qe7 17. Nd2 Re3 18. Qb5 c6 19. Qf1 Bh3 20. Qd1 Rf8 21. Nf3 Ke8 0-1

Sources and checking

Score source: Chess Database, version 1 by Ana Schaigorodsky (2016), licensed under CC BY 4.0. LibreChess selected the exact score identified by sha256:37adb74d0beb82843b1f294bec75ba082e0bb3ba4a4ae13f813762c2139c61a7 and pins it in the selection manifest.
Exact Figshare tags:
White="Meek, Alexander Beaufort"; Black="Morphy, Paul"; Event="Mobile"; Date="1855.??.??"; Result="0-1". LibreChess parsed the main line with chess.js and stores normalised SAN. Source comments, side variations and termination detail were not retained.

LibreChess checks every SAN move with chess.js and compares the result and move sequence with a stored reference. The engine comparison was calculated offline from the fixed settings above; it is not a source for historical claims. No termination is inferred where the imported score does not preserve one.

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