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The Opera Game: Morphy vs the Duke and Count (1858)

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The game recorded as Paris Opera, 1858 is known as the Opera Game. Paul Morphy, playing White against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, develops with threats and finishes in 17 moves.

On this page
  1. Critical decisions
  2. Replay with move-by-move board facts
  3. PGN
  4. Sources and checking
  5. Continue with another game
White
Paul Morphy
Black
Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard
Event
Paris Opera
Year
1858
Result
1-0
Opening
C41 Philidor Defense

Opening reference: Philidor Defense (C41).

In this game, 20 half-moves are labelled opening, 13 middlegame and 0 endgame. The score contains 12 captures and 4 checks or mates; before a recorded move, the position offered a median of 33 legal choices. The final recorded move is 17.Rd8#, which is checkmate; the stored result is 1-0.

Critical decisions

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. 6.Bc4 — Moves 3-6 — the pin that backfires6.Bc4 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  2. 13.Rxd7 — Moves 12-14 — castling into the attack, Rxd7!13.Rxd7 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  3. 17.Rd8# — Moves 16-17 — Qb8+!! and the opera mate17.Rd8# 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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Paul Morphy vs Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard, 1858

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...cxb5

  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...d6 Advance the d-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from d7 to d6; from there it controls e5 and c5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d6 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 Qxd4 Nf6.

    Moves 3-6 — the pin that backfires3...Bg4 pins the knight, but after 4.dxe5 Black chooses 4...Bxf3 5.Qxf3. The exchange removes Black's only developed piece; by 6.Bc4, White's queen and bishop both attack f7.
  6. 3...Bg4 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from c8 to g4; from g4 it attacks White's knight on f3.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; exd4 ranked higher · Bg4 Be3.

  7. 4.dxe5 Exchange on e5

    Board fact: White's pawn takes the pawn on e5; the move changes the central pawn contact; White accepts doubled pawns on the e-file; from e5 it attacks Black's pawn on d6; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · dxe5 Nc6 exd6 Bxd6.

  8. 4...Bxf3 Exchange on f3

    Board fact: Black's bishop takes the knight on f3; from f3 it attacks White's queen on d1 and White's pawn on e4; black is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Nd7 ranked higher · Bxf3 Qxf3 dxe5 Qb3.

  9. 5.Qxf3 Recapture on f3

    Board fact: White's queen recaptures the bishop on f3; from f3 it attacks Black's pawn on f7; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qxf3 Nd7 exd6 Bxd6.

  10. 5...dxe5 Exchange on e5

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the pawn on e5; the move changes the central pawn contact; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · dxe5 Qb3 Bc5 Bc4.

  11. 6.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 Qf6 Qb3 Bc5.

  12. 6...Nf6 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from g8 to f6; from f6 it attacks White's pawn on e4.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Qf6 ranked higher · Nf6 Qb3.

  13. 7.Qb3 Create pressure on b7

    Board fact: White moves the queen from f3 to b3; from b3 it attacks Black's pawn on b7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qb3 Bc5 Bxf7+ Ke7.

  14. 7...Qe7 Reposition the queen

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from d8 to e7; from there it controls e5, c5 and d6.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Qe7 Qxb7 Qb4+ Qxb4.

  15. 8.Nc3 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from b1 to c3; from there it controls d5 and e4.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Nc3 c6 Bg5 b6.

  16. 8...c6 Advance the c-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from c7 to c6; from there it controls d5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · c6 Bg5 a5 O-O-O.

  17. 9.Bg5 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from c1 to g5; from g5 it attacks Black's knight on f6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bg5 b6 O-O-O Nbd7.

  18. 9...b5 Create pressure on c4

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from b7 to b5; from b5 it attacks White's bishop on c4.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qc7 ranked higher · b5 Nxb5 Qb4+ Nc3.

  19. 10.Nxb5 Exchange on b5

    Board fact: White's knight takes the pawn on b5; from b5 it attacks Black's pawn on a7; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxb5 Qb4+ Nc3 Qxb3.

    Move 10 — Nxb5!, development over materialInstead of retreating the attacked knight, 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ gives a knight for two pawns and opens lines. Black blocks with 11...Nbd7, placing the knight on the file Morphy is about to occupy.
  20. 10...cxb5 Recapture on b5

    Board fact: Black's pawn recaptures the knight on b5; the move changes the central pawn contact; from b5 it attacks White's bishop on c4; black is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qb4+ ranked higher · cxb5 Bxb5+.

Middlegame · 11.Bxb5+ to 17.Rd8#

  1. 11.Bxb5+ Recapture on b5

    Board fact: White's bishop recaptures the pawn on b5; the move checks Black's king; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxb5+ Nbd7 O-O-O Qc5.

  2. 11...Nbd7 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from b8 to d7; from there it controls e5, c5 and f6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nbd7 O-O-O Qc5 Bxf6.

  3. 12.O-O-O Queenside castling

    Board fact: White castles queenside, moving the king to c1 and the rook to d1. The move changes king safety and develops the rook in one turn.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · O-O-O Qc5 Bxf6 Bd6.

    Moves 12-14 — castling into the attack, Rxd7!12.O-O-O brings the a1-rook to d1. After 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1, the other rook replaces it on the open file; Black's knight on g8 and rook on h8 still have not moved.
  4. 12...Rd8 Rook on the open d-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from a8 to d8; the rook now occupies the open d-file; from d8 it reinforces the knight on d7.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Rd8 Rxd7 Nxd7 Bxe7.

  5. 13.Rxd7 Exchange on d7

    Board fact: White's rook takes the knight on d7; the rook now occupies the open d-file; from d7 it attacks Black's queen on e7 and Black's rook on d8; white is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rxd7 Nxd7 Bxe7 Bxe7.

  6. 13...Rxd7 Recapture on d7

    Board fact: Black's rook recaptures the rook on d7; the rook now occupies the open d-file; from d7 it reinforces the queen on e7; black is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Rxd7 Rd1 Qc5 Bxf6.

  7. 14.Rd1 Rook on the open d-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from h1 to d1; the rook now occupies the open d-file; from d1 it attacks Black's rook on d7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rd1 Qc5 Bxf6 Bd6.

  8. 14...Qe6 Create pressure on b3

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from e7 to e6; from e6 it attacks White's queen on b3.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qb4 ranked higher · Qe6 Bxd7+ Qxd7 Qb8+.

  9. 15.Bxd7+ Capture with check on d7

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the rook on d7; the move checks Black's king; from d7 it attacks Black's queen on e6; white is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxd7+ Qxd7 Qb8+ Ke7.

  10. 15...Nxd7 Recapture on d7

    Board fact: Black's knight recaptures the bishop on d7; from d7 it reinforces the bishop on f8; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qxd7 ranked higher · Nxd7 Qb8+ Nxb8 Rd8#.

  11. 16.Qb8+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the queen from b3 to b8; the move checks Black's king; from b8 it attacks Black's pawn on a7 and Black's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qb8+ Nxb8 Rd8#.

    Moves 16-17 — Qb8+!! and the opera mate16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# deflects the d7-knight to b8. The rook checks along the eighth rank, and the bishop on g5 protects the rook on d8 so the king cannot capture it.
  12. 16...Nxb8 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black's knight takes the queen on b8; black is ahead by 10 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxb8 Rd8#.

  13. 17.Rd8# Checkmate

    Board fact: White's rook moves from d1 to d8 and delivers checkmate; Black's king has no legal way to answer the attack.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rd8#.

PGN

[Event "Paris Opera"] [Site "?"] [Date "1858.??.??"] [White "Morphy, Paul"] [Black "Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 dxe5 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Qb3 Qe7 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bg5 b5 10. Nxb5 cxb5 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12. O-O-O Rd8 13. Rxd7 Rxd7 14. Rd1 Qe6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8# 1-0

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:e948882253908d11aa0e33fa6671bb6b82bffb10d6e7fdad9d6d2efef7fe0928 and pins it in the selection manifest.
Exact Figshare tags:
White="Morphy, Paul"; Black="Isouard, Carl"; Event="Paris it"; Date="1858.??.??"; Result="1-0".
Reviewed display mapping: black Isouard, Carl → Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard; event Paris it → Paris Opera. 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 or a substitute for the authored notes. No termination is inferred where the imported score does not preserve one.

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