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Classic game replay

Paul Morphy vs G. Hammond, 1859

This replay preserves the complete 43-ply score of Morphy playing White across 22 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
Paul Morphy
Black
G. Hammond
Event
USA tour sim
Year
1859
Result
1-0
Opening
C70 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Graz Variation

Opening reference: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Graz Variation (C70).

In this game, 20 half-moves are labelled opening, 23 middlegame and 0 endgame. The score contains 10 captures and 4 checks or mates; before a recorded move, the position offered a median of 37 legal choices. The source score ends after 22.Ra3 with the recorded result 1-0. 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. 6.c3 — Advance the c-pawn6.c3 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  2. 11.exf6 — Exchange on f611.exf6 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  3. 15.Qh5+ — A forcing check15.Qh5+ was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  4. 18.Bxb7+ — Capture with check on b718.Bxb7+ 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 G. Hammond, 1859

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...f6

  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.Bb5 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from f1 to b5; from b5 it attacks Black's knight on c6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bb5 a6.

  6. 3...a6 Create pressure on b5

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from a7 to a6; from a6 it attacks White's bishop on b5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · a6.

  7. 4.Ba4 Create pressure on c6

    Board fact: White moves the bishop from b5 to a4; from a4 it attacks Black's knight on c6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ba4 Nf6.

  8. 4...b5 Create pressure on a4

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from b7 to b5; from b5 it attacks White's bishop on a4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · b5 Bb3.

  9. 5.Bb3 Create pressure on f7

    Board fact: White moves the bishop from a4 to b3; from b3 it attacks Black's pawn on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bb3 Bb7.

  10. 5...Bc5 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from f8 to c5; from c5 it attacks White's pawn on f2.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Bc5 c3 Bb6 d4.

  11. 6.c3 Advance the c-pawn

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from c2 to c3; from there it controls d4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · c3 Bb6 d4 exd4.

  12. 6...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.

  13. 7.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 bishop on c5 and Black's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d4 exd4 cxd4 Bb6.

  14. 7...Bb6 Create pressure on d4

    Board fact: Black moves the bishop from c5 to b6; from b6 it attacks White's pawn on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Bb6 dxe5 Bb7 Bg5.

  15. 8.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 dxe5 Qxd8+ Nxd8.

  16. 8...Qe7 Create pressure on e5

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from d8 to e7; from e7 it attacks White's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Qe7.

  17. 9.Bd5 Create pressure on c6

    Board fact: White moves the bishop from b3 to d5; from d5 it attacks Black's knight on c6 and Black's pawn on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Bd5 Bb7 Bg5 Qd7.

  18. 9...Bb7 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from c8 to b7; from there it controls c6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bb7 Bg5 Qd7 exd6.

  19. 10.Bg5 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from c1 to g5; from g5 it attacks Black's queen on e7.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; a4 ranked higher · Bg5 Qd7 O-O h6.

  20. 10...f6 Change the pawn structure

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from f7 to f6; the move changes the central pawn contact; from f6 it attacks White's bishop on g5 and White's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Qd7 ranked higher · f6 exf6 gxf6 Be3.

Middlegame · 11.exf6 to 22.Ra3

  1. 11.exf6 Exchange on f6

    Board fact: White's pawn takes the pawn on f6; the move changes the central pawn contact; White accepts doubled pawns on the f-file; from f6 it attacks Black's queen on e7 and Black's pawn on g7; white is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · exf6 gxf6 Be3 Bxe3.

  2. 11...Nxf6 Recapture on f6

    Board fact: Black's knight recaptures the pawn on f6; from f6 it attacks White's bishop on d5 and White's pawn on e4; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Nxf6 a4 b4 O-O.

  3. 12.O-O Kingside castling

    Board fact: White castles kingside, moving the king to g1 and the rook to f1. The move changes king safety and develops the rook in one turn.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · O-O Rf8 a4 O-O-O.

  4. 12...Qd7 Reposition the queen

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from e7 to d7; from there it controls c6, d6 and e6.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; O-O-O ranked higher · Qd7 Bxf6 gxf6 Nd4.

  5. 13.Bxf6 Exchange on f6

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the knight on f6; from f6 it attacks Black's pawn on g7; white is ahead by 4 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxf6 gxf6 Nd4 Bxd4.

  6. 13...gxf6 Recapture on f6

    Board fact: Black's pawn recaptures the bishop on f6; the move changes the central pawn contact; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · gxf6 Nd4.

  7. 14.Nd4 Create pressure on c6

    Board fact: White moves the knight from f3 to d4; from d4 it attacks Black's knight on c6 and Black's pawn on b5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nd4 Rb8 Nf5 Kd8.

  8. 14...Bxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: Black's bishop takes the knight on d4; from d4 it attacks White's pawn on c3 and White's pawn on f2; black is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxd4 Qh5+ Kd8 cxd4.

  9. 15.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 pawn on h7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qh5+ Kd8 cxd4 Kc8.

  10. 15...Kd8 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the king from e8 to d8; from d8 it reinforces the queen on d7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kd8 cxd4 Kc8 a4.

  11. 16.cxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: White's pawn takes the bishop on d4; the move changes the central pawn contact; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · cxd4 Rb8 Qh6 Qe7.

  12. 16...Kc8 Reposition the king

    Board fact: Black moves the king from d8 to c8; from c8 it reinforces the queen on d7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kc8 a4 Qe8 Qh3+.

  13. 17.Rc1 Rook on the semi-open c-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from f1 to c1; the rook now works on a semi-open c-file; from c1 it attacks Black's knight on c6.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Rd1 ranked higher · Rc1 f5 exf5 Nxd4.

  14. 17...Nxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: Black's knight takes the pawn on d4; from d4 it reinforces the pawn on b5; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; f5 ranked higher · Nxd4 Bxb7+ Kxb7 Qd5+.

  15. 18.Bxb7+ Capture with check on b7

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the bishop on b7; the move checks Black's king; from b7 it attacks Black's rook on a8 and Black's pawn on a6; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxb7+ Kxb7 Qd5+ Nc6.

  16. 18...Kxb7 Recapture on b7

    Board fact: Black's king recaptures the bishop on b7; from b7 it reinforces the rook on a8; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kxb7 Qd5+ Nc6 a4.

  17. 19.Qd5+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the queen from h5 to d5; the move checks Black's king; from d5 it attacks Black's knight on d4 and Black's pawn on b5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qd5+ Nc6 a4 Kb6.

  18. 19...Nc6 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the knight from d4 to c6; from there it controls d4 and e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nc6 a4 Kb6 axb5.

  19. 20.a4 Create pressure on b5

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from a2 to a4; from a4 it attacks Black's pawn on b5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · a4 Kb6 axb5 axb5.

  20. 20...Kb6 Reposition the king

    Board fact: Black moves the king from b7 to b6; from there it controls c5 and c6.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Kb6 axb5 axb5 Nc3.

  21. 21.a5+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from a4 to a5; the move checks Black's king.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; axb5 ranked higher · a5+ Kb7 Nd2 Rhg8.

  22. 21...Kb7 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the king from b6 to b7; from there it controls c6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kb7.

  23. 22.Ra3 Improve the rook

    Board fact: White moves the rook from a1 to a3; from there it controls c3, d3 and e3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ra3 b4 Rb3 Rag8.

PGN

[Event "USA tour sim"] [Site "?"] [Date "1859.??.??"] [White "Morphy, Paul"] [Black "Hammond, G."] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5 6. c3 d6 7. d4 Bb6 8. dxe5 Qe7 9. Bd5 Bb7 10. Bg5 f6 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. O-O Qd7 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nd4 Bxd4 15. Qh5+ Kd8 16. cxd4 Kc8 17. Rc1 Nxd4 18. Bxb7+ Kxb7 19. Qd5+ Nc6 20. a4 Kb6 21. a5+ Kb7 22. Ra3 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:d20a0d36b0fd83a76de9a994dea9baa8eca7affadd5a86fae5eec53ef0a0fe76 and pins it in the selection manifest.
Exact Figshare tags:
White="Morphy, Paul"; Black="Hammond, G"; Event="USA tour sim"; Date="1859.??.??"; Result="1-0".
Reviewed display mapping: black Hammond, G → Hammond, G.. 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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