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Chess Book Reviews

A First Book of Morphy

by Frisco Del Rosario

Trafford, 2004. 213 pages. $18.95

Frisco Del Rosario, former editor of the California Chess Journal, possesses considerable skills as a writer and teacher. This collection of annotated games benefits greatly from his excellent prose. The author combines Morphy's games with instructional chess concepts from Reuben Fine and Cecil Purdy. The volume is chock full of helpful tips and advice (with some exceptions, noted below). Explanations are available for all important moves, and this is without doubt the most accessible and readable collection of Morphy games. In addition, entire sections are devoted to explaining key concepts of the game, and the author doesn't hesitate to use examples from other players when necessary. The layout of the book is very readable.

Unfortunately, there are a few things which render the book inappropriate for beginners, making the title of the book a bit misleading. For some reason, abbreviated notation without capture or check indicators is used, and the diagrams do not include coordinates. Morphy's games are ideal for beginners, no doubt about it. However, some of the games are presented in chapters headed by "rules" that have long been discredited. For example, we see such things as "Don't move the same piece twice in the opening if you can help it." This of course rules out 4.Ng5 in the Two Knights, a very popular and effective opening for beginners. Develop knights before bishops? That hasn't applied for a long, long time. "The easiest endgames to win are pure pawn endgames" is just nonsense! The easy endgames are things like queen and rook vs. bare king. Pawn endgames can be tremendously complex, unless you have a few extra. The uncritical repetition of bad or unjustified advice really takes the book down a peg. Many of the rules are just advice. How can you have a rule "develop with threats" when in most cases that simply isn't possible. I have dealt with many of these issues in my Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom, pointing out numerous cases where the ancient chestnuts don't apply, or are simply wrong.

I highly recommend this book to players with a skill level high enough not to be misled by some of the "rules". Most students who have achieved a rating of 1000 or higher will benefit most from the book. The book can be used in courses or private instruction, as long as there is a teacher who can warn against some of the misleading "rules". Get it as a well-written collection of Morphy games, ignore the "rules", and you will have an enjoyable learning experience.