"Morphy flashed upon the chess world like a meteor, and disappeared almost as suddenly as he came. His sad fate and untimely end were due to other causes than chess, as his friends all know. "

–W.J.A. Fuller

 

:: Pride & Sorrow || Stephano Meets Paul Morphy :: There once was a young, crazy-haired boy with an innate, natural talent for StarCraft 2. His name was Ilyes Satouri but peopled called him “Stephano.” He began as a mildly-successful WarCraft 3 player, a Human user. He favored this race due to its reliance on inexpensive units (footmen, militia, et cetera) and the necessity of an early-game economic advantage to sustain its playstyle. These, to him, drew clear parallels to Zerg of StarCraft 2 and hence his later decision to join the Swarm. Within one month of buying the game, he competes in a 16-player invite-only tournament for the best players in France. This was eOSL Winter 2010–emphasis on Winter. Previous to this, he had had solid placements in a number of French tournaments, notably fourth place at the opening event of the French Masters Series 2010-2011 season. His meteoric rise to success would not end here, however, as he would quickly go on to beat players like Sjow, Naama, Kas and ClouD in Go4SC2′s 2011 Real 100 Invitational.This tournament included the 16 top-ranked players in Go4SC2, as of May 2011-meerly six months after Stephano had purchased the game! What factors contribute to his in-game talent? As revealed in an interview with Rachel Quirico and Anna Prosser, he doesn’t have a clue! Further, in another interview with Rachel, he reveals he didn’t practice much for IPL3. Another talented gamer who seemed to possess some born-in gift was Paul Morphy, a child chess prodigy. He learned the game by watching his father and uncle play. At a very young age, when no one knew that he knew which ways the pieces move let alone complicated chess strategy, he revealed in a game abandoned as a draw, that in fact the uncle should have won. The intrigue this provoked within his family quickly grew to bewilderment as he reset the board to a key moment and instructed his uncle in the proper series of moves to achieve checkmate. He almost immediately became recognized as the best player in New Orleans. As one anecdote has it, Union General Winfield Scott, Old Fuss and Feathers, came into town (riding on a pony) and during his first night’s stay requested an evening of play with a strong local player. After dinner, the pieces were set up and a small, effeminate boy of only nine was brought in. General Scott, being a prideful man, was immediately insulted, believing someone to be pranking him. Someone would explain to him over the course of several minutes that the boy was a chess prodigy who might tax his skill. Morphy beat this esteemed general, responsible for the Anaconda Plan which secured New Orleans as a Union port, twice with little effort, announcing forced mate after only six moves. General Scott refused to play any further games and immediately retired for the night. He would hurriedly leave town the next morning. A few years later, at the behest of his father, Morphy would play chess champion Johann Lowenthal. This champion understandably underestimated his opponent but after only 12 moves he had fully realized his mistake. After this initial loss, Lowenthal lost a second time before drawing Morphy in the third. For the next seven years, no one in the chess world hears from Morphy. His initial ripples are followed by absolute silence as he pursues a law degree at Spring Hill College and then the University of Loisiana. However, graduating at only 20, he was not yet old enough to practice law and thus found himself with a plethora of time. His uncle urged him to participate in the invite-only first American Chess Congress of which he was at first wary but ultimately consented to. Here he defeated chess luminaries like Louis Paulsen and Alexander Beaufort Meek, earning the title Chess Champion of the United States. The American chess association offered a challenge to any player in Europe–because even then there existed a cross-realm rivalry–to contest a match with Morphy for any where from $2,000 to $5,000 a side. The problem? The proposed forum was New York, which at least one European found objectionable:

The Illustrated London News, Dec. 26, 1857 “The best players in Europe are not chess professionals, but have other and more serious advocations, their interests of which forbid such an expenditure of time as required for a voyage to the United States and back again. [...] If the battle were to be London or Paris, there can be little doubt, we apprehend, that a European champion could be found.” –Howard Staunton

There can be little doubt that by “chess champion” Staunton meant himself, implying that should Morphy travel to Europe, the two could then compete. Morphy had a trip planned for Europe that next year, during which he, on several ocassions, attempted to have a match against Staunton to no avail. However, Morphy did get to compete against a host of other chess greats while in England and after crossing the English channel, seeking new opponents on the Continent. He found such in Germans Daniel Harrwitz and Adolf Anderssen. At forty years of age, seven years after Staunton’s prestigious 1851 tournament where he was declared the best player in the world, Anderssen had the opportunity to play a series of official and unofficial matches against Morphy. Anderssen’s fourth and fifth decade were by far his most successful, due in no small part to Morphy’s tutelage. Remember, Anderssen was hailed as chess champion of the world at the time he wrote: “I consider Morphy the finest player who ever existed. He is far superior to any now living.” Publishing houses like to print Morphy’s tactical games, for obvious reasons. Games where he might sacrifice his queen or other important material for a positional brilliancy leading to checkmate a few short moves later. Judging from the volume of printed games with that formula, Morphy’s day-to-day style must be similar. False! He was much more conservative than that. It is popular myth that Morphy was limited to one or two ideas in his play. He was a universalist, able to perform any style as deemed by a given situation. The problem, then, is the situation Morphy repeatedly finds himself: baited into games with significantly weaker people; a grandmaster stuck playing gold leaguers because platinum doesn’t exist yet. It is said (by some; others, like Fischer, vehemently dispute this) that Morphy could not hold a candle to modern players, that he appeared as good as he was in a vacuum of sub-standard Stauntons and Steinitzs. This is a discussion for another time but it is important to understand that by all accounts these early chess “masters” were really, really baaad. That is why it is so often misrepresented that Morphy’s style is limited to high stake gambits. His goal was to eliminate bad opponents quickly in anticipation of a better match! The young effeminate Stephano and his stuffed dog Cujo have also been accused of stylistically being one trick ponies, as well. Different styles; different times; same accusation. The best-studied of these is easily his 12-minute ZvP Roach max, where the Zerg is able to quickly reach what is often twice the army supply of his opponent before utilizing Sauron-style reinforcement lines to further bash down your opponent’s walls or provide a contain while teching and expanding. Stephano did not perform miraculous never-seen-before timing attacks like this by chance or because he was terrified of his opponent in a macro game. No. It was boredom. He was ready for a more challenging match-up so he’d advance as quickly as he could. It was actually because his macro was so good that he was abe to pull this off–even his contempoarries had a hard time executing this builid initially! Another build Stephano popularized near the end of Wings of Liberty was Infestor-Broodlord. In fact, at the end of Wings of Liberty it was widely acknowledged that ZvP was broken by that composition and by Protoss’ subsequent reliance on the Archon-toilet to compensate. Stephano loved to flirt controversy. Ever a fan of the champagne shower, his primary concern often seemed not to be the tournament but the barcraft after. At one point, he was arrested for underaged drinking, and another for being too inebriated in public. This liquor-laden lifestyle lauded by Stephano is the same lifestyle so vicioulsy condemned by Morphy. Chess players who wagered on their matches were viewed no different than pub-patronizing poker players with whom Morphy wished to distance himself. At first glance this demure portrayal of Morphy seems a stark contrast to the partyboy Stephano but consider this ruse: Over 450 recorded games exist from Morphy’s short career, including off-hand games and games-at-odds, games which even today no one would bother recording despite easy access to a variety of means to do so. Simply put, Paul Morphy, like Stephano, was an exhibitionist, albeit far better at concealing it. Stephano, too, enjoyed two brief years in the spotlight. He’d always stated that his goal was to make as much money as possible from StarCraft before going to university to pursue medicine. He originally pledged one year to this pursuit but due to his wild success stayed for a second year. He has since retired but still shows up in tournaments on occassion. Like Morphy, or so it sometimes seems, Stephano does not view gaming as a reasonable stand-alone career. This is expressed in outrageously fun but not quite professional behavior such as dancing and flipping during tournaments; giving interviews inebriated; failing to show up to scheduled matches; failing to commit to contracts; and extreme partying. This refusal to take what is clearly an important aspect of one’s life seriously has been characterized by Dr. Reuben Fine, one of the best chess players of the 20th century-turned-psychologist as a refusal to take life seriously. One can see the at least-theoretical manifestations of this in both the party-driven Stephano and in Morphy’s later years. The argument here is simple: despite any inherent talent, to become a champion requires considerable effort. This exerts an opportunity cost: time spent gaming is time not spent doing other things. Morphy emerged as a chess great on an international level at 20–therefore a significant percentage of his adolescent years must have been utilized within chess, despite a lack of recorded games. In fact, no one is even sure the man ever once had sex, as his closest personal relations seem casual at best. This serves to illustrate a disconnect within Morphy’s perspective: he dedicated his biologically-prime years to two pursuits: becoming a lawyer and refining his chess game. The latter he did to perfection then dismissed as unworthy and refused to speak about thereafter. He also became a lawyer but was not successful because, he believed, people saw him as nothing more than a mere chess player.  

“It was a deeply serious issue to him at the same time he had to go to great lengths to deny this repeatedly. When he became famous, his unconciously-determined protestations that chess was a mere game for him could no longer convince others.

–Dr. Reuben Fine

Morphy never found success as a lawyer. He ended up living mostly on his father’s inheritance as he admits to one journalist. In his final years, he would scrupulously dress for a walk, studying the pretty faces of passers-by in the afternoon, retire til the evening whence he would meet his mother for a short time before the opera. He never missed a theater performance until his death in his 40s, after his walk, in his bathtub which was surrounded by carefully-arranged women’s shoes. Curiously enough, the slim, hair-concious Stephano also has a bit of a history with women’s shoes as well, hand-modeling one of Anna Prosser’s high heels during an interview for Cyber Sports Network. With so many similarities between these two child-prodigies, who thrive on recognition while denying the importance of their achievements, Morphy’s legacy may serve as a lighthouse for Stephano, a beacon signalling danger to lost gaming vessels awash on stormy seas, struggling with the battle between societal obligation and personal agency. Whether it’s an affinity for purple and women’s shoes, a carefree affect, or some innate talent, there is no denying that these two men were titans in their chosen… erm… professions. Sorry Morphy.

? The Troll The Machine ?

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