Paul Morphy of New Orleans

I think, unconsciously at least, I picked up The Book of the First American Chess Congress (Paul Morphy's only tournament victory) as a way of thinking about the man from New Orleans without having to confront the terrible tragedy that is unfolding in the city that he loved. I suspect there will be a lot more discussion of Morphy at chess sites and blogs in the weeks to come for much the same unstated and unconscious reason. After all, there is so little we can do (other than donating to the Red Cross) to help that terrible situation. And chess has always been a wonderful escape.

I began putting together a list of Morphy links to publish here and should have it up by the weekend.