Annotated chess game: Murphy's chess game, http://gameknot.com/

« TAP TO LOG IN

ANNOTATED GAME

Murphy's chess game, http://gameknot.com/
Murphy (white) vs. Mr. Endon (black)
Annotated by: vladsot (1200)
Chess opening: Hippopotamus defence (B00)

Interactive

•

Show all comments

•

All annotated games

•

View chessboard as:

(a) Mr. Endon always plays Black. If presented with White he would fade, without the least trace of annoyance, away into a light stupor.

1. e4	(b) The primary cause of all White's subsequent difficulties.
	1 comment letshavaquickone (1200) on 07-May-13: DISCLAMER: This is from Samuel Beckett's novel 'Murphy'. It's a very sui generis game ridden with symbolism, and therefore quite inaccessible to those who haven't read the book. If you're a chess player who's interested in learning from actual chess games, maybe it's better to skip this one. Although I strongly recommend the novel, it's difficult to read but a must for those who like it when chess plays an important part in a literary text.


1... Nh6 2. Nh3 Rg8 3. Rg1 Nc6 4. Nc3 Ne5 5. Nd5	(c) Apparently nothing better, bad as this is.



5... Rh8 6. Rh1 Nc6 7. Nc3 Ng8 8. Nb1 Nb8	(d) An ingenious and beautiful début, sometimes called the Pipeopener.



9. Ng1 e6 10. f3	(e) Ill-judged.
	1 comment binblaster (1200) on 21-Feb-12: This is the only correct annotation in the whole game


10... Ne7 11. Ne2 Ng6 12. g4 Be7 13. Ng3 d6 14. Be2 Qd7 15. d3 Kd8	(f) Never seen in the Café de la Régence, seldom in Simpson's Divan.



16. Qd2 Qe8 17. Kd1 Nd7 18. Nc3	(g) The flag of distress.



18... Rb8 19. Rb1 Nb6 20. Na4 Bd7 21. b3 Rg8 22. Rg1 Kc8	(h) Exquisitely played.



23. Bb2 Qf8 24. Kc1 Be8 25. Bc3	(i) It is difficult to imagine a more deplorable situation than poor White's at this point.



25... Nh8 26. b4 Bd8 27. Qh6	(j) The ingenuity of despair.



27... Na8	(k) Black has now an irresistible game.



28. Qf6 Ng6 29. Be5 Be7 30. Nc5	(l) High praise is due to White for the pertinacity with which he struggles to lose a piece.



30... Kd8	(m) At this point Mr Endon, without as much as 'j'adoube,' turned his King and Queen's Rook upside down, in which position they remained for the rest of the game.



31. Nf1	(n) A coup de repos long overdue.



31... Bd7 32. Kb2 Rh8 33. Kb3 Bc8 34. Ka4 Qe8+	(o) Mr. Endon not crying 'Check!,' nor otherwise giving the slightest indication that he was alive to having attacked the King of his opponent, or rather vis-à-vis, Murphy was absolved, in accordance with Law 18, from attending to it. But this would have been to admit that the salute was adventitious.



35. Ka5 Nb6 36. Bf4 Nd7 37. Qc3 Ra8 38. Na6	(p) No words can express the torment of mind that goaded White to this abject offensive.



38... Bf8 39. Kb5 Ne7 40. Ka5 Nb8 41. Qc6 Ng8 42. Kb5 Ke7	(q) The termination of this solitaire is very beautifully played by Mr. Endon.



43. Ka5 Qd8	(r) Further solicitation would be frivolous and vexatious, and Murphy, with fool's mate in his soul, retires.
	2 comments binblaster (1200) on 21-Feb-12: This game is a joke! The annotation is no better... letshavaquickone (1200) on 07-May-13: Binblaster, you're not far from the truth. It -is- a joke. It's straight from Samuel Beckett's novel 'Murphy', and it's arguably the most ingenious part of the whole book. The game is highly symbolic and in fact inseparable from the plot. Also, it invites philosophical rumminations far removed from our beloved chequered square. I salute the OP for posting this literary gem.