The Chess Players

The Chess Players is a historical novel based on the life of Paul Morphy, who is considered to have been the world chess champion and possibly the greatest chess player in the history of the game. However, this is not a book about the game of chess. There are no chess diagrams in this book, no moves, no positions, no opening traps or tricks on how to catch an unwary opponent. Rather, this book is about the players, the people who play chess. It was a popular book when it came out in 1960, spending several weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers List. Paul Charles Morphy was born on June 22, 1837 in New Orleans Louisiana. He learned the moves of chess simply by watching his uncle and father play. Nobody taught him the rules. By age 9 he was regarded as the best player in New Orleans. By age 21 he was regarded as the best chess player in the world. But then he quit chess and never played a serious game again. Ever since, players have wondered what ever happened to Paul Morphy. This book by Frances Parkinson Keyes is historical fiction. However, she went to great lengths to research her subject matter and ensure the historical, geographical, linguistic and even scientific accuracy of her writings. In 1959, while writing this book, she contacted David Lawson, who was recearching the Life of Paul Morphy. Lawson had been researching the Life of Morphy since 1938. Finally, in 1976, Lawson published Paul Morphy: Pride and Sorrow of Chess, the best biography of Morphy and the book Lawson had been working on for 38 years. Lawson was 89 years old when the book came out.