EpisodesQuick 05

The Most Famous Checkmate in Chess History

A rook, then the queen. Morphy gives both away, and the last rook slides to d8.

Now playing0:40

The Most Famous Checkmate in Chess History: the video's cover

YouTube Subscribe

Paul MorphyWins · material 15/39

The Duke of Brunswick and Count IsouardK.O. · material 25/39

White: Paul MorphyAge 21. Alone.
Black: The Duke of Brunswick and Count IsouardKarl II, Duke of Brunswick, and Count Isouard de Vauvenargues, playing together.
Event: Consultation game in a private box at the opera
Place: Paris, France
Date: Autumn 1858
Opening: Philidor Defense (C41)
Result: 1-0Checkmate, 17 moves
Video: 0:40Published 12 November 2026

The story

Paris, autumn 1858. In a private box at the opera, Paul Morphy, 21 years old, plays a game of chess against two noblemen at once: Karl II, Duke of Brunswick, and Count Isouard, who consult on every move.

Their opening is passive, and by move 9 Morphy is clearly better. Then 9...b5 attacks his bishop. Morphy takes the pawn with a knight, giving a piece for two pawns: the engine rates it the best move by a wide margin.

By move 12 every white piece is in play. Two black pieces, the bishop on f8 and the rook on h8, never move in the whole game.

13.Rxd7 gives a rook for a knight. The black rook that takes back is pinned at once by 14.Rd1, and one move later it falls.

Then the finish. 16.Qb8+ puts the queen where a knight can take it, and the knight must: it is Black's only legal move. 17.Rd8 is checkmate. Morphy mates with a rook and a bishop, the last two pieces he has.

Key moments

Frames from the video, one for each turning point.

13.Rxd7!
The rook sacrifice
A rook for a knight. The black rook that takes back is about to be pinned.
14.Rd1
The pin
The rook on d7 is pinned to its king by the bishop, and attacked twice.
15.Bxd7+
The rook falls
The knight takes back and leaves the diagonal. The bishop on g5 now guards d8.
16.Qb8+!!
The queen sacrifice
Black has one legal move: the knight must take the queen.
17.Rd8#
Checkmate
A rook and a bishop give mate. They are the last two pieces Morphy has.

Command list

Morphy vs The Duke and the Count · 33 plies · 1-0

1.e4e5
2.Nf3d6
3.d4Bg4
4.dxe5Bxf3
5.Qxf3dxe5
6.Bc4Nf6
7.Qb3Qe7
8.Nc3c6
9.Bg5b5?
10.Nxb5!cxb5
11.Bxb5+Nbd7
12.O-O-ORd8
13.Rxd7!Rxd7
14.Rd1Qe6
15.Bxd7+Nxd7
16.Qb8+!!Nxb8
17.Rd8#

The PGN file

[Event "Consultation game, private box at the Paris opera"]
[Site "Paris FRA"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Morphy, Paul"]
[Black "Karl II, Duke of Brunswick; Isouard de Vauvenargues, Count"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[Opening "Philidor Defense"]
[Source "Compared and identical: Wikipedia 'Opera Game' (score, October or November 1858, Salle Ventadour / Italian Opera; consultation game); GothamChess video rzGTG04u1gs (moves spoken in order, 'a 17 move game'); research/audience-video-ideas-2026-11-06/candidate-games.pgn (written from memory 2026-10-16, now confirmed). chessgames.com not reachable. The date, the opera and the Duke's behaviour at the board are disputed in the sources (Wikipedia, citing Winter); the score is not."]
[Termination "Checkmate 17.Rd8#"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 dxe5 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Qb3 Qe7 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bg5 b5 10. Nxb5 cxb5 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12. O-O-O Rd8 13. Rxd7 Rxd7 14. Rd1 Qe6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8# 1-0

Behind the edit

What it took to turn 9 plies into 0:40 of video. Counted from the finished edit.

Effects: 364
Kinds of effect: 59
Sound cues: 21
Moves, each with its own light: 9
Seconds of video: 40

What we checked

Every caption in the video was checked against the sources. Some well-known stories did not survive.

The name of the opera.
Many tellings name the opera that was being performed. The sources do not agree on it, so this page says only: an opera in Paris.
A forced mate from the rook sacrifice.
Not quite. The only forced move is the last one, 16...Nxb8. One move earlier, 15...Qxd7 would have avoided the mate and lost more slowly.
Black was fine until one blunder.
The engine has White about three pawns ahead before 9...b5. That move made it worse; it did not start the trouble.
Morphy mated with his last two pieces.
Counted move by move. He starts with seven pieces besides the king and the pawns, and gives or trades five of them: at the mate only the rook on d8 and the bishop on g5 are left, and he is ten points behind on material.
13...Rxd7 was Black's only move.
It is often said. Taking with the knight was possible too, and the engine finds it just as bad.

Credits

Music and voices: original.

Sources

Wikipedia, "Opera Game"

Next fight