The Opera Game
The idea: development — bring every piece into play before you attack.
Read it
The same game for older readers
- The annotated game · ages 15-18
- For grown-ups · for grown-ups
Who is in this book
-
Sir Pinwell A pin freezes a piece along a line from GambitTales -
Captain Crossfire A double attack — one move threatens two targets from GambitTales -
Captain Castle Castling — tuck the king away and bring the rook into play from GambitTales -
Gable & Garrett Rooks in straight lines, doubled on an open file from GambitTales -
Sir Sidetrack Deflection — chase the guard off its duty, then take what it protected from GambitTales -
Kester the Finisher Checkmate — a check the king cannot escape, block or capture from GambitTales -
Inkling a child of the Green Names what she notices
Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.
The Honest Page
Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?
True
- Every move in this story is the real game: Paul Morphy against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, seventeen moves, mate.
- It was played in a box at the Italian Opera in Paris, in the autumn of 1858. Source
- At the end, Black's king's bishop and king's rook had never moved.
Stretched
- Which opera was playing is disputed. The story says The Barber of Seville. What we simplified: Edward Winter's review gives Norma in late October or, most probably, The Barber of Seville on 4 November 1858; the story picks one. Source
- Morphy is said to have played facing the stage, a little bored. What we simplified: That is a story told about the evening, not a recorded fact.
Made up
- Captain Castle's academy, the re-staging, and chess pieces who talk are made up.
Tell it back
Tell the story in your own words: who was there, what went wrong, and what they found out. Then the Opera Game score sheet goes on your belt.
On your belt: the Opera Game score sheet.
Your belt lives on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Ring the hammer for someone
Pick this book for someone younger. The link carries only the book, and it will wait for them on the Green.