Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. – Napoleon Bonaparte
American chess master Paul Charles Morphy (1837-84) adhered to this motto when he engaged others in the royal game. He played the most uncanny and unorthodox moves during his games. Very often, Morphy actually endorsed his opponents’ difficulties by helping them along with their mistakes. He is on record as saying chess is eminently, and emphatically, the philosopher’s game. For example, take a long, deep look at today’s chess puzzle and, in solving it, you may begin to understand the nature of Morphy’s thought processes. Grandmasters seldom think in the manner of amateur chess players. This is what makes them superior-thinking beings in chess.
