The American School

Among the four greatest chess players of the Americas, a number of interesting correlations might be noted.

Official world champion: Capablanca, Fischer

Informal world champion: Morphy, Blue

Child prodigy: Morphy, Capablanca, Fischer, Blue

Learned chess from father: Morphy, Capablanca

Did not know father: Fischer, Blue

Never married: Morphy, Fischer, Blue

Exhibited mental instability: Morphy, Fischer

Died from stroke: Morphy, Capablanca

Had very brief chess career: Morphy, Blue

Abandoned chess: Morphy, Fischer, Blue

Disparaged chess: Morphy, Capablanca, Fischer

Considered chess "dead": Capablanca, Fischer

Offered substitute for chess: Capablanca, Fischer

Revolutionized chess technique: Morphy, Capablanca

Openings scholar: Morphy, Fischer, Blue

Attacking genius: Morphy, Fischer, Blue

Positional genius: Capablanca, Fischer

Endgame genius: Capablanca, Fischer, Blue

Open game specialist: Morphy, Blue

Unusual stylistic simplicity: Morphy, Capablanca, Fischer, Blue

Considered machinelike by contemporaries: Capablanca, Fischer, Blue


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