Was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion.
A chess prodigy, he was called "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess" because he had a brilliant chess career but retired from the game while still young. Commentators agree that he was far ahead of his time as a chess player, though there is disagreement on how his play ranks compared to modern players.
In 1858, Morphy traveled to Europe to play European Champion Howard Staunton. Morphy played almost every strong player in Europe, usually winning. The match with Staunton never materialized, but Morphy was acclaimed by most in Europe as the world's best player.