Chess Historians...Huh!

@greenpawn34
hi GP,
another enjoyable blog. Regarding the move 24. b3 in the luizderli - Colgorm game the possibilities I can think of are that 24. b3 prevents a later Qh4 which white might worry kept his queen tied to the centre, it also gives black a chance to move the knight so that he can get his queen to g6, which does happen a couple of moves later. luizderli's rating's never been over 1750, so it's also possible he was stuck for a move and did something harmless looking - I know I do that kind of thing every now and again 🙄.

As a minor point in the note to move 4. h3 you have "What wants to...", I think you want "White wants to...".

Hi DeepThought

You could be right about 24.b3 but following an old writers trick,
if you not sure best to say nothing, I said something but it was really nothing.

caught the spell corrector error. What to White. Thanks.

@greenpawn34 said

Edward Winter made me buy and listen to ‘Norma’ because he said that was the
opera being played when Morphy played his famous Opera game in Paris 1858.

He has changed his mind, now it’s ‘probably’ ‘The Barber of Seville.’ Huh!

@shallow-blue said
I'm sure he's still wrong. Can you imagine Morphy watching a norma(l) opera? Nah. It must've been either a Philidor production, or Der Seekadett.

Hi Ponderable It is still being played.

@ponderable said
der Seekadett (after which the famous mate is named) has been first palyed in 1876, some 18 years after the famous game 😉