SNIPPET: By the time that he was 10, Paul MORPHY (1837-84) was playing chess with some of the best players in his hometown of New Orleans. At 20, he burst onto the international scene, traveling to Europe and beating all the best chess players but one, who refused to play him. He even played blindfolded and won! He became the acknowleged "chess master" of the world before the term was used or recognized. But chess was hardly a way to make a living in the mid-19th century, so he eventually dropped it and took up law. MORPHY worked as a lawyer in New Orleans until his death.