The Chess Players
Paul Morphy was the scion of two outstanding Creole families. His paternal grandfather, Diego Morphy, had been Spanish Consul, first in Charleston and then in New Orleans; his maternal grandfather, Joseph Le Carpentier, commonly called the "double-tongued," was a successful French auctioneer. On the condition that Le Carpentier would build a house suitable for a superb bridal residence and that his daughter, the beautiful Telcide, should be provided with a fantastic dowry, Don Diego gave his consent to an alliance between her and his son Alonzo, a promising young lawyer destined to become a justice in the supreme court of Louisiana. It was a step down, socially, for the Morphys, but Don Diego felt there were compensations, especially as he and Joseph Le Carpentier had long had a common bond in their love of chess: closer ties would facilitate more and more frequent games.