Murphy's 59th minute goal cancelled out Jack Lester's 23rd of the season five minutes earlier in a match low on quality and chances.
Both teams created little in a low-key first-half which was only really notable for a two-footed lunge by Janos Kovacs that prompted referee Michael Oliver to show the defender only a yellow card.
Under the new ruling on reckless tackles, Kovacs should have been sent off and Chester would have been rightly angry if the home side had gone on to win the match.
There was little sign of either side finding a winner before the interval, with the closest Chesterfield came being a low shot from on-loan Brendan Moloney which just went past a post in the 29th minute.
The dangerous Lester avoided two defenders before his shot was charged down, but the former Nottingham Forest striker could not be denied in the 54th minute when he finally pounced on a loose ball.
For the first time in the match, Chester's central defenders failed to get the ball away and Lester lifted it over John Danby from eight yards out.
With Chester losing seven of their previous eight games, there looked to be no way back for the visitors, but five minutes later they were level.
This time it was the Chesterfield defence which did not deal with a cross from the right and when the ball fell to Murphy, the experienced striker squeezed a shot between Barry Roche and his left-hand post.
That was Chester's first goal since January 5 and, although there was little sign of another following, Chesterfield also did not look like scoring.
Although they forced a number of corners, the delivery was poor and the closest the home side came to regaining the lead was a free-kick from Jamie Ward that went just past the far post with no-one able to apply a finishing touch.
Chester had a glimpse of goal themselves deep in stoppage time when they broke away and Mark Hughes drove in a 25-yard shot which Roche saved comfortably to his left.