Opening up young minds to the
thrust and parry of a mental duel
Here are some exerpts from chess article in The Scotsman.
When describing his own playing style the author gets very playful with
his use of words: "By my Schlieffen Plan blitzkrieg opening and Magi-not-Line-type
defence, I may not have been expert at changing step on the march but when it
came to displaying the ambit of my gambits, outmanoeuvring bishops and toppling
castles, I reckoned I was a nice mover in the imperial game and among the best
lightweight, chessboard warriors between the White Nile and the Limpopo."
On the opinion the Somali tribals formed about the game he introduced to
them: "...their views resembled that of Bernard Shaw who said that
chess was, 'a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing
something very clever, when they are only wasting their time'."
On world chess champion Jose Raul Capablanca: "The dapper Cuban...
would often stroll the streets of New Orleans staring fixedly at women or shouting,
cryptically, from his house veranda that he would plant the banner of Castile
on the walls of Madrid. When he lost to Seigbert Tarrasch in 1914, it was rumoured
that had sprung to the chessboard from the bed of a Russian grand duke’s
mistress (mate in one knight)."
On Alexander Alekhine: "The Russian world champion, hatchet-faced,
blond giant, when playing, would work his ears into indescribable shapes to
frighten opponents, would shift uneasily as if sitting on an anthill and when
he lost a game, would hurl his king across the room and sometimes smash furniture."
On the game in general: "Chess is the pulse-racing, mind-stretching
equivalent of a sword duel, with thrusts and parries, sometimes rapier-darting,
sometimes sabre-like slashing. It can lead to many surprises like one I had
on a cruise ship. When playing against myself on deck, a lad of about ten summers
asked for a game. Loftily - one should encourage the young – I agreed and
after two hours’ mind-grinding play, I lost. He was, I discovered, an English
state primary school’s chess champion."
Here is the full
article in The Scotsman.
