The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-09-29


calm white forehead "pleated up" his arm
raised, ne swiftly moves and, as if caught will
the same impulse, Paulsen moves instantly
then, TOR a few seconds, there is click, click
chck-a move each second-percussion-c cans
rifles, cannons, grape, canister, the clash OF
swords--and then all is still. Flushed with the
struggle, Paulsen looks up to see why the other
sits calm and cold as an icicle; Paulsen glances
again az the board, and sees mate for himseIi
three or four moves off
Surely, thought we, chess is question Of
magnetism; given, fair parity in skill be-
tween two players, and the more powerfully
magnetic will sway and conquer the will of the
less magnetic, and force him into moves ac-
cording 80 his will. We had tried this often.
directly,swith the susceptible engraver. P. H.R.
and once, IN a reflex manner, with ]. s. OF
Providence. In this latter instance, he being
the less practced player, but of impossible
nerves, by hxlng our attention on the board at
| the same moment with him, and marking out
the best move against US, be invariably made
| that move, and won; per contra, while, in an
| other game, we made moves and then looked
away; ignored the board until he had moved :
unmagnetized, the termination of the game was
| speedily atsaiust- him
How, then, did Paulsen, with his superior
magnetism, and not very inferior Skill fail to az
| fect MorphyT The moment that Morphy com
| peted move, he threw the whole board away
from his attention-brushed away magnetism,
so to speak-often went off to the other end of
the room, and had to be summoned thence TO
| reply to Paulsen's novel, And it was very
evident that the study of the former was not at
all IN relation to what Paulsen qooald move.
but IN regard to the possible moves and com.
blnatlonsi embracing from twelve to twenty
| moves, and their twelve times twelve, and
twenty times twenty of possible inter.combina-
| tons.
| This whirl of perturbation, with accurate re.
suits IN each of thousands of combinations, evi.
IDENTITY passes through Mcrphy's mind in like
manner as in Zerah Colburn and other arith-
metcal prodigies; addition, subtraction, multi
phcatlon, and the square root, are performed
with the rapidity and accuracy of Mr.. Babbage s
| machine. So that for any one less gifted in
this peculiar power than Morphy to attempt to
play with him, is like one man at the brake of
a hre-engine, striving to play the same against
another worked by steam or, more accurately,
Tor an ordinary adept to endeavor to count in
| terest with Zerah Colburn, or the negro prodigy
| recently announced in Alabama
| This leads us to inquire what is chess 4? Is it
purely intellectual exercise, affording scope
and improvement and test of the mental facul
ties? or is it a Observation-Disclosures exercise, en-
gaging muscular as we'll as brain work? What
faculties does it call into exercise The eve
and fingers, the muscles of the arm, and the
muscles otthe orbit, the peculiar power of see
ing the meA In their places, and of seeing men
that are in their places as if they were not there
but elsewhere, and others, or blanks, where
they actually area sort of physical reticence
and inauguration acting at one and the same
moment-such is one phase Of chess exercise
Napoleon planned his battles on large maps,
with pln-heads indicating the whereabouts of
each corps, division, and even brigade. He
moved the pins about as his thought required,
and thus completed his plan. But your chess,
| player must go through this preliminary fight
without touching map or pin he must-most
difficult reticence-keep hands off until he
makes complete survey of the men and the
field and when he once touches man, it must
be moved beyond recall. This requires stretch
OF attention very exhausting, nav, almost i'm
possible to some minds it is the faculty which
phrenologists term continuity" which is the
result, for the most part, of training, sometimes
play depends on the lack of this faculty. u
L. D., for example, makes the most vigorous
attacks of any OF them, but, after the twelfth or
sixteenth move, his attention is exhausted and
some careless move makes him an easy prey to
less vigorous opponent. In his case, this
failure in attention, or continuity, as confined 10
has chess play; In business, or in public move
ments, in which he is deeply interested, he is
constant, persistent, and steadfast as a sleuth
hound. This would seem to indicate that his
perceptive faculties are deficient, or are easily
wearied over the chess board. Pr contra
among these friends, p. II. r., the engraver, is
the only one who plays an even, unhagging
game throughout; indeed, as many have found
to their chagrin, plays the better end-game the
worse his chances appear to be. His perceptive
faculties are trained by his employment, and
rather improve than weary by continuity of ex-
ercise.
Another amateur, W. c. l., is a most inter
esting study at the chess board. He has fine per
ceptive faculties, is a splendid boxer, of quick,
| strong, combative temperament, and of full
| physical imagination. He makes the most
| beautiful combinations we ever saw on the
| chess board ; they seem as brilliant as fire
works but he loses almost every game, not
| from breaking down of his continuity or atten-
ton, so much as from an incurably mercurial
| disposition, which leads him to forsake a sound
move for one apparently more brilliant, but
less safe. This gentleman bought mare the
| other day, which, in twenty four hours, kicked
three wagons TO pieces, and threw him out each
time of course, instead of getting rid of her,
he is bound to break her, it will be " such a
| splendid feat"
From the nature of the faculties which it
calls into play, we regard chess as a physical
! as well as Intellectual exercise, requiring mus
cular work as well as brain work. Cricket, bill
lizards, chess, rise from the physco-intellectual
to the intelectuo- physical and chess, billiards,
| cricket, reverse the order. Lookers-on at crick-
ct feel the blood rush, the muscles clench, and
"hurra escaping from the lips. Lockers on
| at billiards tell me that to see Phelan play
affords the highest possible physical enjoy
ment.t Lookers-on at chess feel their muscles
twitching, their fingers clasping and moving
imaginary men, and their heads aching when
the game is done.
Another reason why we regard chess less as
an intellectual than a physical exercise consists
in the fact, that the highest eminence in chess
is attained before the age of full intellectual
DEVELOPMENT In our American Chess Con-
gress. the champions of the champions were
very young men-Morphy twenty, and Paulsen
twenty-three or four. Mcdonnell, Staunton,
Harrwitz. Stanley, all won their laurels in their
carly DAYS. The best chess-players on record,
in like manner, had attained their eminence
while under thirty years of age while the hui
| man intellect is not at its full development I'M
I'll between the thirty-ffth and forty-ifth year
of the individual And if chess-playing max
imum occurs before the intellectual maximum,
it follows that chess is not purely intellectual
exercise. Furthermore, a mans force in chess,
like his physical power or force, diminishes af
ter he is thirty years of age. Yankee Sullivan
at forty three, some eighteen years after he had
passed his physical maximum, was no match
for his own equal, aged twenty-five; hence the
years told in Tom Hyer's favor. In like man
ner, Mr.. Stanley, who, at twenty-five, had won
match against Mr.. St. Amant, in New Or
leans, was but thirdrate player at forty years
of age; and the real excuse for Mr.. stauntCn,