Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-09-16

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Ghnyill, in his "vanity Of Dogma
tixing' Q66l), talks Of . sblind man
managing . game ut chess" much a.
one would speak of blind man using q
telescope-asa thing absurd on the
face of it. He was . chess-player, too;
and one would suppose be had at times
thought over games he had formerly
played, and thus learned, to some de-
gree. how q game can be mentally fol-
lowed. But the feat of blindfold chess
playing is even moro wonderful to o
chess-player who does not possess the
power of calling up before the mind q
complete picture Of board and men at
any stage of q game, than it is to one
unfamiliar with chess. For the play.
er knows how varied the resources Of
the game commonly are at each stage,
how the choice of any move from among
several which are available depends on
consequences calculated seven or eight
moves deep (not for the selected move
alone, but for each Of the rejected
moves). Now if the blindfold player
reasoned out each move, by considering
the scope and influence Of each piece,
arguing mentally, for instance, that
such and such piece having been moved
to such and such square commands
such and sIch other squares, or can be
brought In so many moves to some de-
sired position, or must be guarded by
such and such steps from other pieces,
it would be simply impossible for him
to conduct a game, or at least to COM
plete one within any reasonable time.
Yet, strangely enough, many chess
players suppose that it is feat of this
kind which the bindfold player accom-
plishes. And necessarily the marvel,
already great, becomes almost incredible
when we remember three, ten, twelve,
nay, if we remember rightly, in one case
twenty, blindfold games have been
conducted simultaneously BY one play
er.
The real meaning of the feat is un-
derstood, however, when We notice that
some of the strongest chess players
have been unable to play blindfold,
precisely az some of the greatest math-
ematicians have been unable to deal
mentally with any but the very simplest
problems. Philidor and La Bourbon
nais could both play without seeing the
board, but Mcdonnell, st. Amant, and
Staunton, never accomplished the feat
(at least in any recorded partie). Harr-
witz could play blindfolded; his rival
Horwitz could not. At the present
day Blackburne and Zukertort can play
ten or twelve games blindfold, but sew
eral of the strongest chess players living.
we do not believe, possess the power.
We must, therefore, find an explana-
tion which shall not require the blind.
fold player to be superior in chess
strength to the player who is unable to
carry on contest without seeing the
board. The explanation is simple
The blindfold player is able to picture
stage of game, and thus plays men
tally with as much ease and confidence
as If he had the board before him. If
he is conducting dozen blindfold games
simultaneously his method is the same.
We are unable to say, however, wheth-
er he pictures all the games at once, as
though the boards were ranged before
him; or calls up mental picture of
each board, with the men properly
placed for that game as its turn comes
round. Probably, in most cases, the
latter is the method adopted. 1t mat
ters little for our argument which man
ner of conceiving the boards and men
is preferred. In either case, we per-
ceive that the mind must have a COM
plete record of great number of OBJ
jects, and power of conceiving changes
Of position among these objects, strictly
analogous to that by which we have
endeavored to explain the feats of Zerah
Colburu.
There can be no doubt that some per.
sons possess the power of forming men,
tai pictures % perfect as to serve all the
purposes of objective realities-that is,
to admit Gas in the case we have sup
posed to be illustrated BY the feats of
mental calculators and chess-players)
of processes which may be called men.
tai manipulation. Most of US have ex-
perienced the existence of this faculty
in dreams. For instance, we dream
ofreading book and the mental concep-
ton Of the book is so perfect that, as it
were, we turn leaf after leaf finding each
page perfectly presented-paper, type,
arrangement, &c, all pictured bya pro-
cess of unconscious cerebration, precise
ly corresponding to the conscious action
Of the mind which We have assumed in
our explanation Of Colburn's mastery
over . certain class Of arithmetical pro-
blems. The same faculty il exercised
by the artist who draws either from
memory or BY sort Of creative talent
vhich enables him To conceive suitable