The Penn's Grove record., 1884-01-05
BIindIoId Chess.


When DR.. Zukerfort is not playing
chess he is always ready to talk chess,
and to a reporter who recently asked
him in New York to explain the method
by which he IL able to play a number Of
blindfolded games at once, he said:
"Why, willingly. l was first taught
the moves on a ~chessboard in 1860,
when | was eighteen years old. | was
at college studying the natural sclen-
ces. Soon after that | went TO the Uni
verslty of Bieslau, where there was a
chess club, and where | was beaten
nine out of every ten games | played.
This was in June 1861. Then l began
to study chess--in fact, | became infat-
uated with the game. | played IN the
day time and read chess books at night.
BY the following February there was no
man living who could give me the odds
of a knight. The great Anderson was
in Breslau and we played together a
great deal. In a series of twenty-fOur
games in which he gave me the odds of
a knight, l won twenty and drew two.
AIN reading the chess books so much
/ discovered my capacity for carrying
on a game as | read it, without looking
at a board, in much the same way as a
musician might read music. | culti-
waited the faculty, and finding that /
could play n game blindfolded, l tired
to play two games, and "a successful.
In January, 1868, l gave my first public
exhibition of blindfold playing. l
played seven games at that time, and
afterwards nine games. L never played
eight that | can remember. Gradually
| run the number up from nine to
twel ye, and finally to sixteen. That IS
as many games as IhaYe eve attempted
blindfold, and nc other player has ever
done as much. | played the sixteen in
the West End Chess Club of London,
December II, 1868, against sixteen OF
the strongest amateur players OF the St.
Georges and and West End Clubs. |
won twelve, drew three, and lost but
one. The single winner was an Ameri-
can gentleman living in London, Mr..
w. Ballard. The games that | played
recently at the Manhattan Guess Club
were not a fair test of my skill, because
of the noise and interruptions to which
| was subjected"
''Can you play more than sixteen
games, do you Think"
81 have no doubt of it. l think
there is no mental limit to the number
of games l might play, but there is a
physical limit: it IS very wearying
work"
do you play simply from memory
Il have a way of photographing a
board in my mind, and-the boards
being numbered-when one board Is
called, the photograph of the position of
the men on that board comes instantly
before my mind while the last board as
quickly disappears. l never see two
boards before me ven for an instant;
| My mind at such times is like Il wall
upon which "a magic lantern casts a
| shadow, and just as the pictures are
changed in the magic lantern 50 the
photographs of the chess board change
before my eyes"
''Do you adopt d certain set of OPEN
ingS when you undertake to play a
number of blindfold games, SO arranging
the series that you may know what
style of opening was played on a partic-
ular board?''
NO, | go entirely by the numbers Of
the boards. Each game becomes iden-
titled in my mind with acertain number,
call that number and | see the game.
The most difficult part of blindfold
playing is not, as many suppose, to-
wards the conclusions of the games,
but in the beginning of them, where
the pieces are apt to be similarly placed
on two or more boards. The further
the games progress the easier 1t is to
recall them. n board always comes
into my mind precisely as left it after
the last move. l never have to go back
over the moves to find out how the men
stand, but L can at any time give the
moves in the regular Older. | played
twelve games in Glasgow blindfolded III
January, 1873, and the play was adj
journed to attend a dinner given in my
honor. After the dinner and before
continuing the games, l named the
precise position of every man, black and
white, ON each Of the twelve boards "
"WAy Is It," asked the reporter,
that many good chess players not only
cannot play blindfolded, but are unable
to comprehend how another man does
it?n
With a little shrug DR.. Zukertort
replied;-"I suppose it is a difference
III the power Of memory. My memory
had a peculiar training. When | was
seven years old, and before l could read
or write, | was able to demonstrate
such a problem as the square of the hy-
pothenuse or to work out "a simple
equation entirely from memory. My
godfather was a professor of mathe.
MATES, and he had great faith in the
value of training the memory. / my
self believe that the memory may be
trained in the same way that we can
train our bodies. My memory is good
in other lines than chess. Whatever l
read a few times l commit to memory.
| have not read Roman history since |
was in the University; but l am ready
to stand an examination in Roman his
tory to-day. l believe | have forgotten
none of the dates. l can play over now
in my mind the games of chess that |
played in the London tournament. l
am the editor of the London Chess
Monthly, and compose nearly all my
analytical articles and notes upon games
Of chess while travelling and with no
board near me-"
You a play as well blindfolded as
you can with a board?"
mo, but l believe if ! were to prac-
tice blindfolded playing more that L
could conduct one game without a
board better than with 1t. l could
concentrate my mind more entirely by
not seeing the board"
How many blindfold players of dis
tinction are there now living?"
Not many" replied DR.. Zukertort,
they are scarce"
Cake.
A Nashville nan received a piece of
,,oll;-- o,1-o .oo..Ir- ,ul e.-I,oll,