The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-21
Steinitz Talks on Chess.

Friday, Jan. 90.
Steinitz Talks ON Chess
| New York Tribune.
| man who can do something better than any
| other man in the world is apt to put on airs
and is rapidly excused for it. But neither Stein
| itz nor Zukertort. who. without doubt, can beat
| all other men at chess, needs any such excuse.
They are both men of affable manners and ex-
ceptionally modest demeanor. A reporter called
on Mr. Steinitz yesterday at his home, No. $50
Fulton avenue. Brooklyn, and found him hard at
work preparing analyses of the recent games
| for his international Chess Magazine, with the
| assistance Of his co-editor, Eugene Soberheim.
| Nevertheless he readily consented to talk about
chess. Though presenting all the outward as
poets or phegmatic temperament Mr.. Steintz
! has found out to his sorrow that he has plenty of
nerves, and they have cost him several sleepless
| nights since his match with Zukertort for the
| championship of the world began.
But expected it," he said cheerily. 81 al
ways suffer that way at the beginning of my
matches or tournaments. 1t was at the vi
emma tournament in 1882, when after eight days
! of play stood eleventh or twelfth in the race,
but recovered my form, got to sleeping well,
and as result tied with Winawer for first and
| second prizes. The same trouble upset me at
| the beginning of the London international
| tournament in 1883. In my present match
have not only the strain of actual play to reduce
but the work of Analysing the games and pre-
| pairing the matter for my magazine, involving
| an immense amount of exhaustive work. But,
as has happened heretofore, expect to pick up
| my form and then give a better account of my
| self. When one doesn't sleep we'll he may plan
good game, but is apt to blunder in carrying
out the details. He can't see into the game so
we'll"
'How far does the expert generally 90 into the
game2" asked the reporter.
lone can't give specific answer to that cues
tion Sometimes two-move problems will puzzle
an expert; at another time he may see the solu
ton of a six-move problem at glance. In some
BINDINGS see almost twenty moves
ahead. Problems have been evolved looking
one hundred moves ahead. But in such cases
the mo7es are forced. The same process is re-
peated and there are no variations possible.
Ordinarily, l should say that frst-class player
sees five or six moves ahead. The possible com
binatons in game Of chess are practically inf
mite. At the outset you have the choice of
twenty moves, and to each one of these moves
your opponent, in reply. has twenty moves to
choose from. 1t is like the old problem of start
ing with penny and doubling it for each sue
ceeding nail in a horses Shoes"
"What are the qualities requisite to make
good chess player?'
First should say, Judgment That judy
ment may be intutive acquired by long prac-
tce. Intuitiye judgment is the highest gift.
That implies originality-capacity to depart from
accuracy and what might be called far-seeing.
One may be good at mapping out a general plan,
but weak in carrying out the details Another
may be accurate IN his play but not good at plan
qualities Memory and imagination-the power
to see with the minds eye the men in various
combinations-are important elements"
What temperament do you think the best?"
"The nervous temperament. A race-horse has
more nerves than donkey. 1t requires deli
cate organization to produce the fine combina-
tons necessary to rank as an expert Good
chess players generally suffer much from their
nerves.
"What do you think Of chess as mental exer-
cisel'
II think it does for the brain what athletics
do forpthe body. 1t both stimulates ard con-
serves the mental powers. Chess players, as a
class, live long. statistician has computed
that the average duration of life for profess
sional chess player is sixty FIVE years Like
every mental and physical exercise, it may, of
course, be overdone. A man should not 90 in
for more of it than he can stand, and he soon
finds out what his limit is. It is opposed to the
drinking habit and the gambling spirit. There
fore, it is good game for the workingman. It
ought to be generally encouraged"
viii you give me your estimates of Paul
Morphy as a chess payerF
Il know" replied Mr. Steinitz, smiling, 'that
is delicate subject to speak of where Ameri-
cans are concerned He is their chess idol But
| will speak of him frankly. owe much to him.
his victories in Europe first stimulated me to
take up chess in earnest. tried to initiate HIM
until found that modern progress had i'm
proved upon his play in some respects. There
can be no doubt that the man had genius for
chess-playing. He was the best player of his
time. He was original. He invented new open
ings. But it is proved by these that great prog
ress has been made since his day Many of them
have been modified by the accepted chess mas
ters of this generation. The popular notion as
to Morphy's style of play is erroneous He
was not a brilliant player, according
to the ordinary understanding of that
phrase. He didn't sweep Napoleon like over
the chess-feld, making apparently reckless sacri-
fees to get at the king. He belonged rather to
the modern school of chess players. His play
that is. when he met good chess players-was
strong and safe. In his sixty-three match games
he never voluntarily sacrificed a pawn. When
he played with weaker players. of course, he was
able to exhibit the brilliant headlong sort of play
that captivates the spectators. 1t must be re.
membered, also, that of the many players he con-
quered who survived his retirement from the
chess-field only one remained in the front rank
Andersen. What Paul Morphy did is on record.
What he might have done had he retained his
faculties unimpaired, and continued in the chess
field, is matter of conjecture He might still
be the best player in the world. But it is foolish
to say that there has been no progress in chess
since his day."
Dr. Zukertort seems to hold somewhat the
same views of Morphy's play as does Mr..
Steinitz w. j. A Fuller, writing recently of
Paul Morphy, cites as an instance of his genius
a game that he won from Paulsen in which
Morphy sacrificed queen for bishop, Paulsen
celebrating an hour before taking the queen.
Meanwhile" adds Mr. Fuller ''the rest of US