Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-02-14
PROFESSIONAL CHESS PROFITS.
The Pecuniary Rewards Small Tn v,a,v :
 Demands on the Intn,l.ct

f1t
 Demands the Intellect.
 Professional chess players, consider. ing the laborious nature of their work ehe character of mind, and the long pre- para'ory study required, are probably as III paid as any kind of intelleetnal workers. The professional chess nlaver who earns by his play more than 2 de. cent modest living is highly successful nun. An expert may be hired to run a chess automaton and play with all corners at salary less than some tyne "rlters earn. There are in all the world pFobably less than half hundred hioh- y skilled professional chess players me Hastings convention brought to- gether 22, and the number was notable
 A lew professional chess players are men of means, but for the most part the passion for the game leads the profes- slonal player to put aside material con slderatlons In order to follow his bent. Some of the best known players dress shabbily and live plainly. The ablest and most successful usually eke out their incomes made directly from the game Dy Writing on chess, discussing prob- 1ems, and the like. Books on chess sno- ceed one another rapidly, but none has large sale. They are costly to produee. ana the stereotype plates are of small value The aggregate of considerable prlzes offered in chess contests throuph- out the world amounts ill any one year to only few thousand dollars. and a stake of $1 ,000 is a large one. Amateurs. who far outnumber the professionals. provide the purses and meet the expenses ot the match games. St. Petersburg is an Important chess center, and there the travelling expenses of the professionals are made up by the local clubs.
 Professional chess players are rarely men of liberal education and usually men of one idea. Chess has been the di- version of great and broad minded men. but It IS commonly the business of men devoted to one idea. The professional chess player seems tireless in the pursuit of the game. One whose duty it was to play six hours day with all corners at place of amusement was accustomed to follow his day y's work with two hours of laborious study of special chess prob lens. 1t was this spirit that made Paul Morphy of New Orleans abandon a promising career at the bar and cling to the game until his physician warned him that he must give it up or lose his reason.
 Famous as chess has long been, there are comparatively few really skilled amateurs, and it is impossible to main tain anywhere very large chess club. One of the largest in the world is ill this city, yet it is not a large club compared with other successful clubs formed on different lines. It is almost impossible i'll this country to form large chess club on any hut socially democratic lines. Some of the best amateur chess players are mechanics who would find the atmosphere of the ordinary social club quite uncomfortable. There is q strong contingent of good chess player i'll the German quarter. They frequent a locally famous club, lodged in an old house down Second avennue, but known to chess experts the country over.
 There are some oddly placed chess ex- perts in remote villages who come to New York perhaps once year, as to the chess headquarters of the country. One such man is a bank officer and gen. eral factotum i'll small border state city. Although occupied with a thou sand business details he finds time to conduct games by correspondence with European experts, to arrange chess tour naments and to write upon chess. When he comes to New ork, he busies him, self among chess players to the neglect of all his friends nol lually devoted to the game New York Sun.