Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-07-31
PROFESSIONAL CHESS PROFITS.
The Pecuniary Rewards Small In View Of
Demands on the Intellect.

|
Demands on the Intellect.
Professional chess players, consider.
Ing the laboriOus nature of their work.
efs character "a mind, and the long pre-
paratory study required, are probably as
i'll paid az any kind Of intellectual
workers The professional chess player
who earns by his play more than de-
cent modest living * Il highly successful
man. An expert may be hired to run a
chess automaton and play with all
Corners at a salary less than some type
writer's earn There are III all the world
probably less than half hundred high
ly skilled professional chess players.
The Hastings convention brought to-
gether %, and the number was notable.
| A few professional chess players are
men of meaps, but for the most part the
| passion for the game leads the profess
| sional player TO put aside material con-
| siderations in order to follow his bent.
Some of the best known players dress
shabbily and live plainly. The ablest
and most successful usually exc out their
incomes made directly from the game
| by writing ON chess, discussing prob
| lens, aud the like. Books on chess sue
| coed one another rapidly, but none has
| large sale. They are costly to produce,
and the stereotype plates are of small
value. The aggregate Of considerable
| prizes offered i'll chess contests through
| out the world amounts in any one year
| to only a few thousand dollars, and
| stake of 81 600 is a large one. Amateurs,
ln far tl,n, l. 81 4,
| provide the purses and meet the expenses
| Of 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
Uf the game. One whose duty it was 10
play six hours day with all corners at
place Of amusement was accustomed
to follow his days work with two hours
of laboriOus study Of special chess prob
lens. 1t was this spirit that made Paul
Morphy Of New Orleans abandon
promising career at the bar and cling 10
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 maia-
tain anywhere very large chess club.
One Of the largest III the world is in this
city, yet it is not a large club compared
with other successful clubs formed on
different lines. 1t is almost impossible
in this country TO form large chess
club on any but 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
strong contingent of good chess players
in the German quarter. They frequent
locally famous club, lodged in an old
house down Second avenue, but known
to chess experts the country over.
There are some oddly placed chess ex.
perts in remote villages who come to
Dew York perhaps once year, as TO
tbo CHESS headquarters of the country.
Cine slch man is a bank officer and gen
eral factOtum in 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 York, he bushes him
self among chess players to the neglect
Of all his friends not equally devoted to
the game New York sun.