The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-30
PHILADELPHIA Times.

reerS.
From the Philadelphia Times.
Chess players-and by that term is
meant those who dwarf every other mem
tai instinct TO the defense of the king
against the queen, rock, knight, bishop and
pa wn-naturally gathered about the young
marvel Pihsbury the other night, in an
upper floor of the Betz building, when,
blindnolded, he met in combat twenty
players, whose eyes had undimmed sweep
of their boards of sixty-four squares. But
some of those who witnessed that marvel
Gus performance, and that wonderful
working of a brain overturned to but one
idea, could not refrain from thinking with
inward dread of the newspaper announce
nhent of a few days before that William
Steinitz, one of the greatest chess players
the world has ever known, and who had
been recently released from a sanitarium
for cranial recuperauon, had again fallen
into the abyss of mental darkness.
New York dispatch, bearing date of April
&C. announced that he suffered from "a
hallucination that he had made a great
discovery and was the possessor of i'm
mense wealth. Last night he went to
walk, and it was found afterward that
he had given all the money with him to
small boys. He will probably be again
committed to an asylum for the insane"
While a statement of this kind is har-
rowing and sad, it is neither startling nor
new Mental alienation appears to be the
fate of famous chess players and il is
natural result of their cultivating one
power of the human makeup at the ex-
pense of nearly all others
Klzr fntA InN
Morphy?
He reigned in the chess world from 1854
10 1860. He was only thirty-f1ve years of
age when he died. and to those who know
the intensity of Intellectual work required
for championship chess it will not sound
surprising to record that he f1ickered out
with a diseased brain. II would ne. strange
II il were otherwise. Gray matter be-
comes tired as well as muscular tissue.
But in his day he was phenomenal. He
was the first man to play chess blindfold-
ed meeting, in this darkened contest
from six to eight opponents at one time.
One who has not witnessed this feat can
nor appreciate its marvellous character
The blindfolded contestant sits far away
from the table of his antagonist and car
rying in his mind the position of every
piece upon the checkered square, meets
move after move when Informed of it,
without seeing either piece or table. To
do that he must have photographed upon
his brain every able upon which he is
making battle. The next man to accom-
plish this feat was Zukerfort. a German,
who played blindfolded, at one time, six
teen separate games. and the estimate in
which this feat was held was displayed
by the fact that by special solicitation it
was done in the presence of Queen Vic
toria, the Prince of Wales. and all the
other members of the royal house of
Great Britain.
That IS now outdone by the American
BOY, Pilsbury.
For twenty-sx years StenitZ was rec
orgnized as the chess champion of this
country. He introduced new school
and remained its master for more than
one-quarter of a century He is a Bohem-
ian by birth; emigrated to England, and
finally located in America, and became
one of its many citizens. He has played
as many as four games at one time while
biindfolded. In the Irving House, in this
city, he did a little more than that for.
with the handkerchief bound about his
eyes, he not only successfully met four
contestants at chess, but also won a game
of whist at the same time He was one
of eighteen of the greatest players of
chess in the world who met few years
ago in Hastings, England. Among the
other contestants was a young fellow
from Boston, afterward resident of
Brooklyn named -Pillsbury- He Is now
ducuA INTERVIEWING. years OF age. he
gained local reputation at the Hub when
he was sixteen years old, and two years
leter he exhibited prowess at home as
a blindfoided player. But the great world
of chess knew little of him until he par
t1cipated in the famous Hastings tourney,
and for the first time in twenty-six years
unhorsed the famous StenitZ. The boy
Pillsbury won the first prize.
The greatest chess organization in the
world is the st. Petersburg Chess Club.
Its membership includes all the leading
mobiles of Russia They were incredulous
as to the American boys ability to defeat
the masters OF the most scientific game
that was ever devised by man. They de-
termined-to bring him in contact with the
three greatest living masters of the art,
who were then recognized in the person.
age OF Laskar. who claimed to represent
England. although he was German by
birth; Tschgorn. of Russia. and SteinitZ
whose mental burial has just been sor-
rowfullv recorded. Never in the chess
history of the world has four masters Wed
one with the other. and for the first time
was an opportunity given to determine
who was the king in the realms of chess.
Pillsbury met the issue manfully. 1t was
arranged that each contestant should plav
Elk games with each of his opponents.
Few of you realize what that means as
an intellectual feast; 1t necessitates from
i've to six weeks OF steady brain exer-
ton. OF a character that cen not fail to
seriously strain the strongest mind. AS
the contest was held in st. Petersburg
Il was natural that the Russians should
make Tschgorin their favorte; but when
the Yankee demonstrated his ability to
defeat the Muscovite easily. Pillsbury was
made the favorite, of the most important
chess center in Europe In the nine
games he played in the first half OF the
Russian tournament, he defeated Tschgorin
IN all three of their encounters; won two
and a half of the three games from
Laskar, but from Steintz he could not win
O all although American experts contend
ed thai in each of these he had victory
well within his grasp. It really appeared
as though Steinitz had cast a spell over
The genius of the lad.
And now Steinitzs mind has failed him,
and darkness broods over the scene OF
his old-,ime wonderful mental activity,
The professional chess player is tire
less in the pursuit of the craze that
possesses him. He who will play six
hours day. meeting all corners in public
tourney will follow that work with i've