The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-01
CHESS, INSANITY, MORALS.
AN Old aQUEsT1ON REVIVED. NIX
PILLSBURY'S DEATH.
DssSsheG spassaaks ItssAEaters NIads Pre-.
v1ously Asked After steinitz pdMorDhy
pied-Chess Players alphabetically
Answep No"-Seoond Avenue Rooks

Atlen PlaferB bDlphh'icbiiy
Answer No"-Seoond Avenue Rocks
Does ovsfdevotion to chess impair the
mental powers2 Tbe,question had tite sug-i
aestion In the death OF Harry Mellon Pills
bury with douded intellect. which was also
the fate Of, the equally renowned masters,
Steinitz and Morphy.. Tho coincidences
seem to be beyond a chance conjunction of
events, ESPECIALLY az many more great
caess players have become insane OF have
died in want.
At a reception 10 his honor ,giyen>a at the
ManhattanyC Chess Club after he had won
international laurels at Hastings, England,
In 1895, Ptlsbury referred 10 the popular
notion concerning the effeots OF oyerin-,
diligence in chess, , Regarding'a character
In an anscdote he was telling, Pillsbufy
said. .. '.tr1.'. Hr
she thought as the world does--that al
chess players, are crazy-and I sometimes
think him right" A'HE ~" :
Pillsbury's thin, angular body,was topped
by an oddly shaped, knobby head that gave
the impression Of mental power. Here's an
odd genius" a person would naturally think
before he learned Pillsbury's identity.
His eyes were of remarkable beauty.
They we're very dark and reflected the
mixed pride and friendship chat aotuated
pillsbury at the moment In a manner to
haunt one. Such eyes could hypnotize a
wooden Indian. There was something
Hncanny about them, and as Pillsbury made
the aside about craziness they seemed the
mirrors Of a mind diseased. He was only
20 and a prodigy of the game Just then.
Chess has always been the recreation Of
the few, the minority who seek something
beyond beer and skittles In their amuse-
tnents, and the resorts that amateurs fre-
quent in the metropolis are not many. The
best known are three clubs, the Manhattan,
Brooklyn and Harlem, and situated In
rooms OF restaurants or cafes On the CONT
mental blocks OF lower Second venue,
which those Of foreign birth most affect,
are the Cosmopolitan, Boulevard, Metrop-
oils, Rice and Hungarian clubs.
The Rice Chess Club meets at one Of the
largest restdurdttons on the avenu and Is
named for its patron, Isaao L., Rice. now in
Europe on business OF the Holland Sub
marine Company, of which he is president.
He has conceived a gambit, OF invented
one, that, with the positive conclusions OF a
true chess enthusiast, he believes to mark
an epoch in the game.
He has spent a good deal Of money in
inducing masters to open with his gambit
ct tournaments and In prizes for games to
include it. The club is made up of believers
In the brillianoy of the combination and In
him.
After several Fittings, the Manhattan
Chess Club has been for three years in rooms
at Carnegie Hall. This suite is q peaceful
oasis in the hurly burly of city doings, and
from the quiet inteptness OF the members
who sit over the pieces there in the after
moons and evenings there is the suggestion
Of concentrated mental energy in the place
that suggests a great consulting library.
To corner an odd clubman waiting for a
game and fire at him point blank such an
explosive, dynamite sort Of question seemed
an invasion of club etiquette, but the one
addressed, who proved to be a, veteran of
American chess, seemed to be very glad to
discuss the insanity theory and to refute it.
1T is not true that chess makes a master
morbid or impairs the mind said he.
sOur personal information and resea rches
bave caused US to lay the blame for Pills
bury's affiiction to other causes.
sFor instance, he would smoke ten or
twelve of the very strongest cigars in an
hour, at first only as a stimulus during a
match, but afterward h~abitually. He was
irregular in eating and had insomnia.
During the tournament at Cambridge
Springs, in 1904, know that P%illsbury, after
the days chess, would play bridge until
midnight, and on retiring'to his room would
read and smoke until daylight. Such a dis
regard Of natures laws would break down
IN iron man. .,. L4- ~.
"Steinitz, too, Iivedan irre guiar tfe, He
was a cripple and of;a grabbed, rtorose
disposition; besides, insanity was hereditary
In his family. f. -
Il new poor Morphy wall, a handsome
boy he was, and of gentle nature. Whenat
Che height Of his fame he fell in love with a
belle Of New Orleans, and when she re-
iected him for the reason that she could
newer marry a mere chess master, IL broke
his heart. He brooded and 'forsook chess,
living a melancholy life, that had its ending
n insanity before he VASES.
'The moderation Of chess, II reflected in
the worldly life of this trio Of masters, would
have probably prolonged their years Of use
fulness in the game and heightened their
share of earthly happiness"
There is an old painting OF Paul Morphy
on the wall Of the clubrooms. 1t depicts a
youth Of unusual beauty. 1t suggests early
pictures of Byron, but this resemblance may
Be heightened by the curling locks and loose
collar. -''l .'''
The veteran, while showing the curios,
trophies and books OF the club. reverted
again to the theme:
"Charles H. Stanley. British Vioe-Consul
1t New York, was the best chess amateur
OF the day until the rise Of Morrhy. ] met
him frequently and he was a person of de-
nghtful culture.
st seems hard that the many men emil
nent in professional and business life who
have had a hobby for chess should have to
.repel, as is frequently the case, the suspicion
Mat the game taints the intellect. The
fault rests, no doubt, in the prominence of
the three masters who have been unfortu-
nate in this way, but the ~contributory
causes have been overlooked.
1T would be a violation OF club privacy
TO tell the names Of our regular players. but
the list would include more than one man
distinguished for mental powers. The late
John r. Fellowes was a inactive member, and
District Attorney Jerome, before his cleo
ton, played daily at the club"
The chess clubs Of Second avenue are