The Detroit times., 1910-12-17

liners crossing in Opposite uireo'ioHs
This use of the wireless Is not
snrnrise TO those familiar Win 'hs
histnry NJ the most remarkable ana
sciantific game ever concelNeu y!
man for every invention OF new
means for rapid transference OF IN,
between distant points hae
been utilized by the chess pia!ei'
Matches are said to have been play
ed by correspondence between rteu
erick the Great OF Germany, ana VOL
taire. when a swift courier service
between Potsdam and Paris was IN
aueurated TO carry the news Oh lpe
next move" With the Improvement
I'm post roads, contests between 'i'c
champions OF Edinburgh and LONDON,
werc inaugurated as early as le-o
and the first chess game by telegraph
was played between players in WASH
ineton and Baltimore in lS44, in the
varv infancy of the Morse Telegraph.
Cable matches between the United
states and England came with the
laying OF the first cable ana these
continue TO the present day, the
George Newnes trophy peihg the
chief stakes.
The practicability of chess oy
cable, telegraph and wireless is que
largely to the great Syrian player
stamina, OF Aleppo, who invented 'he
present system OF notation. froih
this region OF the world we are IN
debted also for our problems III
chess. as Mutasim Billah, son Oh
Haroun-al- Raschid, OF Arabian Nlehls
fame. was the man who first gave the
world it's "chestnuts" TO crack. Ana
the chess player Is debtor to still an
other inhabitant of that region, Tor II
was the Saracen BuZecca VINO nrst
startled Europe with the power 10
NAV chess without seeing the board.
This feat of memory was performed
first in Florence in 1866. Since thal
time chess players have developed
their movers OF memory and vizuai-
zation to truly marvellous degree.
Leon Matteo Ii Genchi, Spaniard
who lived during the sixteenth cen
tury astounded the courts OF Europe
hy PLAYING. blindfolded, three games
nj the same time, and carrying on
lively conversation while MS OPP
ponents were planning their MODES
of attack. But these performances
have been outshone many times III
the nineteenth century, especially oy
the young Boston player II. \. Pliis-
bury. who played twenty-five games
ri one time. blindfolded.
The origin OF chess Is yelled in the
mists of antiquity, but ii is general
" believed TO have come from india
The first intimations OF chess go
hack 1000 years before the Christian
era. In the early days IL was played
by four persons instead of two and
the moves OF the four principal
pieces were determined by throwing
an oblong die. From India, chess was
carried to Persia and from there II
was introduced into Spain by the
Moors. This Is the generally accept
ed theory OF the origin OF the game
but others trace the royal sport 10
Palamedes, son of Nauplius, ruler oil
the island of Negropont, who Is Also
credited with the invention oil
weights. measures and numbers, and
the idea of establishing the solar
year and the lunar month.
II there is any doubt as TO the
origin of the game, there can be none
az TO the nation most devoted TO It's
intricacies today. The japanese are
chess mad. according to our western
standards. for every officer in the
army and navy and every common
soldier Is more or less OF an adept
at the game. There are many cause
seekers" who profess to find in the
mental development which has been
brought about by chess the underly-
ing principles which resulted in the
victories over the Russians in Man
churia. In Japan today IL is com
mon sight to see the jinrikisha men
suuatting on the street corners en-
crossed in chess while waiting for
customers. The Japanese million
aire. who wishes to make a donation
which will bring happiness to the un
fortunate, buys hundred sets OF
chess-men and boards and presents
them to some hospital.
Whether or not there is as much In
the theory OF japanese mind training
as the chess enthusiasts would have
us believe. IL is a historical fact that
such military geniuses as Napoleon
and Charlemagne were great lovers OF
the game. The name Of Napoleon is
connected with one of the greatest
chess marvels of the age. the Autom
atom Chess-player, invented by
Baron Wolfgang Kempel and first eX
hibited I'm Vienna In 1859 This autom
atom was a half-century wonder. II
played chess and defeated some OF the
greatest experts of the day in nearly
every country of Europe. The figure
was made 10 represent a turbaned
Turk. Learned men wrote thoughtful
books in which they trned TO solve the
mystery. and curious crowds hocked
TO see IL in every capital where II
was on display. Frederick the Great
became so interested In IL that he
finally bought II in 1883 for 10000
francs I'm order To learn the secret OF
it's operations. which was that a
strong chess player was concealed in
side the figure AS soon as the Ger
man ruler learned the secret he threw
the contrivance In the attic of his
potsdam castle where IL remained I'm
III Napoleon came TO Berlin in 1896
Then an expert mechanic rehtted II
and the Emperor OF the French was
defeated by IL.
After this the automaton was taken
on a tour OF all the European cities
for a second time and was brought 90
the United States i'm 1926. Here II
created a ,furore only equalled by that
which II aroused when II was first in
vented. In New York, philadelphia
and Boston people almost fought &c