Evening star., 1924-11-29
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

| bridge-even easier than checkers
that mechanical and wooden game
whose only relationship to chess is
| that 1t is played OH the same board OF
| 81 squares.
| Any one can play chess--in fash
ion-so that he and his playmate can
get a great deal of fun out Of it,
Even at the beginning he will see
| that the game offers infinite posi-
bilities for expansion. One can never
play 1t so we'll that he cannot play IT
better.
/ Using an adequate-slZed board and
tho Staunton pattern Of chessmen of
| a good size there Is no more beauti-
full layout" among games. Even the
much -heralded nah jong. however
one spells 1t. with its tiles. counters,
etc. is no more picturesque.
Chess Is perfect Even tho begin
ner feels this as he learns the move
| of the knight, the bishop. the other
tho centuries and centuries that have
! gone toward perfecting It.
| The violin. according to musicians,
| is an instrument incapable OF further
| improvement. So, too, chess. AS ar
| chttecture Is sometimes called frozen
| music, so chess is war reduced to
small size and made purely intellec-
tual. rather than d. combination Of
| Drawn and intellect.
| Men have tried to improve upon
chess. They have devised elaborate
games, with eight boards, sometimes S
set one over the other. They have
complicated the thing beyond all COM
prehension; but, when all Is said and
done, the ancient game, with one
board Of 6f squares and its compile
ments Of paWns and pieces, remains
| the one and only chess. 1t is beyond
Improvement. OF how many other
things can this be said?
All Americans Interested in intel
lectual pursuits ought TO thrill to the
knowledge that in Paul Morphy the
United STATES possessed perhaps the
greatest chess genius the world has
ever seen.
His games still stand as the perfect
diversion played by Romans and
Greeks, and by Arabs OF far-gone
times, and along the banks of the
Gangea
That he ended his days with un-
balanced mind IS no reflection upon
chess, but rather IS Il warning to all
that undivided use of the brain upon
any one pursuit is likely to end thus
The well balanced man of today has
learned great deal from the sad
story OF poor PAU Morphy, who out
played al chess the masters of Eu-
rope, and from whom the great
Staunton actually fed, in order to
avoid being beaten.
Today the wise man plays chess in
moderation. He does not spend his
days and nights with the pieces, but
uses them as offsets to his golf and
his business.
For chess is a Jealous game. Those
who think the crossword puzzle is
something requiring concentration
ought TO try chess for while.
Chess is easy, yes, if played easily,
but can keep pace with any degree Of
sklll one chooses to put forth 1t
calls FOR the best use Of the brain; is
so intriguing that the player is
liable TO take tho game too seriously.
This is the warning necessary to
any one who takes up chess. Re-
inembeT-it is only u game. Do not
spend too much time studying the
openings. That way madness lies To
become obsessed with this game
means TO lose its charm
Play it as they play it IN the press
room at the White House, where the
good players give the odds of a queen
TO the mediocre players. Odds of
queen makes n ridiculous game.
from the standpoint OF pure chess,
but q most Interesting pastfme for
busy correspondents.
Play chess with 4 level hand, as DR..
Wiley does.