A senior official of the International Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE, once noted that perhaps the game of chess was devised by aliens. I laughed. How ridiculous! The moment passed.
However, as I widened my listening and reading skills, the thought that chess was alien oriented did not seem so far-fetched after all. Some people seriously believe aliens visited earth. Did they bring the game here?
The game of chess is old and its practice dates back perhaps to pre-historic times. The earliest origins of the game are uncertain. However, in ancient tombs pieces are found which archaeologists assure us constituted a form of chess. Originally, it was a game of war. Historians say ar-Razi the Persian defeated al-’Adli ar-Rúmí in AD 847, “in the shining presence of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil and his court”.
According to Wikipedia, the earliest predecessor of chess probably originated in India before the 6th century AD. From India the game spread to Persia (Iran), which boasts some strong grandmasters. The game eventually evolved into its current form during the 16th century in Europe. A long poem was written in 1513 which describes a game of chess played between Apollo and Mercury. In the 1500s also, Ruy Lopez, a Spanish cleric, developed the most famous chess opening in history. The Ruy Lopez is still among the most frequently played openings. In today’s featured game, between Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov, the Ruy Lopez is played.
Chess is an ideal laboratory for the decision-making process. Kasporov, a former world chess champion says: “To play chess on a truly high level requires a constant stream of exact, informed decisions, made in real time and under pressure from your opponent.” He went on to describe the manner in which we improve at anything in our lives that involves decision-making, which is to say, everything.
I have maintained that most of the more erudite persons who have crossed my path play chess. Chances are they attended the finest schools their nation has to offer.
I still can recall the scholarly conversation I had with former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov during a yacht cruise in Curacao. Jokingly, I enquired what would have happened if he had played Bobby Fischer for the world chess championship title in 1975. Without hesitation, he said Fischer would have won. After a pause, Karpov continued, “but I was good also”. Such modesty! It reminds me of a documentary I saw with Morgan Freeman who said that since his boyhood days he had wanted to be a movie star and he almost made it.
The origins of chess are unclear but anyone can learn to play the game in under an hour. I assure you if you do there would be no regrets. Merry Christmas to all!
Chess game
White: Garry Kasparov
Black: Veselin Topalov
Event: Linares 2004. Linares, Spain
Game Type: Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation
1. e4e5 2. Nf3Nc6 3. Bb5a6 4. Ba4Nf6 5. O-OBe7 6. Re1b5 7. Bb3O-O 8. a4Bb7 9. d3d6 10. Nbd2Nd7 11. c3Nc5 12. axb5axb5 13. Rxa8Qxa8 14. Bc2b4 15. d4bxc3 16. bxc3Nd7 17. Nf1Bf6 18. d5Ncb8 19. h4Nc5 20. Ng3Bc8 21. Ng5h6 22. Nh5Be7 23. Nh3Qa2 24. Re3g6 25. Rg3Nbd7 26. Bxh6Bxh4 27. Rg4Be7 28. Bg5Bxg5 29. Nxg5f5 30. exf5gxh5 31. Rg3Nf6 32. Ne6+Kf7 33. Rg7+Ke8 34. Nxc7+Kd8 35. Ne6+Ke8 36. Nc7+Kd8 37. Ne6+Ke8 38. Nc7+. ½ – ½.
