There is a fine line between genius and crazy. Bobby Fischer has
stepped over that line...and so did his predecessor the great Paul
Morphy.
He used to make a circle in the middle of his room out of women's
shoes and dance around them. That is pretty nutty if ya ask me.
As for all chess players being crazy....well we as human beings are ALL
a little crazy...chess player or not.
As the old saying goes "You don't have to be crazy to work here...but
it sure helps!"
Dave
Maybe the authors or these books are crazier than we are. Fine once
belonged to the world's top players, candidate for the world
championship and professionally a shrink. In his book, in which he
relies on an another (Freudian) psychiatrist, Jones. At the time of
writing, 1956 and therefore?! not referring to female players, Fine
agrees with Jones that:
1. Chessplayers suffer of the Oedipus complex, killing the King and so
being able to mate the Queen (his mother). Search me...
2. In playing chess -he!- rejects and/of oppressses his latent
homosexuality, the King then being the phallus-symbol.
Cockburn, of course, refers to the well-know examples of Morphy and
Fischer, but makes a psycho-analysis of all the, till then, world
champions (Fischer then being the latest).
It's impossible, babe, to summarize the two books here. Too
complex, too extensive too. If you and anyone else would be
interested, try to get hold of these books. Better get them from the
library, than buying them. If and when I ever can type with both hands
again, and if there is sufficient interest at RHP, I'm willing to try to cite
from Fine (English version) and summarize some (to translate) parts
of Cockburn's (Dutch) version I have.
Unfortunately I can't enter the chat, where fairly fast typing is
required. So, I don't know what is going on there.
Idle passion? According to Cockburn chess is the idle passion,
producing nothing, leading nowhere, etc. In fact, it's a anti-chess-
book. If one is a passionate addict to, say, the myriad soaps on tele,
I find that an idle passion. Cocburn doen't understand (or is not willing
to so so) that chess is not just a passtime. Chess is sport, a science
and an art. If chess is an idle passion... I'd like Cockburn to sum up
what is NOT an idle (competitive) passion: swimming, athletics, skiing,
snowboarding... There's no competion without passion. And that goes
for many other things than 'sports'.
Well...this actually a very good question.
"Chess is a fight"
Emmanuel Lasker
"Chess is Life"
Robert James Fischer
And one quote that I cannot totally remember, but will try
"Chess is a pastime for idiotic people to try and convince others they
are doing something clever"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
To me...Chess is art. It is the one stage where you can set yourself to
beat another person's mind. To make a crushing move and slowly
look up at your opponents eyes after you hit the clock and see the
dismay and pain....that is unforgetful. But then again when that same
action is done to you(and it has happened to me in OTB tourneys...as
well as the former) all you can do is shake your head and say.."Good
one...Ya got me"
I have played football (High school and college) as well as many other
sports....it pales in comparison..a touchdown compared to a point
OTB..I will always say the point feels better.
As little Josh Waitzkin once said.."It is not a game"
Dave
Chess is an ancient game of the mind. It exercises one's mind in a
way that no other game can. Chess allows the player enter into a
virtual life or death combat scenario.It allows the player to
become aggressive or defensive in a way that he/she cannot in real
life. It can be an outlet for emotion.
Chess also allows the player to escape from the mundane problems
and chores of life; debts, study, washing the dishes, relationship
problems, etc. The mental faculties that are required to play chess,
actually take over the mind and do not allow other thoughts to register
during the course of a game. As a result, there is a psychological
benefit. The mind is able to relax.
Chess is different to other games due to the very compexity of it's
nature. Everything is transparent. Nothing is hidden. All of the pieces
are in full view. And yet still.... In chess, nothing is as it seems.