The Battle of the Brains

(6 of 11)
like modern chess, was called chaturanga, or the army game. The pieces represented the four elements of the Indian army: chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry; they evolved through the centuries into rooks, bishops, knights and pawns. In its travels, the Hindi word rajah, for king, became shah in Persian, which led to the Arabic phrase shah mat, meaning the king is dead, from which the term checkmate is derived.

The first book on chess appeared more than four centuries ago. Since then, the number of titles (Computers, Chess and Long-Range Planning; 1,234 Modern End-Game Studies; The Psychology of the Chess Player) has grown to nearly 20,000—or reportedly more books than have been written about all other games combined. There has been a lot to write about. One study of the qualities that make a good chess player, for example, shows that contrary to popular opinion, imagination and vision are more important than memory and concentration. Another study by Psychologist A.F. Cleveland concludes that "a considerable degree of chess skill is possible to one who is mentally deficient in almost any other line."

America's Paul Morphy, the unofficial world champion (1858-59), who is considered by many to have been the most brilliant player in history, retired from the game at 21 after only 18 months of tournament play. Refusing to play or even talk about the game, he failed as a lawyer and lived out the rest of his life in New Orleans as a paranoid recluse. Morphy was given to such eccentricities as arranging women's shoes in a semicircle in his room and prancing around his veranda reciting in French that "the little king will go away unabashed." He died in the bathtub, presumably of apoplexy, at 47.

World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz (1886-94), a mathematician and the so-called father of modern chess, suffered from a delusion in his later years that he could place a telephone call without wire or receiver, as well as move chess pieces at will by emitting electrical currents. He also claimed to be in touch with God, whom he offered a pawn handicap and the first move in a showdown chess match. He died a charity patient in 1900.

Many of the other men who once dominated the game make Bobby Fischer look like an Eagle Scout. Arrogance? World Champion Alexander Alekhine (1927-35, 1937-46), a Soviet expatriate renowned for his slashing attacks, was a Nazi collaborator who wrote a series of articles claiming that Jews spoiled the purity of chess. Once he appeared at the Polish border and declared: "I am Alekhine, chess champion of the world. I have a cat named Chess.

I do not need a passport." In his books he tampered with scores to make his efforts seem more brilliant. Upon losing a game, he would sometimes hurl his king across the room. Married five times and a heavy drinker, he appeared at one exhibition and urinated on the floor. He died destitute in 1946, clutching a pocket chess set.

Poor sportsmanship? Enraged over losing a game to Steinitz, British Master Joseph Blackburne reportedly threw the eminent mathematician out of a window. World Champion José Capablanca (1921-27), the dashing Cuban roue, was a notoriously bad loser; before he would admit defeat in one match in Havana, he demanded that the mayor clear the room of all spectators. After taking the title from Capablanca, Alekhine refused a