The magic root of chess
"The Scholar and the Game: Chess Reflections in a Chinese Aesthetic
What does Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”) have in common with chess? The opera tells the story of Prince Tamino, who is rescued from a serpent by three ladies allied to the Queen of the Night. Tamino is instantly entranced by a portrait of Her Nocturnal Majesty’s daughter, Pamina. With the help of the magic flute and bells, Tamino and his comical companion, Papageno, a bird catcher, embark on a quest to rescue Pamina from Sarastro, a high priest who has allegedly kidnapped her.
The intrepid trio must overcome tests, trials and tribulations, with the goal of ultimately discovering the true nature of Sarastro, who is not the evil sorcerer they initially believed. Sarastro is, in fact, revealed to be a wise and kind leader, whereupon Tamino and Pamina eventually join his temple of light. The Queen of the Night and her evil allies are thwarted , and the opera concludes with a celebration of love, harmony, and enlightenment values.
The central paradox of The Magic Flute is that 18th century rationalism is achieved via the route of obscurely Eleusinian Masonic ritual.
The same contradiction lies at the heart of chess itself, including its ancient Arabic version, Shatranj, as well as its most respected variants: Chinese chess, Xiangqi and Japanese chess, Shogi. Although chess prides itself on being a game of rationality and logic, there is an exceptional factor. The overriding consideration is that all questions of time, space and material become irrelevant and are subsumed by checkmating the opposing king. This lends chess an element of transcendence which does not, for example, apply to Draughts (Checkers) or Go (Weichi).
There is even a theory that, back in the mists of time, the origins and roots of chess were to be found in magic and as a means of divination. The following quote, with more than an iota of authority, illuminates the theme.
“Thus it may be said that the ancestor of all dial-and pointer-readings, the greatest single factor in the voyages of discovery, and the oldest instrument of magnetic-electrical science may perhaps be said to have begun as a proto-‘chess’-man used in a divination technique. Not without some surprise we are brought to the conclusion that the recreational game of chess, and the magnetic compass, with all that flowed from it, took their origin at a single point — namely, a group of divination techniques in ancient Chinese proto-science.”
The source of this learned insight is none other than Joseph Needham (1900-1995), Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Needham was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist, known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, including the multivolume Science and Civilisation in China.
Be that as it may…
I recently watched the latest Tom Cruise movie, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. It occurred to me that, in many ways, this spectacular apogee of quasi-suicidal stunts, miraculously performed by Cruise in person, actually represents a modern take on The Magic Flute, with its series of elemental tests for both Cruise and his team. These proofs of worthiness involve Earth (leaping from a mountain onto a moving train), Air, (Cruise taking over not one but two biplanes in mid-flight, with no visible means of support) Fire (immolation of the code-writer’s cabin in Alaska) and Water (retrieving vital information from a sunken Russian submarine). Even the protagonist’s name (Hunt) implies a quest or search for information and knowledge, in true 18th century style. The Magic Flute was not alone in promulgating such virtues. A standard and popular 18th-19th century genre was the Bildungsroman, or educational novel, of which Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister is the prime example.
In spite of its esoteric features, chess can still pride itself on being the rational game par excellence, where aleatory influence is entirely excluded and results depend exclusively on the mental power of the contestants. I once had the privilege of examining an original copy of that Bible of rationalism, Diderot’s Encyclopédie. It contains a substantial contribution on chess, a game which fascinated Diderot, as well as Rousseau and even Napoleon himself.
This week, a game by that great rationalist of the chessboard, André Danican Philidor, himself an acquaintance of the Encyclopaedists and a contemporary of the younger Napoleon.
Analyse du jeu des Échecs, 1749
Notes by Philidor
- e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 f5
It is always advantageous to exchange your king’s bishop’s pawn for your King’s pawn, because that assists the goal of controlling the centre; plus it immediately activates the king’s rook on a semi-open file after castling short.
- d3 c6 5. exf5
White should not capture but leave this pawn unmoved and consequently still available, until after your opponent has castled, and to then attack the king with pawns on the castled side. Generally, one should not start pushing pawns until it becomes apparent on which side the opponent will castle, lest he switch sides.
5… Bxf5 6. Bg5 Nf6 7. Nbd2
Should White prefer, 7. Bxf6, one should recapture 7… gxf6 in order to support an expansion of a pawn centre.
7… d5 8. Bb3 Bd6
This is the best square for Black’s dark-squared bishop, except for …Bc5: for there it can attack f2 should White castle queenside.
- Qe2 Qe7 10. O-O
Had White castled long, it would then have been best to castle short, before assaulting his queenside with pawns. As a general rule, it is dangerous to attack without sufficient preparation; with the pawns in the assault being supported by each other, or by pieces.
10… Nbd7 11. Nh4
Preparing to contest Black’s pawn centre with f2-f4.
11… Qe6 12. Nxf5
If White had played 12. f4 then, 12… Bg4 and after a queen move, then 13… h6, and if, 14. Bxf6 then, 14… gxf6 to add support to the e5-pawn.
12… Qxf5 13. Bxf6
White is effectively forced to capture as his bishop is otherwise a virtual prisoner, or is faced with a three-fold loss of tempi, ruining his game.
13… gxf6 14. f4 Qg6 15. fxe5 fxe5 16. Rf3
This rook now threatens 17. Rg6! should Black be unwise enough play 16… O-O; or else to facilitate doubling rooks with a subsequent Raf1.
16… h5
Making a bolt hole on h6 for the queen in the event of a attack by a White rook.
- Raf1 O-O-O 18. c4 e4
This move is quite complex, but it follows a key principle in pawn structure. When you have a connected sequence of pawns advancing together, the leading pawn plays a crucial role in maintaining the position.
In this scenario, your opponent has moved their c-pawn for two main reasons:
1) To encourage you to advance your d-pawn, which would then be blocked by their d-pawn, making your e-pawn weaker and isolated.
2) To stop your d6-bishop from attacking their h-pawn.
To counter this, you should advance your e-pawn, even if it means sacrificing it. The logic behind this is that when your opponent captures this pawn, it clears a path for your d-pawn to advance. If supported properly by your other pawns, this could lead to a promotion, or at least gain a significant advantage.
Although it might seem like your opponent’s e-pawn could also promote without opposition, there’s a key difference: their pawn is isolated and lacks support from their other pawns. This means it will be vulnerable to attacks from your pieces as it tries to advance.
Overall, this move requires careful judgment—it’s not an obvious tactic, but one that skilled players can recognize as a powerful strategic decision.
- dxe4 d4 20. Bc2 Ne5
Blockading e5 not only prevents White advancing his e-pawn but also the activation of both his knight and bishop which are shut out from the action.
- Rf6 Qg7 22. Qf2
Intending 23. Qf5+. If, alternatively, White had played 22. h3 to prevent 22… Ng4, then 22… d3! is winning due to 23. Bxd3 Bc5+ 24. Kh1 Rxd3, with an additional piece.
22… Ng4 23. Qf5+ Kb8 24. Rxd6
White must take the bishop, more powerful than any other of Black’s pieces. It also opens the possibility of pinning the d6-rook along the h2-b8 diagonal.
24… Rxd6 25. Qf4 Qe5
Exchanging queens is advantageous when ahead by an exchange in the endgame, and White is forced to comply due to the threat of 26… Qxh2#, should the queen just move away.
- Qxe5 Nxe5 27. Rf5 Ng4 28. c5 Rg6 29. Nc4 Ne3 30. Nxe3 dxe3 31. Rf3 Rd8
You should strive to become master of your openings, advantageously bringing rooks into play, especially in the endgame.
- Rxe3 Rd2 33. White resigns (0-1)
There is no way of preventing rooks being doubled, without the loss of a bishop, or at the cost of a new queen after an eventual promotion.
Ray’s 206th book, “ Chess in the Year of the King ”, written in collaboration with Adam Black, and his 207th, “ Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius ” (which discusses their relationship with chess) can be ordered from both Amazon and Blackwells. His 208th, the world record for chess books, written jointly with chess playing artist Barry Martin, Chess through the Looking Glass , is now also available from Amazon.
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