Time Out

Chess addicts chess

You often see two players surrounded by kibitzers as the game continues with all sorts of suggestions being tossed from every direction, and the players themselves lose control over the proceedings. They remain totally engrossed in it, oblivious of what is happening around. That's addiction, and perhaps the reason why chess has lost a lot of ground socially. It's not at all popular in the families with an addict.

Women , in particular, develop an apathy towards the game because of their hubbies being incorrigible addicts. The addicts seem to upset all calculations. They don't attend family get-togethers and are not available when their service is badly needed. The result often is tension between husband and wife. Most chess players fail to become family men and are viewed with great suspicion by their wives.

Small wonder, chess players, or even masters, are a bit scared of their wives. None other than the great JR Capablanca lost a whole piece through making an unbelievable blunder when his wife entered the tournament hall at Bad Kissingen, 1928. Capablanca was a diplomat, a handsome and polished gentleman who was never an addict; yet he couldn't escape the wrath of his wife! So, imagine what can happen to the men who play chess almost round the clock. Well, there are exceptions. World champion Tigran Petrosian's wife was very protective of her husband. She once slapped a grandmaster when he was about to enter an unpleasant altercation with Petrosian. Lucky man!

What about our players? I don't want to say much about it as most of them seem to enjoy little support from the family. I'm sure some of the top players would have done much better had their spouses been less critical of the wonderful game. But there are a few who love chess. Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman, the country's highest rated player at the moment, is a man who cannot grumble about an unsympathetic wife. Mrs. Zia is seen among the spectators for long four hours in every major tournament! She is no doubt the right kind of partner for a chess master.

Here is Capablanca's famous blunder.

White-Jose Raul Capablanca
Black-Rudolf Spielmann [D15]
Bad Kissingen 1928
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 b4 7.Na2 e6 8.Bxc4 Be7 9.00 00 10.b3 c5 11.Bb2 Bb7 12.Nc1 Nc6 13.dxc5 Na5 14.Ne5 Nxc4 15.Nxc4 Bxc5 16.Nd3 Qd5 17.Nf4 Qg5 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Rc1 Rfd8 20.Qh5 Rac8 21.Rfd1 g6 22.Rxd8+ Qxd8 23.Qe5 Be7 24.h3 Rc5 25.Qa1 Bf6 26.Rd1 Rd5 27.Rxd5 exd5 28.Ne5 Qd6 29.Nfd3 Ba6 30.Qe1 Bxe5 31.Nxe5 Qxe5 32.Qxb4 Bd3 33.Qc5 Qb8 34.b4 Qb7 35.b5 h5 36.Qc3 Bc4 37.e4 Qe7 38.exd5 Bxd5 39.a5 Qe4 0-1

Position after 29...Ba6

-PATZER

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