MARK RUBERY CHESS
One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) was also a chess player of considerable talent. This founder of Dadaism, surrealism and cubism, became so obsessed with chess that he gave up art! Such was Duchamp’s passion for the game that on his honeymoon he spent most of his time studying chess problems, thus after a week of being ignored his enraged bride glued all his pieces to the board. They were divorced three months later. Duchamp represented France (headed by Alekhine) in four Olympiads. In 1963 Duchamp posed for a picture at the Pasadena Art Museum in which he played a game of chess against a naked model. Inspired by this picture and the circumstances surrounding it, two-time US Women’s Champion WGM Jennifer Shahade, who has worked on a book on Duchamp, engaged in a one-sided nude chess game at the Philadelphia Soundstages against three chess playing, nude artists’ models. Rated over 2300 the fully clothed Shahade had no problems in disposing of the naked amateurs in her provocative tribute to the famous artist. Duchamp,M - Feigin,M [E81] Folkestone ol (Men) 1933 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.f3 0–0 6.Nge2 Nbd7 7.Be3 c6 8.Qd2 a6 9.g4 b5 10.Ng3 bxc4 11.Bxc4 d5 12.Be2 e6? (12…dxe4 13 fxe4 Nb6 is a far more dynamic continuation) 13.e5 Ne8 14.b4 Qe7 15.Rb1 Nb6 16.0–0 Nc7 17.a4 Rb8 18.Rfc1 Bd7 19.a5 Nc8 20.Na4 Nb5 21.Nc5 Ra8 22.Bxb5 cxb5 23.f4 Bh6 24.g5 (White has a massive bind on the position)…Bg7 25.Kg2 Rd8 26.h4 Be8 27.h5 Qc7 28.hxg6 hxg6 29.Rh1 Ne7 30.Rh3 Nf5 31.Nxf5 exf5 32.Rbh1 Bd7 33.Rh7 Bc8 34.Qe1 (With the irresistible threat of Qh4) 1–0
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN SEE DIAGRAM
‘Rome and sport, more than other factors, have formulated my attitude to the competitive process. I share the conviction of the Romans that victory in battle is granted by the immortal gods and is therefore outside the will of the commander. It is the same in a chess battle. Without at all pretending to resolve the philosophical question regarding the relationship between free will and predetermination, I will risk proposing that the result of a chess game depends considerably less on the efforts of a player, than is customarily thought. Therefore the task of a chess commander reduces to trying to find the best of the possible moves, without worrying about the result.’ – Grigory Levenfish