MARK RUBERY CHESS
A philosopher and social critic, Jean-Jacques Rousseau exerted profound influence on the political thought during late eighteenth century France. As one of the finest minds of that age, Rousseau was determined master chess and devoted many months of solitary toil to achieve this task. Unfortunately like other great intellects such as Einstein, he showed little aptitude for the game, emphasising that cleverness does not always equate to chess ability. When he played at the famous Café de la Regence, crowds would press up against the windows to watch this national figure being slaughtered by the humblest of players.
The following game has a controversial history: ‘Considering the general sad state of chess knowledge over 200 years ago, and the fact that he made his mark in other fields, Jean-Jacques Rousseau played a respectable game.-Irving Chernev.
Rousseau v Conti, Montmorency, 1760:
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 c3 Qe7 5 O-O d6 6 d4 Bb6 7 Bg5 f6 8 Bh4 g5 9 Nxg5 fxg5 10 Qh5+ Kf8 11 Bxg5 Qg7 12 f4 exd4 13 f5 dxc3+ 14 Kh1 cxb2 15 Bxg8 bxa1(Q) 16 f6 Qxg8 17 Bh6+ Qg7 18 Bxg7+ Kg8 19 Qe8 mate.
‘There is a sort of credit which comes to a brilliant man from doing badly what other and less gifted mortals do extremely well; and when Rousseau gives account in the Confessions of his not merely indifferent but conspicuously abject skill at chess, declaring that he never improved beyond the point he reached on his first day’s acquaintance with the game, we think he was fully aware of the paradox involved, and wittingly sacrificed the essential truth of his words to their literary effect.’ (H J R Murray – the author of ‘A History of Chess’)
Rousseau almost certainly did not play the game according to numerous sources, although it is tempting to believe that for an instant, a fragment of the man’s genius filtered down to the chessboard …