MARK RUBERY CHESS

An unheralded American master, Mike Petersen, gives an amusing example of what it is like to be interviewed by a reporter who has no knowledge of the game, at the conclusion of a simultaneous exhibition. Reporter: Hello, Mr. Petersen. How did you manage to win all these games so fast?

Me: Well, I’ve been playing chess for so long that many types of positions have become second nature to me, so I generally know what to do after just a glance at the game. Reporter: But how do you remember all the moves? (Sigh.)

Me: I don’t remember the moves of all the games as I go. Based on my experience, I just do a quick evaluation of the position and make a reasonable move. I do this quickly because I want to make sure the participants don’t get bored waiting for me. Reporter: How long have you been playing chess?

Me: A long time, almost 40 years.

Reporter: And how many games do you play a day? (Uh, oh - here we go.)

Me: It isn’t a matter of how many games a day I play, but how much I study.

Reporter: Then how many games do you study a day? (Expected that, didn’t you?)

Me: Well, it isn’t a matter of how many games I study, but the types of positions I go over and analyse. This makes me familiar with what to do in most situations. Reporter: Mr. Petersen, how many moves do you look ahead in a game? (Ugh...I knew this one would come.)

Me: (Smiling) Only one, but it’s always the BEST one. Seriously, most of the time, only three or four moves. What separates a master from the average player isn’t how far he looks ahead, but how he judges the positions reached after looking ahead in several different ideas. The master knows which positions are more favorable, the club player sometimes doesn’t. Reporter: You mean you can’t see ahead 20 moves like they do in the movies? (Are you beginning to get the idea, here?)

Me: No, chess masters don’t look ahead 20 moves. We look ahead 3 or 4 moves, but in each of 5 or 6 different variations. We keep all of them straight in our heads, and can judge the quality of the position at the end of each different variation much better than the average player. So, if you want to multiply the 6 variations by the 4 moves in each, then I guess you could say chess masters look 20 moves ahead, but not consecutively.

Reporter: It’s long been held that you really have to be smart to be a chess master. Is that true? (Now, for the clincher, and the small measure of satisfaction I allow myself after being subject to stupid questions.) Me: Oh, yes. It takes a lot of intelligence. One has to be quite intelligent to be a chess master, if not a genius.

And the myth lives on...

WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN

If the weather is too cold or rainy, I take shelter in the Regence Cafe, where I entertain myself by watching chess being played. Paris is the world centre, and this cafe is the Paris centre for the finest skill at this game. Diderot (Philospher,1713-1784)