[lit-ideas] Re: A Franz Kafka chess game ?
- From: Eric Yost <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 16:08:20 -0500
Classic psychological chess story:
Before his 1908 game with Emmanuel Lasker --
legendary world champion, friend of Einstein and
Cassirer, philosophy professor, and Mark Twain
lookalike -- Aron Nimzovitch -- innovative
grandmaster, vegetarian, yoga enthusiast --
approached the tournament director, pleading with
him to insist that Lasker to refrain from smoking
cigars during their game.
The tournament director requests Lasker's
compliance and Lasker agrees. The game begins and
shortly thereafter Lasker removes a cigar from his
pocket and places it on the table.
After a few minutes, Nimzovich again approaches
the tournament director, exclaiming, "See! Look
what he's doing!"
The tournament director notices that Lasker's
cigar is just sitting on the table and says to
Nimzovich: "What's the problem? Lasker is not
smoking."
Nimzovich: "Yes, but he is threatening to smoke,
and any fool knows that the threat is more
powerful than the execution!"
Lasker won.
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