Chess-Theory , Chess and Philosophy, "Chess is Life" (Robert James Fischer), Fantasy Art, Bruce Pennington Pictures

CHESS PRACTICE

- REFLECTIONS AND DEBATES -
- CHESS AND PHILOSOPHY -

The present text is new and is publied simultaneously in French and in English on Chess-Theory web site. It represents my ultimate contribution at this modest draft of a philosophical reflection around and in connection with the chess game. The six previous papers were written and published in 2002, thus 3 years ago. But, since I could not find a conclusion which really satisfies me.
I was in the search of a strong idea without managing to encircle it... And this inacessible light suddenly spouted out, these days, while at the same time I thought pensively, but intensely in Bobby, Robert James Fischer, the incomparable one, for whom I never hid my deeper admiration nor my intact enthusiasm.
In addition, you'll not be surprised if we express here all our enthusiasm for the very great talent of Bruce Pennington, to which we owe the illustration of this page. We thank very much him for this!!... Don't be missing to vist two sites, related to him, that we suggested here.

Correspondence VII

"Chess is Life" (Robert James Fischer)

(By Michel BRUNEAU)

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** WHY DO WE LIVE? ***

Why do we live is the eternal question, unceasingly posed and to which it is never given of satisfactory answer, except the simple observation of this reality. To circumvent this difficulty one can more modestly wonder than we make our existence. Then, to a first level one arrives to this practically absurd report that the principal objective of our existence is to ensure our subsistence; in a word to survive.
And however, in all times and all places, man spontaneously revealed an aspiration with a going beyond of this primitive condition.

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** FROM PLEASURE TO BLISS ***

When one observes a young lion cub devouring with relish the share of prey which returns to him one understands immediately that pleasure and survival are indissociable. However the privilege of the man is to transcend this animal pleasure by the search for more elaborate forms of happiness and blossoming.
The obsessional desire to grow rich beyond necessary, the unrestrained taste to be able, of conquests, success, honor, recognition take part in this tireless search of good luck, generally at other people's expense... Moreover violence, brutality, even cruelty take part in this inextinguishable thirst.
However, if each one carries in him more or less this violence and this aspiration to dominate, opens out in addition in us, like an orchis in the medium of a marsh unhealthy, an aspiration with a going beyond, a search for lost paradises, an attempt to rise us to a god, hypothetical or reality which imports... being able to lead us, through multiple facets of happiness, until a kind of bliss.

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** SURPASSING AND DOMINATION ***

One thinks of Arts, Letters and Sciences which are well the higher forms than takes the human activity in the optics of individual as well as collective surpassing. As for the Wars, military or commercial, they are only the episodical focal points of the age-old confrontation between peoples, expressing the exacerbation of desires of richness, power and domination.
Thus surpassing of oneself and domination of others are the two slopes of same and single reality which is the incarnation in the space and the time of Men's life.

«© www.scanraptor.com - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennigton»

*** PLAYS AND ENTERTAINMENTS ***

You cannot naturally place on the same plan plays and entertainments, although they take part in a considerable way in the human activity. But precisely, so now we turn all our attention on plays, before coming from there quickly to the chess game, appears clearly their double facet according to whether one privileges the individual or collective aspect.
To regard plays as collective activities one enters spheres where all more or less was known as. I will quickly approach this aspect concerning Chess. As for individual optics, even intimist, it is richer than he appears and will be here the heart of the reflection I propose to you now.

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS IS BUSINESS ***

Since this study is in contact with the topicality, it is not possible to neglect the commercial aspect of the world of Chess at the planetary level. It is a report not an objection. Quite to the contrary, it is first of all legitimate that the best players of the world live of their art. I do not like to know that Philidor had to battle so much and to more make live its family and worse still than Wilhem Steinitz practically died in misery; an injustice compared to the exceptional gifts from both.
It's in addition satisfying of knowing that some people who devote a good part of their life to Chess and help with its development - journalist, organizers, responsibles, officials etc... - can live about it more or less.
Finally, this commercial dimension of Chess is one in the ways in which the presence of our favorite play within the human society is carried out.

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS AND SOCIETY ***

Chess is an Art since the most beautiful gamess are artistic works and can be created ad infinitum. Chess is a Science because it pose difficult problems, of scientific nature, whose majority remain unsolved. Moreover there are mathematical models which apply very well to the study of certain endgames. And especially there is well a multiform Theory of Chess. Finally, Chess is a Sport since they give place to competitions where each one can obtain a reward and, in any event, is classified according to its merit.
But, in addition, Chess is a Morals, an Ethics and have an undeniable Éducative value... and in this litany of qualifiers we would be wrong to forget that Chess is also a History.
And remarkable is the feed-back effect showing to which point the Human Society returns justice to Chess for its multiform contributions, in particular by interest and fascination that the "Noble Play" exerts near so much of artists, writers, historians, scientists, mathematicians, strategists, teachers, psychologists, philosophers etc... who find in it source of reflection, of inspiration... sometimes of action.

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS AND OURSELF ***

"Chess is Life" !!... This famous Robert James Fischer's sentence takes all its significance when people is interested more specifically in the intimate relation that maintains each one among us with Chess, particularly during the unfolding of a game.
In any human activity which engages a significant part of ourself, whose stake appears suddenly essential to us, occurs one surprising phenomenon which, at the limite, can purely and simply lead us to identify this activity and our own existence... Such a change occurs in particular when, with the literal sense as with the figurative one, we are ready to "risk our life".
Few plays have this capacity of captivation and subjugation, but it is however well the case of Chess. The reasons are clear and I can enumerate them as follows:

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

Chess is a direct confrontation of Ourself with Other people, without codified intervention of hazard, without any artifice; only intelligence against intelligence.

A chess game is one sufficient duration to represent a significant section of life, with show of birth, development, maturity, degradation and death.

Chess collect at this point all our physical and pshychic energy, all our intellectual and morals faculties, during one time which is stretched like an existence, that the game we are playing comes from there to be identified with this other crucial game, with a dubious but fatal exit, which is our own life.

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS AND REGENERATION ***

Each new committed game is a Regeneration. We are absolve, washed of any fault, immaculate like a nourisson discovering all the Life extending in front of him.
Our armies are arranged in an impeccable order, are strongly armed, overtrained, ready to fight as fast as possible with the enemy.
Whit new all chances are on our side and the hope is allowed!

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS AND TIME ***

As we know it Time is an invisible but omnipresent actor in every chess game... It is him which gives the rhythm, the tempo; who insufflates the cadence of blows (yes indeed, moves are blows!).
Time is our ally and our despot...
And comes one crucial moment where we feel his pitiless cane!

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS AND CHOICE ***

The Irreversibility of Time is beginning more and more essential for men, as fundamental given of knowledge, and constitutes today one of main axioms of Science. Its significance is that time imposes to us a forced march ahead - along the axis of time, that is more precisely named the "Arrow of Time" ! - and that no return behind is possible!
We fully measure the presence of this Arrow of Time and this nonreturn behind when we act. Although it is necessary to well distinguish our current acts, daily or not, perfectly reversible for the great majority of them, and these main acts which engage deeply and durably the course of our existence.
The deep singularity of Chess is due precisely to the primarily irreversible character of moves which we play during a game; owing to the fact that the victory maybe played only one tempo, which excludes that we can play a weak or worse an erroneous move...
Thus, more pitiless than ever, the Arrow of Time pulverizes the chessboard!...

«© www.Aumania.it - Fantasy Art -
Fantasy Artist Bruce Pennington»

*** CHESS AND CREATIVITY ***

But what ultimately imports the victory or the defeat!? What imports even the mediocrity of our play, assured which we are to thus create a work of a singular invoice, of a guaranteed originality?
Except to follow very far from great known variations, generally in less than 7 to 8 moves one left the field of 4 to 5 million games, at most, indexed in various data bases... and one or two moves later without any doubt we are engaged in a performance which does not appear in the number (a few hundreds of million perhaps!?) of games, essentially completely unknown, which could be played in the course of time.
Thus tens of remaining moves constitue an original work, single in the world, that our opponent and ourself create in a mixture of fever, reflection, anguish, audacity... and sometimes also of exaltation.

*** "CHESS IS LIFE" ***

It is quite true, like affirmed it with so many relevancy the one GM Robert James Fischer : "Chess is Life"!!...

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