Good day to you, dear TakeinMind readers! You will not believe what an incident happened to me! The only consolation is that I fell into the same “trap” like many others before me, among them, by the way, are professional experts. But first things first, let’s begin from the start.
A couple of days ago I found Isaac Asimov’s “Pebbles in the Sky” in the bookstore. I read it long ago, but the variant I had was a translated one, and here in the store lies the original version – what an opportunity to go back to my childhood for a few hours! You will understand me: A Galactic Empire, conspiracies, and excellent science fiction written by the grandmaster (I strongly recommend this book to all who missed it). I quietly and peacefully enjoyed the novel, until I reached Chapter XI (“The Mind That Changed”). Namely, until the moment when Schwartz and Grew play chess and talk. Suddenly (to my big surprise), I discovered that together with the cosmic adventures, the author inserted a clear description of a chess game. I set up the chessboard, arranged the pieces, and played the game.
These are the game steps in the standard record:
1.e4 e5 2.Cf3 Cc6 3.Fb5 a6 4.Fa4 Cf6 5.Cc3 Fe7 6.0-0 b5 7.Fb3 d6 8.d3 0-0 9.Cd5 Ca5 10.Cxe7+ Dxe7 11.Ce1 Cxb3 12.axb3 Cd7 13.f4 f5 14.exf5 Txf5 15.Cf3 Fb7 16.Fd2 exf4 17.Cd4 Tg5 18.Cf3 Tg4 19.h3 Txg2+ 20.Rxg2 Dg5+ 21.Rh1 Ce5 22. De2 Dg3 23.Dg2 Cxf3 24.Fc3 Cd4 25.Dxb7Dxh3+ 26.Rg1 Ce2+ 27.Rf2 De3+ 28.Rh1 Dh3#
Ladies and gentlemen, I was impressed! What a sacrifice of the rook and the combination of the blacks?! This game (and the chess fans will understand me!) is an elegant mini-novel on itself. My diving “back” to childhood also led me to a pleasant intellectual discovery. I re-discovered Dr. Isaac Asimov, the great science fiction writer and popularizer of science, also as an outstanding chess composer! Of course, I set aside the novel, and began scouring the Internet in search of other Asimov’s chess plays.
And then there was a comic climax! To increase the drama, it will be the best to quote Isaac Asimov himself, and specifically, his other book, Treasury of Humor:
“… I myself have earned a footnote in the history of chess, believe it or not. You see, I don’t like the vague way chess games are invariably treated in fiction… So when I wrote my first novel, Pebble in the Sky, and had a chance to use a chess game as a means of developing the plot, I did it right. I found an actual chess game and used it. In the course of the conversation between the two chess players I actually described the game, move by move.
Isaac Asimov
One of my readers, a chess enthusiast, reading the book late at night, came across the passage involving the chess game and was astonished to find that the moves looked legitimated. He got out of bed, went to his chessboard, and played the game. The next thing I knew, a copy of a chess journal reached me through the mails, and there on page three was a column headed “Asimov’s Game”, describing it and the circumstances under which it had been discovered. (Naturally, I wrote a letter at once disclaiming any personal credit)…”
Therefore, I am not the first one… It took me another ten minutes to find the real authors of this chess masterpiece. This game was played by the Soviet chess masters Boris Verlinsky (white) and Grigory Levenfish (black) at the USSR Chess Championship in 1924. By the way, this game received a special prize for brilliance in the competition. So, Asimov’s decision to include this game wasn’t random.
By the way, for those of you who are too lazy to set the chessboard and move the figures, I can offer the link and see the game played step-by-step.
P.S. Our site is dedicated to everything that was fairly included in the golden fund of scientific and cultural achievements of our civilization; everything that served and inspired for millennia generations of thinkers and scientists, and helped them to create and prosper. Please agree that chess is fully consistent with these statements. Moreover, in connection with the latest statements in the press and the internet about the social danger of this ancient game (namely, its allegedly “racist” basis – link) and the corresponding requirements to ban it, we consider it our duty to defend chess. Let’s play and enjoy this wonderful and wise game.
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