Chess Is War

January 18, 2008 8:06 AM

Help me find an article about chess, might have involved Garry Kasparov, might have been in Smithsonian magazine and/or on the Blue likening chess playing to a really violent sport with quotes like this "There is nothing cute or charming about chess; it is a violent sport, and when you confront your opponent you set out to crush his ego." from this article but I recall it being longer and in a more general magazine.
posted by terrortubby to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

Is this the entire article? I just googled one of the sentences from your link.
posted by iconomy at 8:14 AM on January 18, 2008

That's the one I linked to...I don't recall it being business oriented, it was longer and discussed a kind of insanity of chess players, aggressiveness and such. I'm hoping that strikes a chord with someone.
posted by terrortubby at 8:21 AM on January 18, 2008

Oh ok....I thought you were asking for the full version of the article that you linked to, which is in the April 2005 issue of The Harvard Business Review.
posted by iconomy at 8:37 AM on January 18, 2008

This sounds like Fischer- "Chess is war"; "I like the moment when I break a man's ego".
I'm sure everybody says stuff like that now, but I think he popularized that kind of talk.
posted by MtDewd at 8:45 AM on January 18, 2008

Sounds to me like a piece by Julian Barnes in Granta 47 .

"In Granta 47, Julian Barnes's essay 'Trap. Dominate. Fuck.' traces the events of The Times World Chess Championship between Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short. Barnes skillfully examines the buzz both within and around the event and contemplates the potential of chess as a marketable sport."

I remember this as a great essay, and very much in the spirit you describe.
posted by escabeche at 8:49 AM on January 18, 2008

Nigel Short said, "Chess is ruthless: you've got to be prepared to kill people."
posted by futility closet at 9:29 AM on January 18, 2008

Lyrics from the musical Chess:

It's very sad to see
This ancient and distinguished game that used to be
A model of decorum and tranquility
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee
posted by ErWenn at 1:37 PM on January 18, 2008

I'm hoping for more answers though I am enjoying the ones so far.
posted by terrortubby at 4:02 PM on January 18, 2008