Ⅱ-Music and chess symphony on the chessboard!

Hello readers!

As a game that has existed for thousands of years alongside human life, overcoming historical events and changes in thinking, Chess also has its own legendary periods with many distinct stories. Music is an art form that uses sound to express the emotions of the singer or listener. While chess is an ancient intellectual game, associated with many legends and through thousands of years of continuous development, chess and music have had a similar relationship with each other.

Article Contents:

• Chess Artist François-André Danican Philidor.
• Combining Chess and Music.
• Music in chess
• Conclusion.

Chess Artist François-André Danican Philidor.

I must say that the wall between chess and music has been an invisible wall for decades! Long ago, in the era of chess artists, there was Francois-Andre Philidor.

François-André Danican Philidor (1726 – 1795), also known as André Danican Philidor, was a famous French composer and chess player.

He was born into a musical family, with his grandfather, uncle, father, brother and another member of the family being composers. Philidor is best known for his Opéra comique, a genre of opera that typically features spoken dialogue and arias (an independent part for a voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment or ensemble).

In addition to his stellar musical career, Philidor was also known as the greatest chess player of his time, and the creator of the opening and checkmate methods that bear his name. His Analyse du jeu des Échecs (Chess Analysis) was considered the standard chess textbook for at least a century. The famous composer began playing chess in 1740 at the Café de la Régence.

He contributed to the development of opéra comique.

The Opéra-Comique is an opera company founded in 1714, associated with the theatre of the same name, also known as the salle Favart, on this day near the place Boieldieu, 2nd arrondissement, Paris.

Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that includes spoken dialogue and arias. The genre originated from the popular opera comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres in St Germain and St Laurent, which combined existing popular tunes with spoken parts.

Combining Chess and Music.

In the early 19th century, the music of the Viennese classical school, with names like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, dominated all of Europe. Composers often wrote variations in this style, which could be very impressive. This style tended to become formulaic in the hands of less talented composers.

The term "Mozart effect" was used by the French researcher Alfred A. Tomatis in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart? (Why Mozart?). where he used the music of Mozart in his efforts to "retrain" the ear, and believed that listening to the music presented at differing frequencies helped the ear, and promoted healing and the development of the brain.
Mozart's music improves IQ
In 1995, scientists at the University of California first used the term "Mozart effect". These scientists found that after listening to Mozart's music, students scored higher on IQ tests. They also tested electronic music, minimalist music, audiobooks, and relaxation therapies, but none of them had the same effect as Mozart's music.

Researchers Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw, and Katherine Ky from the Center for the Neuroscience of Learning and Memory wrote in a paper published in the journal Neuroscience about the results of the experiment: “Thirty-six college students who listened to the first 10 minutes of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos, K448 (composed in 1781, when Mozart was 25) scored an average of 8 to 9 points higher on the Stanford-Binet IQ (Spatial-Geometric Reasoning Test) than they did after listening to relaxation therapy or meditation. ''

Through experiments, scientists have proven that classical music has a role equal to the intellectual game of chess. So have you ever wondered: ''If chess and music were combined''.

''Mark Taimanov: Between two worlds'' is the term people give him. Mark Taimanov is a rare case in the world when he reached the peak in two fields: chess and classical music.

An important musical performance always puts us under invisible pressure, or facing a major chess tournament, the pressure on our shoulders is huge. In every field, failure is inevitable, but when you know how to do it again after failing the first time and try harder the second time. As Mark Taimanov said: ''When I look back on my special life, I always feel excited by the feeling of living in two worlds and doing two favorite jobs, Mark Taimanov confided, feeling happy not having to choose between two jobs. It even brings many advantages: I accept failure better than others because there is always a second chance after each failure. That gives me a lot of inner freedom and many close friends who are colleagues in both worlds..."

When asked how he managed to reach the top in both fields, Taimanov replied: “I don’t mix the two careers, I just ‘run back and forth’ between them. When I perform music, I usually ‘put away’ chess, and when I play chess, I ‘put away’ the guitar.”

Music played an important role in defining Taimanov’s chess style. “I do not consider my competitors as opponents, but as partners: together we create a work of art – a game of chess. That is how my first wife, Lyubov Bruk, and I performed musical works,” he said.

Mark Taimanov humorously said about himself, “I do not provoke my colleagues because the players still consider me an artist and the artists consider me a player… I always feel like an amateur in both fields.” Despite his modesty, his successes are admired by everyone. Mark Taimanov and Lyubov Bruk were one of the outstanding piano duos of the 20th century, recording works by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Poulens, Arensky, Milhaud… On the chessboard, Mark Taimanov was also a great chess player, winning the Soviet Championship in 1956, being in the top 20 best players in the world from 1946 to 1971 and participating in the World Championship Qualifying Tournament twice. Although he never won the world championship, he defeated six world champions such as Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Spassky and Anatoly Karpov.

Music in chess

The fascination with artists and chess is well documented, and a special place must also be reserved for musicians who use it for entertainment, challenge, and relaxation. Here are some of the most notable figures caught in front of the board.

Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer and pianist, and perhaps the last great classical composer of the 20th century. He enjoyed playing chess.

Sergey Prokofiev was not only a chess enthusiast, he was an unabashed chess fanatic. He was also one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, on par with Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Stravinsky.

Conclusion.

Grandmasters are also people who love music. They love the logic and harmony of moves on the chessboard, while musicians love their rich, harmonious creativity on the scale of seven musical notes. With seven musical notes, they create thousands and thousands of pieces of music, songs from majestic, melodious to deeply lyrical, just like with chess pieces on 64 black and white squares, chess players create thousands and thousands of chess games of various shapes and sizes, almost endless, giving free rein to human creativity. No wonder people have compared world champion Capablanca to “Johann Sebastian Bach on the chessboard” and champion Lasker to “Mozart of chess”.

The end of today's article:
You may have had a look at music and who knows, from here, the passion for music and chess will rise in you. Music plays an important role in our lives, I try to think that if music did not exist, the earth would not be able to continue rotating. Finally, thank you for reading and see you again.