Alekhine playing blindfold in Paris 1925

The incomparable chess tournament, organized by the Excelsior, the Petit Parisien and the French Chess Federation, with the world champion of blindfold games, Mr. Alekhine, unfolded yesterday, in front of a large and attentive crowd, in the large hall of the Petit Parisien. This tournament, which allowed a single brain to be measured against twenty-eight teams, for him invisible, did not only interest the amateurs, the aces of the Parisian chessboard, those who came from the provinces to participate: this long struggle, this unprecedented effort, enthralled the public of the players, the initiates who followed the adventures all day long, and it is the whole world of chess which will retain the prestigious lesson. Beyond that, those who study psychology, the physiology of the brain, the phenomena of memory and endurance, the mechanism of association of images and the ability to make a rapid choice among multiple combinations, will retain it as a unique experience and infinitely interesting for its exceptional conditions.

Alekhine settles down

At 10 o'clock, Mr. Alexandre Alekhine takes his place in his armchair, in the part of the great hall raised by several steps, and his opponents line up around the tables.

Before opening the meeting, Mr. Fernand Gavarry, plenipotentiary minister, president of the French Chess Federation, reminds the players that they are expressly recommended, according to the main procedure, to note their game and not to touch the pieces analyzing the moves.

One notices, among the teams formed by the chessboard: the ones of the polytechnic, ship and frigate captains, captain Vergnette, general intendant Bastion, major Malteni, Italian aeronautical attaché in Paris; Mr. Sevene, general inspector of the Bank of France, doctor Landais, Ms Frigard, champion of France, and first of all first prize in violin at the conservatory; Ms Jehanne d' Orlive, our colleague René de Planhot, from Echo de Paris, etc.

It starts

The meeting is open, the start is given at 10:15. Mr. Alekhine, who has the whites, designates all the first moves and begins the twenty-eight games in the most varied way. The speaker announces the response of the blacks by passing from one chessboard to another. The time of a complete turn will vary during the day from 17 to 40 minutes.

At regular intervals, one hears a announcement of a move by piece, letter and number and the response according to the same method.

From hour to hour a small cup of coffee is brought to the champion's table. Alekhine sugars slowly and turns without interrupting the work of his mind. From the open case in front of him, he draws a cigarette, lights it and smokes with sensible, detached gestures. He will smoke twenty-nine in the tournament. Most often the eyes are closed. For those who have the privilege of seeing him, he has the attitude of a man who dreams and who prolongs this rest.

Around noon, he is absent for a minute - precisely three - and returns to isolate himself in this dreamlike appearance. You would consider him indifferent to what was happening behind him. But, as a difficulty is detaining speaker and player, he intervenes with his voice and, to everyone's surprise, he restores, reconstructs by memory all the moves that have been played on this chessboard since the beginning.

From noon to 13:00, the replacements are organized in the teams for lunch. Alekhine will not touch the omelette, nor the cold pork with mayonnaise that is brought to him. Between two cigarettes, he breaks a bar of chocolate, drinks a little mineral water and continues his multiple game, without moving.

- He dressed this morning singing, Mrs. Alekhine told us. These tournaments are great celebrations for him and he has never the spirit more free, the nerves more calm. We had a car breakdown on our way: no sign of impatience. Now he is, so far away from us that nothing can distract him. He is in the world of combinations as in his element.

- And you, madame, do you play chess?

- Oh! not at all.

- But you know the game.

- I wanted to know it sufficiently, so that he could talk to me about it.

The public, in the afternoon, circulated with difficulty in the great hall. The chessboard of Ms Cécile Sorel is occupied by Mr. Judic, who is an experienced player.

At 16:18, applauses broke out.

- Chessboard n° 2 abandons!

Sometimes, the voice of the speaker announces: Castling! a king makes two steps and the rook passes over.

At 18:15, new applauses: board n° 8 has given up. It is then the turn of n° 17 (that of Ms Cecile Sorel) at 18:24, of n° 3 at 18:40, of n° 23 at 19:00.

The applauses crackle with the word 'mat' at 19:24, another occurs at 19:30 which is a victory of the side of the players: the polytechnic chessboard has won. The students will be able to dine happily.

No sign of fatigue

They bring to their opponent coalfish, cold veal with mayonnaise and a baba. He won't touch it more than he touched the lunch. Stretched out, lying unmoving in his armchair, he has the hand over his eyes, as if was sleeping, and no sign betrays the cerebral effort, the fatigue of combining for such a long time. Listening, thinking, making a choice, treating each chessboard that is designated to him by isolating it from all the others, is an operation of his mind which does not seem to interest the body.

In the hall, is cited the endurance of Mr. Degrave, champion of the chessboard of the North, come from Lille. He took his chessboard at 10:15 and didn't leave it for another surveillance until 19:35.

The players rarely raise the head. They study, work their moves, wait for the attack and prepare their response, at the cost of a constant reflection.

Some, via clever castlings, believe that they are placing their king under cover, and he nonetheless falls into the power of the invisible adversary.

Knight, queen, bishop, rook and king (only the pawn is not named) move under the impulse of the masterful voice, and this one is without fever. The speaker announces the letters, from A to H, and the numbers, from 1 to 8, in a monotonous clear rhythm, and he repeats when the attentive ear isn't sure that has understood exactly.

At 21:15, the table announces for the players: 1 game won (chessboard 11 Polytechnique). 3 draws (chessboards 4, 12, 19). 13 lost games (chessboards 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 17, 20, 23. 24, 26 and 28).

The last two

The most tenacious, the skilful players resist.

Chessboard n° 10 (Italian section of the Allied Military Committee) resisted until 22:58. Alekhine left his chair for this last game. Standing on the edge of the marble step, he overlooks the group which is hurrying around this last citadel to move. The speaker announces the moves; the audience anxious and patient listens.

N° 10 gives up!

This long resistance and this last victory is applauded. And immediately, in a parenthesis of silence, the results of this memorable day are proclaimed:

- Alekhine wins 22 games, loses three, three games are drawn: the world record is broken!

The games lost by Alekhine go to Polytechnic, the Cercle de Montmartre and the Echiquier Notre-Dame.

Let us add that the news was known throughout Europe a few seconds after the proclamation of the result of the 28th game, thanks to T.S.F.

Roger Valbelle

The above report is from newspaper Excelsior of 02.02.1925. I tried to make the translation accurate; hope that it's easy-reading too. A similar was written in the Petit Parisien of the same day. Comparing them, the latter is giving a more picturesque description of the Alekhine's blunder and defeat by the Polytechnic on table 11. Some commander Carrissan is also mentioned among the players.

And on Ms Frigard is written: "Three polytechnic students, in uniform, lean down their mathematical foreheads, over the tangled pawns, as if over a difficult equation; and Miss Frigard, skilled violinist, and champion of France at her twenties, straightens her blond hair before throwing diagonally a dangerous bishop". The Polytechnic had only one table, the 11th. By this description, it seems that Frigard was playing on a adjacent one. Between the 10th and 12th, more possible is the latter of isolated players; where this dangerous bishop could be 9...Bf5 threatening Q. But the move on the 11th table, that was described previously, was the 17th! Now if the order was kept strict during the whole tournament, it's something unknown. However, I couldn't track some dangerous bishop move on 17th-18th on any table. Anyway...

Alekhine picked a game from this blindfold simul. The one on table 3, where in his Best games 1908-1937 [#207] is given as played against Potemkin; probably Russian Peter Potemkine, who possibly was leading this team of Palais Royal.

And three games worthy of mention for different reasons:

• Table 11, vs Ecole Polytechnique Paris

A blunder. Alekhine lets a series of exchanges with 21. Nc6, probably having in mind that black Q would be on d8, blocked by black N; and not on d6 where truly was. In the end the equalizing pawns last move cost Alekhine's Q, and he resigned.

• Table 24, vs Cercle de Colombes-sur-Seine

Someone's tired, but not Alekhine. Though in the end black could win, resigned instead. I think that this would be more possibly due to fatigue. This table seems still playing at 19:30 and finished at 21:15.

• Table 15, vs Cercle de la Rive Gauche II

Clear mind in the endgame, though this game wasn't finished at 21:15...

And all the 28 games, cross-checked with Hearst and Knott, 2009. Really few alternative lines had been given with no actual difference.

 
In the Chess Life & Review, 9/1971, 521-523, was published an article under the title Alekhine Blindfold by Albrecht Buschk. It was mostly a translation of an Alekhine's article in Шахматы в СССР, 14/1931, 235, followed by notes of the at the time publishing team. Few lines here:

"I first heard about playing without looking at the board when I was a boy of nine. At that time Pillsbury visited Moscow, my place of birth, and gave a seance of blindfold chess on 22 boards. At that time I myselI had not yet been admittcd to the chess club. but my older brother took part in the seance and playcd Pillsbury to a draw. Pillsbury's achievement made a stunning impression upon me. Incidentally, this was the impression of all chess-playing Moscow.

...

To do justice, however, I have to remark that my Parisian opponents were weaker than those in New York, though among them also there fought some well-known amateurs.

...

As to the artistic value of the blindfold game, it is definitely not great. Examining the games played by myself as well as by other masters, I have come to the conclusion that the blindfold game not only reflects the strength of the player, but to a remarkable degree also distorts the usual picture of his thought and style of play. Thus, e.g., I would not recognize by style many of my own games, and I could not imagine that I would play similarly over the board.

...

About the value of blindfold play, there exist altogether different opinions. In America, for instance, it is valued very highly, while in Soviet Russia it is even prohibited because it is considered artistically useless, and, most important, harmful to health.

Personally, although I am the holder of the world record, I cannot consider myself an ardent devotee of this type of chess sport and consider blindfold play only as a medium of propaganda.

...

Editor's Remarks

(by the Editors of 'Шахматы в СССР')

The 'blindfold' game, as a typical manifestation of bourgeois recordsmanship, is decisively condemned by the Soviet chess movement. The article by the present World Champion underscores, as nothing else could do better, the correctness of the position taken by us in this question. The author of the article succeeded with difficulty in finding the only argument - a tormented one at that - in defense of seances of play without looking at the board, in his reference to the 'propagandistic' importance of this unhealthy spectacle; we, on our part, suppose that this reference was provided only for considerations of decency, 'for the sake of a witticism' (for to count on inducing anybody to do serious research in chess by means of such trickery is the same as to recruit a devotee of raising fowl by means of cockfighting, or to 'propagandize' the mathematical sciences by a demonstration of calculating prodigies).

By giving space to Alekhine's article, which presents a certain interest from the point of view of disavowal of the blindfold game as a wittingly imaginary art, the editors call the reader's attention to the camouflaged-advertising character of this literary performance. It cannot be considered an accident that this article appears in print just after the Belgian chess player Koltanowski established a new record of blindfold play by having played, without looking at the board, 30 games simultaneously.

..."

And the two excerpts in the French press.

.... thanx for reading