1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:04,880 Speaker 1: I guess, well, well, what's that mango. So I was 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: reading the story about the chess player Bobby Fisher this week. 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 1: This is when he was young, and I guess he'd 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: won a US championship at the time, so he was famous, 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: but he was also just a kid, and he didn't 6 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: have that much money, and you know, he's kind of 7 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: a recluse, right. Actually I had read that he used 8 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: to play secretly online like later in his life, and 9 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: there was always so much buzz when somebody thought they 10 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: noticed his style of play and and and thought they 11 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: were onto and that they discovered that it was him. Yeah, 12 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: I feel like you'd see that pop up from like 13 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: Japan or Malaysia or wherever. There are these people who 14 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: were just like so excited to have played Bobby Fisher, 15 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: think they've played Bobby Fisher. But so anyway, he's young 16 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: at this time. He wants to go see a movie 17 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: and he doesn't have money for it, so he walks 18 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: into the Chess and Checker Club of New York just 19 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: to pick up a few extra bucks. I guess, to 20 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: hustle it, right, And I guess at the time it 21 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: was this uh, this large smoke filled crowded pool hall 22 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: type place but for chess, and Bobby's totally in disguise. 23 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: He's got a k he's got his collar off, sunglasses 24 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: and a hat. He looks ridiculous, but he does not 25 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: want to be noticed. So he asked a friend, like, 26 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: do you think you can just get me into a game? 27 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: And a friend asked the owner across the bar. And 28 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: remember it's smoke filled and like, Bobby's in disguise, So 29 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: the owner goes tell him, no, he's just a kid. 30 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: The hustlers will eat him alive, and so like, Bobby 31 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 1: Fisher is furious and he just stomps out, and this 32 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: is all reported. This is a real story. But when 33 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 1: his friend tells the owner who it was, that it 34 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: was Bobby Fisher who wanted a game, like, apparently the 35 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: whole crowd at the place has this audible grown and 36 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,559 Speaker 1: this one guy goes, oh, man, I would have paid 37 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: hundreds of dollars just to sit across from Bobby Fisher 38 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: on a chessboard. Anyway, So I don't know much about chess, 39 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: but I do love stories about it. And we're gonna 40 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: get into the most dangerous styles of chess. How the 41 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: game moved from the battlefield to the royal court, and 42 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: even why getting a billion people to play chess might 43 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: be our best hope to keep away aliens. Let's dig 44 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: in the their podcast. Listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. 45 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my 46 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: good friend Manues Ticketer and on the other side of 47 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: the soundproof class writing down a list of chess openings 48 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: he's trying to master. Actually, can you read what he's 49 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: got on the white board over there, Mango, Yeah, he's 50 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:41,679 Speaker 1: got the hillbilly attack, the monkeys burn, Hippopotamus defense. There's 51 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: something called the toilet variation. He's written. Definitely, Yeah, it 52 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,239 Speaker 1: definitely says toilet variation. Well, those are all real chess 53 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: opening moves. But that's our friend and producer Tristan McNeil, 54 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: who also happens to be a future chess master, not 55 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: a current chess master, but I'm confident of future chess man. Yeah, 56 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: he can do anything he puts his mind too. But 57 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: you know, chess is one of those things I used 58 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: to love as a kid, Like I played it on 59 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: my computer, we used to play it with relatives, but 60 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: I never got good at it, Like I'm probably as 61 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: good as I was in second grade, but I do 62 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: love like movies and books that involved it. I I 63 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: read this great book last year. It's really slim. It's 64 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: called The Chess Game and it's by the same author 65 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: that wrote The Hotel in Budapest. And you know, I 66 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: don't understand any of the chess strategy, but I was 67 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: totally enamored with how the main character plays these games 68 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: of chess in his head. Yeah, I mean, like that's 69 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: a real skill. I had heard about these two Silicon 70 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: Vallet guys who met for the first time. I want 71 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: to say it was Peter thiel And and somebody equally famous. 72 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: And the way the first time they met, they sat 73 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: down at a restaurant and one of them said, I 74 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: heard you like chess, and then called out an opening 75 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: play and they actually played a full game on an 76 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: imaginary board in their heads. Like just these two chess 77 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: savants would be the weirdest conversation to like, wait a 78 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: table on like just hearing people call out letters and numbers. 79 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: But you know what's crazy to me is, you know, 80 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: one of our friends, Dad's was a chess chance in Ecuador, 81 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,799 Speaker 1: and there's these photos of him playing like twelve matches 82 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: at a time, just moving from board to board to 83 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: board and making moves super quick. And and then there's 84 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: like blindfold chest, which is kind of like what you're 85 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: talking about. But you know what's weird is that a 86 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: lot of people used to think that playing chess while 87 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: blindfolded can actually lead to brain damage, brain dampisode. So 88 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: why do they think that. Apparently it's just so exhausting 89 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: to keep track of all those pieces while also planning 90 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: out your next moves. And in fact, the Soviet Union 91 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: completely banned blindfold chess in because of that perceived danger. 92 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 1: And and actually one Russian player died during his attempt 93 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: to break the world record for a number of opponents 94 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 1: played wild blindfolded. What you're saying, people combine those things 95 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: like they blindfold themselves then play multiple games simultaneously. Do 96 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,679 Speaker 1: people still do this? Yeah? And actually a new world 97 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: record was set less than two years ago. So this 98 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: chess grandmaster, his name's Timore Garyev, and he played forty 99 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: eight games of blindfold chess simultaneously over the course of 100 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: the three hours. Yeah, he actually won eight percent of 101 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: those games. And it's that ridiculous. Along the way, he 102 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: was actually riding an exercise bike the whole time, and 103 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: in the end he peddled apparently about fifty miles. Good lord, 104 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: I mean, I love that they just added the exercise 105 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: bike because they're playing forty eight simultaneous blindfold games. Wasn't enough. 106 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 1: I'm thinking though, maybe after Tristan masters the Hippopotamus defense, 107 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 1: that he's going to get on this blindfold chess train. 108 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: We'll see. Probably. Well, anyway, for today's show, we're going 109 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: to cover chess, so we'll we'll take a deep dive 110 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: into the history of the game, how the rules developed, 111 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: and why the iconic pieces look the way they do. 112 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,720 Speaker 1: I think I've always been curious about this. And then 113 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 1: a little later we'll try to figure out why Russians 114 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: are so good at chess, as well as why computers 115 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: might be the best players of all. And now, of 116 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: course we'll take a look at how playing chess can 117 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: affect your brain and just what kind of smart it 118 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: actually makes you. Anyway, that's right, so let's jump right 119 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: in and talk about the history of chess, because it 120 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: actually goes quite a ways back. So most historians believe 121 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: in early version of the game was invented in India 122 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: about fifteen hundred years ago, and the first known mention 123 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,479 Speaker 1: of anything involving chess appears in a text from five 124 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: and then about a century later, the game made its 125 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: way to Persia, where a few different variations involved. So 126 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: the exact rules of the game and the appearances of 127 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: the pieces hadn't been formalized at that time, but the 128 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: pieces did have these established identities that aren't that dissimilar 129 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: from what we're used today. So one of the main 130 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: differences was that the game didn't lay out a royal 131 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: court like it does. It was more of a battlefield 132 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: back then, with the king being the only piece shared 133 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: between the ancient version and the modern version. I'm curious, like, 134 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: do do you know what the other pieces were in 135 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 1: the old battlefield version? Yeah, so instead of ponds you 136 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: had these infantry pieces. Nights were cavalry, and and bishops 137 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: were elephants. I think our rooks were actually chariots as well. 138 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: And what about the what about the queen? Was the 139 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: queen part of the game at that point. That's a 140 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: different story. I mean, well, we'll get to that in 141 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: a minute, but the short answer is that the piece 142 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: would later become the Queen. It was actually called the 143 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: vizier or or the advisor. So if you think about Jafar, 144 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: the villain from Aladdin, like, that's basically what the piece was, 145 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: and he was the top counselor to the ruler. But 146 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: you've got to remember the rules of the game hadn't solidified, 147 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: so most of the pieces didn't move exactly like they 148 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: do now. So the Advisor, for instance, could only move 149 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: one square diagonally, which made it this much weaker piece 150 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: than today's Queen, which can obviously, you know, move any 151 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: number of squares in any direction she wants. Yeah, that's interesting. 152 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: So how did the weakest piece in the game pretty 153 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: much become the strongest because the queen has you know, 154 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: better moves than the king, right, I mean, I know 155 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: the King can move in any direction just like the 156 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: Queen can, but he only moves one square at a time, 157 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: which is just I don't know that must that would 158 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: piss me off if I Yeah, but he's probably got 159 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:10,679 Speaker 1: gout over sense, you know. So the upset and power 160 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: didn't actually happen until after the game had spread west 161 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: to Europe in the early eleventh century. And once the 162 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: game hit Europe, that's when it shifted from that army 163 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: on the battlefield to members of the royal court. And 164 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: for a while most of the pieces still moved more 165 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: or less according to the original rules, but that changed 166 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: sometime in the fourteen hundreds or so when this unknown inventor, 167 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: I think it was either in Italy or Spain, introduced 168 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: the rules we know today, and the most important revisions 169 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: he made were to the Bishop and the Queen, which 170 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: until then had been sort of the weakest pieces on 171 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: the board except for the ponds and something. These pieces 172 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: were less restricted in their movement and a whole lot stronger, 173 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: and it was one of those changes that just made 174 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: the game so much faster and more interesting to play. 175 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: And that makes sense, and I could see how those 176 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: would go over well in terms of the actual game play. 177 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: But it's a little bit surprising because if you think 178 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: about it, make the queen the most powerful piece on 179 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: the board, it feels pretty progressive for you know, think 180 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: about this was medieval times you're talking about. That's true, 181 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: and there were tons of sexist players that did kind 182 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: of excuse the change there and said that the strength 183 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: was only in her defense of the king. That's when 184 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: her power came up. But but the reality is that 185 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: queens were getting more powerful on the chessboard at the 186 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: same time they were getting more powerful in real life. 187 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: So so you think back to the fourteenth and fifteen centuries, 188 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: the ladies that were coming to power all over Europe, 189 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: where people like Elizabeth First and Mary Tudor and Queen Isabella. 190 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: That's pretty cool to see that that would, you know, 191 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 1: be mirrored on the chessboard. But so I actually want 192 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: to stick with the chess pieces for just a minute 193 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: and talk about how they got these iconic designs that 194 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: we're all used to seeing at this point. I mean, 195 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: you know, you think about the horsehead knights and the 196 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: castle shaped brooks, because obviously, during those centuries of innovation 197 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: and development that you were talking about, the game was 198 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: really spreading through all different regions and cultures, and there 199 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: was actually no standard chess set to play with. I mean, 200 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: the basic setup was there. You had a board with 201 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: sixty four squares and thirty two pieces, and you know, 202 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 1: I guess they made pretty similar moves, but what those 203 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: pieces actually looked like, or how they felt, or even 204 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: what they were made of. I mean, all of that 205 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: very dramatically depending on where you were playing the game, 206 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: and so all of these countless varieties of styles worked 207 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: well enough for a while. But you come upon the 208 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: nineteenth century and the game has become so popular that 209 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: chess clubs and competitions began cropping up all over the world. 210 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: So you can imagine it actually got pretty confusing when 211 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: players from different cultures would sit down for a match 212 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,079 Speaker 1: and then realized that none of the opponent's pieces looked 213 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: familiar to them, would be so weird and very strange. 214 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: But and it's still just so strange that the game 215 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: evolved somewhat similarly in so many places, and that this 216 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: was really the big difference. But you fast forward a 217 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: bit to eighteen forty nine and there was a British 218 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: architect named Nathan Cook who built this standardized set. Now 219 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: it was called the Staunton Chess set, and its pieces 220 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: are actually the ones that we still know today. So 221 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: I'm curious, like, if Nathan Cook made the set, why 222 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: is it called the Staunton set? Like who is donton? Yeah, 223 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: well you'd think it might be called the Cook Chess set, 224 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: but he actually decided to forego that fame and in 225 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: favor of practicality. So there was a guy named Howard 226 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,960 Speaker 1: Stunton who was a major player in the London chess 227 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: scene at the time, and he'd organized these tournaments and 228 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 1: clubs and was really considered one of the best players 229 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: in the world. And so Cook knew how respected Staunton 230 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: was in this chess community, and so he approached him 231 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: and asked if Staunton's name could be used to market 232 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: his new designs, and of course Staunton was flattered and 233 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,679 Speaker 1: agreed as soon as he saw the pieces, and so 234 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: the set was a huge hit with the public, and 235 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,320 Speaker 1: really since the nineteen twenties it's actually been the required 236 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: set for all worldwide chess organizations. Huh, I didn't realize that. 237 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: So what was the revolutionary about the Stunt set? Like 238 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: I I get that it became the standard, but why 239 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 1: is that? Exactly? Well, this had a few things going 240 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: for it, so for starters, it it wasn't wholly unfamiliar 241 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: because Cook had studied a bunch of different popular chest 242 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: sets that were in use at the time and use 243 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: those common traits really as starting points for his own set, 244 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 1: and then from there he would look to inspiration and 245 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,199 Speaker 1: the architecture of Victorian London, which was the city around 246 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,839 Speaker 1: him at the time, and also for some reason, from 247 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome. And so take 248 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: the Night for example, The Night and the Staunton set 249 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: is a great example of that influence. Like it's the 250 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 1: only piece in the set that isn't an abstract representation 251 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,199 Speaker 1: of something, and instead it looks like a pretty realistic 252 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,560 Speaker 1: horse head. And that's because it's pretty clearly inspired by 253 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: a sculpture on the east pediment of the Parthenon. So 254 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: that carving depicts horses pulling the chariot of the moon, 255 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: goddess of Greek mythology, and so that's supposedly what the 256 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: Staunton Night is based on, like this horse that drew 257 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: the moon across the sky each night, which is such 258 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:02,080 Speaker 1: a weird mishmash of things, right, like Victorian London, you've 259 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: got like Greece and Rome because the culture is like, 260 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: so what else was Cook doing? All right? Well? I 261 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: actually found this breakdown in the Smithsonian of the Staunton set, 262 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: and here are a few of the key features. According 263 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: to the article, it says, um, while some variation is tolerated, 264 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: there are several key distinguishing characteristics that define a set. 265 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 1: As a Staunton, the King is topped with a cross, 266 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: and as the tallest piece, it serves as a metric 267 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: for the height of the other ones. The Queen is 268 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: topped by a crown and a ball, the Bishop has 269 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: a split top, and the rook is a squat castle turret. 270 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: And so with all of this, Cook really established this 271 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,680 Speaker 1: clear and simple language with the forms that he was choosing, 272 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: which not only made them easy to recognize, but pretty 273 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: cheap to produce as well. And so I'm betting that 274 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: all of that together is probably why the Staunton said 275 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: is still, you know, really the global standard today. All right, well, 276 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:59,679 Speaker 1: I know we want to jump ahead in the timeline 277 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: and talk a little bit about the rise of chess 278 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: in Russia, but before we do that, I do want 279 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: to run quickly through a little of its history in 280 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: the US. And as you might imagine, the game made 281 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: its way stateside thanks to European columnists, but despite the 282 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: fact that Ben Franklin was a huge chess fan, the 283 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: game really didn't catch on until the mid nineteenth century. 284 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: And what turned the tide was that this American chess player, 285 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: his name was Paul Morphy. He managed to beat all 286 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: of Europe's chess champions in this international tournament. It was 287 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: the first time this had ever happened. So people's patriotism 288 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: just kind of kicked in at that point and it 289 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: did its thing, and from then on chess became super 290 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: popular in the US. Of course, not everyone was happy 291 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: to see the game takeoff. And why is that? I mean, 292 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: I read this hilarious old article from this eighteen fifty 293 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: nine edition of Scientific American and the author basically treats 294 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,040 Speaker 1: chess like the sinister, corrupting influence, almost like it's the 295 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: fortnight of its time. And so this is how the 296 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: author describes this very real danger of chess. A pernicious 297 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: excitement to learn and play chess has spread all over 298 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: the country, and numerous clubs for practicing this game have 299 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: been formed in cities and villages. Why should we regret this, 300 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: it may be asked. We answer, chess is a mirror 301 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 1: amusement of a very inferior character, which robs the mind 302 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 1: a valuable time and might be devoted to nobler requirements, 303 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: while it affords no benefits whatever to the body. A 304 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: game of chess does not add a single new factor 305 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 1: the mind. It does not excite a single beautiful thought, 306 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: nor does it serve a single purpose for polishing and 307 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: improving the nobler faculties. You know, those were really the 308 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: good old days when the greatest threat facing the youth 309 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: of America with the pressure to join a chess club. 310 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: When you talk about it all, Well, now that we've 311 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 1: heard from the critics, let's talk a little bit about 312 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: some of the game's biggest proponents, which of course are 313 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: the Russians. So but before we get to them, let's 314 00:15:50,280 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: take a quick break. You're listening to part time genius 315 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: and we're talking about the enduring appeal of one of 316 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: the world's oldest games, chess. So well, one thing I 317 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: noticed this week is that it's suspiciously large number of 318 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 1: top ranking chess players all hail from Russia or some 319 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: other Soviet republic, and that includes chess grandmasters like Anthelie 320 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: Karpov Gary Kasparov, And it really made me wonder, like, 321 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: why do the Russians have such a dominance for chess. Well, 322 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: that's interesting, and so of course was digging into this 323 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: in our research for this week. But chess first spread 324 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,520 Speaker 1: the Russia along the Persian and Indian trade routes. And 325 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: that was way back in the seventh century or so, 326 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: and it was popular from the start, but it didn't 327 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: really become a national pastime until much later, when we're 328 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: talking like the nineteenth century or so. Now, this was 329 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: during the Russian Revolution when Lenin and the Bolsheviks took 330 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: power and Lennon was a big player and he really 331 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: loved the game, and Stalin would be after him. But 332 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: the real mastermind behind the country's chess movement was Lennon's 333 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: commander of the Soviet Army, this guy named Nicola Kurlenko. Now, 334 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: he opened these dedicated chess schools, he organized competitions and 335 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 1: really paved the way for these first state sponsored chess tournaments. 336 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: And this was back in So you fast forward a 337 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: decade and you've got roughly half a million amateur players 338 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,120 Speaker 1: that have signed up for these state chess programs. It's 339 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: pretty remarkable how quickly it grew. Yeah, so it sounds 340 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,119 Speaker 1: like there's this big push from the state and that's 341 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: what sort of kick started Russia's love affair with chess. 342 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:36,919 Speaker 1: But why were all those Soviet leaders and think are 343 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: so into chess in the first place. Like, was it 344 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,680 Speaker 1: just because it's a strategic game, and and they were 345 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: kind of seen as great schemers. You know, I'm guessing 346 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 1: the strategy involved was a big part of the appeal 347 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,680 Speaker 1: for them, so that that's probably true. But I also 348 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: read this article in Slate that suggested there might have 349 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: been a little bit more to it, so I just 350 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: will read a little bit of this. The author of 351 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: the piece was Chris Beam, and he was described being 352 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: the appeal of chess. So he writes the Soviets saw 353 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: chess as embodying their revolutionary ideals. It was a game 354 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 1: of skill, and the USSR prided itself on intellectual talents. 355 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: It was also cheap, which meant anyone could play it, 356 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 1: and it's back and forth dynamic reflected that dialectical concept 357 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: of history espouse by Marxism. You know. Never mind the 358 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: irony of playing with imperialist symbols like kings and queens. 359 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: That is funny, you know, I have thought about that. 360 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: But I know chess is hugely popular in Russia, even 361 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: if it no longer has state money behind it. And 362 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 1: there's actually this one famous chess supporter in particularly who 363 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:40,160 Speaker 1: I want to talk about, not only because he's done 364 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: a lot to keep the game relevant for Russian citizens, 365 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: but also because he's just a super weird guy. His 366 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:51,159 Speaker 1: name is kirsn uh Illium's in off, which I know 367 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,400 Speaker 1: I mispronouncing. He was president of the World Chess Federation 368 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: from all the way up until just last year, and 369 00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 1: that's when he was finally ousted in favor of a 370 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 1: new pres in it, it's a pretty impressive run those 371 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: of what makes him such a weird guy. So there 372 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: are actually a bunch of things, but honestly they all 373 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 1: kind of hinge on one in particular, which is that 374 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: Kirsen claims that he was abducted by aliens, and I'm 375 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: just gonna let him explain what happened. And this is 376 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,640 Speaker 1: what he said an interview about a decade after the abduction. 377 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 1: It happened on September sev I was taken from my 378 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: apartment in Moscow and taken to the spaceship and we 379 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: went to some star and after that I asked, please 380 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: bring me back because the next day I should be 381 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 1: back and go to the Ukraine. They said, no problem, Kirson, 382 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: you have time. Oh no, no problems. I guess he 383 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: got napped by some considerate aliens. I mean, not every 384 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,920 Speaker 1: abductee is so lucky, is that? Yeah? Usually there's more provings. 385 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:49,800 Speaker 1: These weren't just any aliens. They were the sophisticates that 386 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,120 Speaker 1: invented chess. Apparently that's true. You know, I didn't realize 387 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: that this was even a theory. So do people really 388 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: think chess was created by aliens? Well, at least one 389 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 1: guy does, because in that same interview, Kerson went on 390 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: to say, I am not a crazy man. My theory 391 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: is that chess comes from space. Why because the same 392 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: rules sixty four squares black and white, and the same 393 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 1: rules in Japan and China and Qatar and Mongolia and Africa. 394 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 1: The rules are the same. Why I think maybe it 395 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: is from space. I mean, I don't want to challenge 396 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 1: somebody that was in power for that long, but I 397 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: have to say his evidence feels a little bit thin 398 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: to me. I mean, we just tracked the spread of 399 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,080 Speaker 1: chess across different continents, so I feel like jumping straight 400 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: to the aliens theory it feels a little off to 401 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: me for some reason. So Kirson did leave the door 402 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,199 Speaker 1: open for at least one other possibility, and in this 403 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: interview with the observer. He admitted that there were actually 404 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: two options, and this is how he put it. Each 405 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: year archaeologists find evidence of chess in America, India, Japan, 406 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: or China played under the same rules from a time 407 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,719 Speaker 1: without planes or the internet. Look, the chess board has 408 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: sixty four squares and ourselves are made of sixty four pieces. 409 00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: All this shows that chess comes either from God or 410 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 1: from UFO. So curs. Yeah, it's basically a toss off. Like, 411 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: the only thing we know for certain is that chess 412 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,159 Speaker 1: wasn't invented by humans. Is such a strange story. I mean, 413 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: why even tell people about this? I mean, the aliens 414 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: just kind of took him on this joy ride through 415 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: the Solar System and then dropped him off in time 416 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: for a meeting him. It seems pretty uneventful for what 417 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:20,639 Speaker 1: it could have been. Yeah, but you've got to remember 418 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: he remained president of the Chess Federation for another twenty 419 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,439 Speaker 1: years after the incident, So I guess the story really 420 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: didn't bother people. And as for the trip being uneventful, 421 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: there was at least one part that had some real 422 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: and lasting consequences. Oh yeah, what what's that? At some 423 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 1: point during the journey the alien suggested to Kirrison that 424 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 1: it would be a really good idea for him to 425 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,680 Speaker 1: build this extravagant city dedicated to all things chess, and 426 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: so he went home and did that. But he built 427 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: an actual chess city. Yeah. So at the time Kirsen 428 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: had this second job, he was president of the Republic 429 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: of Calmakia, which I guess it is a subject of 430 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: the Russian Federation, and using his cloud as leader, Kierson 431 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: was able to build his chess city on the east 432 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: side of this Buddhist town called Alista, and he went 433 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,880 Speaker 1: all out right, like, the city has a chess museum, 434 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 1: this huge open air chess board, it's got a swimming pool, 435 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: enough chess sets to host year round tournaments. It's actually 436 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: hosted several championships in the year was built, I guess 437 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: in But Kirson's real goal was to use Chess City 438 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: to boost the popularity of the game so that the 439 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: total number of chess players in the world would rise 440 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: from six hundred million, which I guess is where it 441 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: is approximately now, to a full billion. Wow, I mean, 442 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: that seems like a big goal. So what was so 443 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: important about hitting a billion players? Apparently that's the number 444 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: of players needed to stop aliens from destroying the planet. 445 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 1: I mean, it just gets weirder and weirder. So how 446 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,560 Speaker 1: did this guy stay in office for multiple decades? I know, 447 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: I I guess he was just really serious about it, 448 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: and like, I don't know. I found this interview that 449 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,159 Speaker 1: he did with The Independent. This is back in two 450 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: thousand and ten, and he kind of just flat out 451 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: says that playing chess is the key to preventing this 452 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: alien attack. And he writes, above us, they're all looking 453 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,679 Speaker 1: at us, and maybe they will get tired of us. 454 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: And suddenly he tails off, making dramatic gesture of destruction. 455 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,640 Speaker 1: How can we save ourselves from them only through intellect, 456 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: concentration and spiritual energy. If a billion people are in 457 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:23,479 Speaker 1: these chess centers playing chess, the world will still have 458 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,199 Speaker 1: positive energy. All right, Well, I admit it. I mean, 459 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: I'm invested in this now if the fate of the 460 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,199 Speaker 1: world is at stake on all this. But I have 461 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: to know, did Kirrison get to a billion players? Like, 462 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: did the Chess city work? It did not, so and 463 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: the whole thing is mostly vacant today and it barely 464 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: gets any use. And what's particularly sad about it is 465 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: that Kirrison actually cut the town's food subsidies to help 466 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,880 Speaker 1: pay for this fifty million dollar complex. So now Chess 467 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: City is is really just a monument to the local 468 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: government's disregard for its citizens. Yeah, that's kind of a bummer, 469 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:57,640 Speaker 1: But you know, I don't want to dwell on all 470 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: these neglectful politicians or even the alien invasions. As weird 471 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,680 Speaker 1: as that story was, and I feel like we should 472 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: talk about a few chess stories that are a little 473 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,360 Speaker 1: more upbeat. What do you think I'm for it? First? 474 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: A quick break? Okay, Well, so chess may not be 475 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: your best hope for a stemming off this alien division, 476 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: but the game still has a whole lot going for it, 477 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,119 Speaker 1: Like plenty of studies have shown that playing chess can 478 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: improve your focus, it can help you hone your decision 479 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 1: making skills, and of course it's a great way to 480 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,439 Speaker 1: strengthen your memory, especially if you play it blindfolded. But 481 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 1: before we get to the mental benefits, let's talk about 482 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 1: some of the more surprising things we found out about 483 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 1: the game, and and maybe we've never noticed before. You know, 484 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: one thing that stood out to me is how resilient 485 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,479 Speaker 1: the game is. Like it stands up to scrutiny more 486 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: than just about any other game out there. You know, 487 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: people over the years have tried to I guess like 488 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: saw of chess for for decades and decades, but the 489 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,440 Speaker 1: game always seems to elude them. I mean, there's always 490 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 1: another move you never considered a new way to win 491 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: or even lose at chess. And remember that's true even 492 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 1: after we built computers specifically designed to decode the game 493 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: and really select the best possible move for millions and 494 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:23,400 Speaker 1: millions of different scenarios. Isn't that exactly what it means 495 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: to solve chess? Like, if we're able to compute every 496 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: possible sequence of moves and counter moves and all these 497 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: different forms of match can take, then isn't the game 498 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: effectively solved? Well, I mean that's actually the thing, because 499 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: even if you had the most powerful computer in the world, 500 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: it still wouldn't be able to calculate all the unique 501 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,440 Speaker 1: games that could be played. And this just seems unimaginable, 502 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,399 Speaker 1: but the possibilities just scale up way too quickly. So 503 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: for example, after both players have moved one time in 504 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:55,120 Speaker 1: a game of chess, there are four hundred possible boards 505 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:58,399 Speaker 1: set ups, but after the second of the turns, the 506 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: number of possible games shoots up to just under two 507 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: hundred thousand. Now after three moves there are one hundred 508 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: and twenty one million possible outcomes, and so on and 509 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 1: so on until you get to the current best estimate 510 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,119 Speaker 1: for the total possible number of chess games, which is 511 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 1: a staggering ten to the one hundred and twentieth power. 512 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: So to put that number in perspective just a little bit, 513 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: there was a great breakdown that I found from Popular Science, 514 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: and here's what it says. There are only ten to 515 00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:30,159 Speaker 1: the fifteen total hairs on all the human heads in 516 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: the world, ten to the twenty third grains of sand 517 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,879 Speaker 1: on Earth, and about ten to the eighty one atoms 518 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:40,679 Speaker 1: in the universe. The number of typical chess games is 519 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,199 Speaker 1: many times as great as all those numbers multiplied together. 520 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: An impressive feet for thirty two wooden pieces lined up 521 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: on a board. That is unbelievable. You know, uh, when 522 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: you look back at the kind of like endless complexity 523 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 1: of the game, you know it's really no wonder that 524 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: it gives our brains such a workout. And actually read 525 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,440 Speaker 1: the study from a while back that found that experts 526 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: who played chess actually used both sides of the brain 527 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,679 Speaker 1: while solving chess problems, and not just the analytical right side. 528 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,959 Speaker 1: Oh wow, but this only happens and I'm guessing like 529 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: really experienced players, that's right. So the researchers gathered eight 530 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: international chess players and then eight novice players, and then 531 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: they took fm r I brain scans while the subjects 532 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: worked their way through two different tests. And first they 533 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: had to identify geometrical shapes and then they had to 534 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: determine whether or not the pieces on the chessboard were 535 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: in a check situation. And the results from these tests 536 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 1: were really unexpected because they showed that while the novice 537 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 1: players had only used the left side of the brain 538 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 1: to process this task, the expert players had used both 539 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: sides of the brain. So this is what the lead 540 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,040 Speaker 1: researcher explained. Quote. Once the usual brain structures were engaged, 541 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: the experts utilized additional complementary structures in the other half 542 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,160 Speaker 1: to execute processes in parallel. Wow. So did this dual 543 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: processing improve the expert's performance at all? Yeah, it actually 544 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: made them much quicker at solving the chess problems. The 545 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 1: novices were, but it is worth noting that the parallel 546 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: processing only occurred during the chess problems and not during 547 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: that geometry test. So it really seems like all the 548 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: extra practice that the experts had given their brains was 549 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 1: this nice boost, but only when it came to chess. 550 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting to hear that, because I was 551 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: actually reading about how playing a lot of chess can 552 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,640 Speaker 1: actually be a detriment to players sometimes, like rather than 553 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: being beneficial to them. And how's that. Well, it's because 554 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: of something called the einste Long effect, which Scientific American 555 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: describes as the brains tendency to stick with solutions it 556 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: already knows, rather than look for potentially superior ones. So 557 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: scientists researching this effect really love using chess players as subjects, 558 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: and that's because they provide a really clear way to 559 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 1: see the effect in action. So as an example of this, 560 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,160 Speaker 1: some studies present master chess players with a chessboard that 561 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: has two possible solutions. You've got this well known maneuver 562 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: that can win the game in five moves and a 563 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: less common but actually much faster, three step solution. So 564 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: the players were told to win the match in as 565 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: few moves as possible, but once they had spotted this 566 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: familiar five steps strategy, they actually seemed unable to recognize 567 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: the much quicker solution. And it wasn't that the three 568 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: step move was really obscure or anything like that, but 569 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: because those same players were actually presented with a similar 570 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: setup where the three step move was the only way 571 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: to win, and then in that scenario, the players recognized 572 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: the strategy right away. So in that first experiment, it 573 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,240 Speaker 1: really was the einstell Lung effect at work. And you know, 574 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 1: the players weren't able to see any of the other 575 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 1: options because they had this cognitive bias for the move 576 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,200 Speaker 1: they knew best. That's really fascinating. But I also like 577 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 1: that even chess masters can learn something to do better 578 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,120 Speaker 1: the next time around, because like, there are that many possibilities. 579 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 1: Like I actually think that's why so many schools invest 580 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: in their own chess programs. It's one of those rare 581 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: hobbies that can boost your cognitive ability well also teaching 582 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 1: you these coping skills like how to win or lose gracefully. 583 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: Although I do have to say the one time my 584 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: son got hit at school, it was in his first 585 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: grade chess club. He came home with dirt on his face, 586 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:08,960 Speaker 1: and I was like, Henry, how that happened? And he 587 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: kind of gleefully said, oh, I took the second grader 588 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: as queen, so he kicked me in the face. For Henry, 589 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: it seems like he was okay with that. He'd rather 590 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: win t face. Oh. You know, and there are so 591 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: many places where they're teaching it really young to kids, 592 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 1: like in Armenia, for instance, Chess is actually a required 593 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: subject for every kid who's six years and older. And 594 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,400 Speaker 1: that's kind of awesome, even though it probably means the 595 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,560 Speaker 1: poor Matt teachers wind up pulling double duty and teaching 596 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,840 Speaker 1: chess as well. Right, Yeah, But I have a feeling 597 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 1: it's worth it to them anyway, because, you know, as 598 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: one Armenian teacher explained, Chess trains logical thinking. It teaches 599 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:49,000 Speaker 1: how to make decisions, trains memories, strengthens willpower, motivates children 600 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: to win, and teaches them how to deal with defeat. 601 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: It's the only school subject that can do all of this. Oh, 602 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: I really love that idea. Well, how about we knock 603 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: out this fact off and and then get Tristan to 604 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:10,760 Speaker 1: show some of his opening moves. He's been perfecting. So 605 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:12,920 Speaker 1: for a while now, we've known that elite athletes tend 606 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: to live longer than the rest of us, and that's 607 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: really not the big of a surprise, But research now 608 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: shows that elite chess players also have a survival advantage 609 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 1: over the general population. A team of Australian researchers looked 610 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: at players from twenty eight countries and specifically over a 611 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,400 Speaker 1: thousand players who reached international chess grandmaster status over a 612 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,720 Speaker 1: period of nearly seven years, and then they compared the 613 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: survival data of those people to fifteen thousand Olympic medalists, 614 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: and not only did they find that both groups had 615 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: significant survival advantages over the general population, but that the 616 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: difference between the two was not even statistically significant. Oh wow, 617 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: that's pretty interesting. Alright, Well, years ago I remember reading 618 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,720 Speaker 1: about how, you know, before the age of the Internet, 619 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,400 Speaker 1: people used to play chess by mail or what's called 620 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: correspondence chess. So you'd make a move, put that move 621 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,600 Speaker 1: in the mail, and then your opponent would do the same, 622 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: and you go back and forth and games could take 623 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: years to play. And actually this kind of sounds fun 624 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 1: to be able to do this with a friend who lives, 625 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: you know, across the country or whatever. But what surprising 626 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 1: is that even today, the US Chess Federation estimates they 627 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:18,959 Speaker 1: have about three thousand members still playing correspondence chess. Don't now, 628 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: of course, some play by email, and there are even 629 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: tournaments for correspondence chess with rules like each player is 630 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,120 Speaker 1: given thirty days of reflection time over ten moves, you know, 631 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: to really speed things up. I guess. So I was 632 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,960 Speaker 1: reading recently about how chess became popular among captured or 633 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 1: wounded soldiers during World War Two, and you know, the 634 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 1: rules of war is so interesting to me sometimes, you 635 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: remember learning about the Geneva Conventions, which are often thought 636 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: of today is sort of the way war crimes are defined. 637 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: But the Third Convention set out how prisoners of war 638 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 1: would be treated, so in addition to how prisoners would 639 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: be treated physically, it also had sections on recreation and 640 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: stated that the captors should encourage the intellect show diversions 641 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,200 Speaker 1: and sports organized by prisoners of war, which makes it 642 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: not that surprising that a quiet game that could take 643 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: hours of days to play and was understood around the 644 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: world could take off at a time like this. So 645 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 1: organizations like the Red Cross would even send chess sets 646 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,560 Speaker 1: around the world to prisoners where there were even organized 647 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: chess tournaments and were so weird. But I do think 648 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 1: that one aspect is pretty cool. Yeah, all right, we 649 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier the similarities between elite athletes and chess players. Well, 650 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 1: did you know that the World Chess Federation actually conducts 651 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: drug tests and they do this pretty routinely, and this 652 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: is because there's a push for it to be part 653 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,920 Speaker 1: of the Olympics and so this is actually required by 654 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: the IOC. But there's some interesting studies around the effects 655 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:46,640 Speaker 1: of you know, so called smart drugs on the ability 656 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:51,120 Speaker 1: to play chess. Now, specifically drugs like modafinil and riddle 657 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,080 Speaker 1: and so Madefanil is a drug we've talked about actually 658 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: in an episode. I guess it's been quite a while, 659 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: but it's commonly used to help with sleep disorders, and 660 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: riddlin is commonly used to treat things like a d 661 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 1: h D. And the findings from some of the studies 662 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,640 Speaker 1: on these players was really interesting because weirdly, players on 663 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:12,760 Speaker 1: these smart drugs were often losing more games than those 664 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,280 Speaker 1: who were not taking these but this was actually because 665 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,160 Speaker 1: the players on them, We're taking more time per move 666 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:22,359 Speaker 1: and just running out of time. So once they took 667 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,359 Speaker 1: the time out as a factor, they found that these 668 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 1: players were actually playing better. So it's one of the 669 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: researchers put it, these substances may be able to convert 670 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:35,560 Speaker 1: fast and shallow thinkers into deeper, but somewhat slower thinkers. Huh, 671 00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 1: that's really interesting. Well, we talked about how long chess 672 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,680 Speaker 1: has been around, and I was reading about some of 673 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,520 Speaker 1: the oldest strategy books on chess, and this one from 674 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 1: way back in one had some pretty awesome advice. The 675 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: book suggests strategies such as playing with your back to 676 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:53,279 Speaker 1: the sun. Why because that could blind your opponent. It 677 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:56,520 Speaker 1: also suggests that if you're playing by a fire at night, 678 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:58,839 Speaker 1: you should use your hand to create a shadow over 679 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:00,600 Speaker 1: the board so that your opponent won't be able to 680 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 1: see his pieces clearly. Wow. You know, I had a 681 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 1: couple of facts about weird chess tournaments and a couple 682 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,840 Speaker 1: of other things. But looking over there at Tristan and 683 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: seeing the size of the smirk on his face, I've 684 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 1: never seen him smirk that big because I know he 685 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,360 Speaker 1: loves this fact, because he loves to play dirty. Whenever 686 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,439 Speaker 1: he competes, he plays so dirty, such a dirty guy. 687 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:22,600 Speaker 1: But anyway, I'm gonna have to stop us there and 688 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,960 Speaker 1: give you today's trophy, Mango, thank you so much. Well, 689 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:28,440 Speaker 1: all right, well, if you've got any great stories about 690 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 1: chess or any facts about chess that we may have 691 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: left out today, we always love to hear those from you. 692 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: If you can email us part Time Genius and How 693 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,799 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com, or you can always hit us 694 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 1: up on Facebook or Twitter. But from Gabe, Tristan, Mango 695 00:35:39,719 --> 00:35:55,440 Speaker 1: and me, thanks so much for listening. Thanks again for listening. 696 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works 697 00:35:57,719 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 1: and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do 698 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 1: the important things we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan 699 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,040 Speaker 1: McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme 700 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 1: song and does the mixy mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland 701 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,280 Speaker 1: does the exact producer thing. Gabe Bluesier is our lead researcher, 702 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:15,320 Speaker 1: with support from the research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan 703 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:17,640 Speaker 1: Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. Jeff Cook gets the 704 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,840 Speaker 1: show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like 705 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:21,719 Speaker 1: what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, and if you 706 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 1: really really like what you've heard, maybe you could leave 707 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:26,240 Speaker 1: a good review for us. Do we do we forget Jason? 708 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:27,080 Speaker 1: Jason who