Stephen Moss wrote, I thought, agonisingly of his lifetime love-hate relationship with chess (The long read, 14 September). In his desperation to improve he was prepared to sacrifice a great deal in his lifestyle and admitted that what really drove him was a need to crush his opponents “into the dust”. To my mind it was only when he quoted from earlier grandmasters and the artist/chess player Marcel Duchamp that he came close to the heart of the matter.
Chess isn’t just a game but an art form where words like “beautiful”, “elegant” and “artistic” can be used to describe a particular sequence of moves. The important thing is that when a chess player reaches a sufficient standard he/she may not be able to play like a grandmaster but is able to appreciate masterpieces (another apposite word) produced by great players. Inscribed on the cover of the record of my competition games is a quotation from the Argentinian grandmaster, Miguel Najdorf: “Chess is a mirror of the soul. Watch how a man plays chess and you will see his essence. Chess is a combination of art, knowledge, game and risk. Yes, risk because in chess you often have to venture and put fate to the test. Success often depends on accidental factors.”
So, Stephen, just relax a little and simply appreciate and enjoy the infinite variety and beauty of this wonderful game!
Michael Howseman
Milford, Surrey
• Pretty well everything that Stephen Moss writes about chess also applies to that other ancient board game, backgammon. The one crucial difference is that backgammon, though requiring great skill, being a dice game also involves luck while chess involves virtually none. I venture to predict that Stephen Moss will never beat a chess grandmaster at their own game, whereas I, another ageing player with similar aspirations as my nearly namesake, can honestly say that I have occasionally been lucky enough to beat some of the best backgammon players in the world. So I would invite him to stop beating himself up and try playing a game that involves more than just skill.
Stephen Morris
Bristol
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