Chess players keep skills in check during games
Chess Strategy
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THE VILLAGES ' Clyde Robinson is familiar with intrigue. He's no stranger to the machinations of kings, queens, and bishops. He knows the importance of a minor character, a pawn, if you will, to his overall strategy. If successful, Robinson will topple an empire. If his opponent finds a hidden weakness, Robinson will be checkmated and forced off the field of battle.
No, the Orange Blossom Gardens resident wasn't a spy and isn't a writer of spy thrillers. Instead, Robinson helps to run the chess games from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and Fridays at the Silverlake Center.
When asked how long he had been playing the game, Robinson gave a smile and shook his head, saying, 'I'd rather you didn't ask that. I will say that I was 5 or 6 years old when my father taught me and my brothers to play.' He did reveal later that he's been playing the 600-year-old game for about eight decades.
'I played (grandmaster and former world chess champion) Bobby Fischer once,' Robinson said, the memory bringing a proud grin. 'I'll give you one guess who won. I gave him a good game, was ahead of him for a few moves, but it's like tug-of-war ' the biggest player wins.'
Robinson added that he played several U.S. champions as part of an exhibition.
'It was one of those exhibitions where the champions would play several players at once. Of course, they'd walk up to the board, make a move and go to the next board while you had time to look things over. It was a good way to see the knowledge and ability of champions,' Robinson said.
While many think the game of chess is all in the mind, Tom Barton and Chuck Stansburge, playing at the next table, demonstrated that some good, old-fashioned psych-out techniques have their place at the board.
'Well, yeah, you could do that,' Barton said in a 'do you really want to do that' tone as Stansburge placed a piece.
Stansburge, for his part would softly hum 'Entrance of the Gladiators,' the familiar bouncy circus theme song, every time he made a move.
Both experienced players shrugged off the other's off-board gambits, and concentrated on the game, calling Robinson over once in a dispute over an 'en passant' move. 'En passant' refers to a not-often-done maneuver when a pawn captures an opposing pawn when it avoided capture by moving two squares. The move is the only time in chess in which a piece captures but does not move to the square of the captured piece. The rules are as complicated as it sounds, and it took several demonstrations by both players of the moves leading up to the dispute before Robinson could give a ruling.
Barton learned to play the game in college, something he says was, 'a good many years ago.'
Stansburge, a life member of the U.S. Chess Federation makes his own ceramic chess sets.
While some members of the group have impressive chess credentials, Robinson says the club is, 'social, recreational chess.' There are no dues to play.
'There's no question we try to win, but we have a good time and playing the game is the No. 1 reason for being here,' Robinson said.
'One of the reasons the game has been so popular for so long is that there is nobody, without any question who is unbeatable. You never know how the game will turn out,' Robinson said.
Donna Riley-Lein is a reporter for the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9255, or donna.riley-lein
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