IV. _That those endowed by Nature with this talent, must bring
their gifts to perfection, by intelligent study_.
So abstruse are the processes of this greatest of all professions, that
comprehension of it has been evidenced by eleven men only, viz.:
Epaminondas, Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne,
Eugene, Frederic, Washington, Napoleon, Von Moltke.
Comprehension of this system can be attained, only by innate capability
brought to perfection by intelligent study of the words and achievements
of these great Captains.
For life is so short and our memories in general so defective, that we
ought to seek instruction only from the purest sources.
None but men endowed by Nature with the military mind and trained in the
school of the great Captains, are able to write intelligently on the acts
and motives of generals of the first order. All the writings of mere
literati relative to these uncommon men, no matter how excellent such
authors may be, never can rise to anything more than elegant phraseology.
It is of enlightened critics, such as the former, that the youthful
student always is first in need. Such will guide him along a road, in
which he who has no conductor may easily lose himself. They will correct
his blunders considerately, recollecting that should these be ridiculed
or treated with severity, talent might be stifled which might hereafter
bloom to perfection.
It is a difficult matter to form the average student, and to impart to
him that degree of intelligent audacity and confident prudence which is
requisite for the proper practice of the Art of Strategetics.
To secure proficiency, the student from the beginning must cheerfully
submit himself to a mental discipline, which properly may be termed
severe; in order to make his faculties obedient to his will.
Secondly, he must regularly exercise these faculties, in order to make
them active and to acquire the habit of implicitly conforming to the laws
of the Art; to make himself familiar with its processes, and to establish
in his mind that confidence in its practice which can come only through
experience.
The student daily should exercise his mind in the routine of deployments,
developments, evolutions, manoeuvres, and operations, both on the
offensive and on the defensive. These exercises should be imprinted on
the memory by closely reviewing the lesson of the previous day.
Even with all this severe and constant effort, time is necessary for
practical tactics to become habitual; for the student must become so
familiar with these movements and formations that he can execute them
instantly and with precision.
To acquire this degree of perfection, much study is necessary; it is a
mistake to think otherwise. But this study is its own sufficient reward,
for the student soon will find that it has extended his ideas, and _that
he is beginning to think in the GREAT_.
At the same time the student should thoroughly instruct himself in
military history, topography, logic, mathematics, and the science of
fortification. With all of these the strategist must be familiar.
But his chief aim must be to perfect his judgment and to bring it to the
highest degree of broadness and exactness.
This is best done by contemplation of the works of the Great Masters.
The past history of Chess-play, is the true school for those who aspire
to precedence in the Royal Game. It is their first duty to inform
themselves of the processes of the great in every age, in order to shun
their errors and to avail of their methods.
It is essential to grasp that system of play common to the Masters; to
pursue it step by step. Particularly is it necessary to learn that he who
can best deduce consequences in situations whose outcome is in doubt,
is the competitor who will carry off the prize from others who act less
rationally than himself.
Especially, should the student be wary in regard to what is termed chess
analysis, as applied to the so-called “openings” and to the mid-game.
Most chess analysts are compilers of falsities occasionally interspersed
with truth. Among the prodigious number of variations which they pretend
to establish or refute, none may be implicitly relied on in actual play;
few are of value except for merely elementary purposes, and many are
fallacies fatal to the user.
The reason for this is: whenever men invited by curiosity, seek to
examine circumstantially even the less intricate situations on the
Chess-board, they at once become lost in a labyrinth abounding in
obscurities and contradictions. Those, who ignorant of the synthetic
method of calculation, are compelled to depend upon their analytic
powers, quickly find that these, on account of the number of unknown
quantities, are utterly inadequate.
Any attempt to calculate the true move in Chess-play by analysis, other
than in situations devoid of unknown quantities, is futile.
Yet it is of such folly that the mediocre mind is most enamoured.
Content with seeing much, it is oblivious to what it cannot see; and the
analytical system consists merely in claiming that there is nothing to
see, other than what it does see.
This is that slender reed upon which the so-called “chess-analyst” hangs
his claims, oblivious to the basic truth that in analysis, unless all is
known, nothing is known.
Many delude themselves to the contrary and strive to arrive at correct
conclusions without first having arranged clearly before their minds all
the facts.
Hence, their opinions and judgments, being founded in ignorance of
all the facts, are to that extent defective; and their conclusions
necessarily wrong.
Through action taken upon incomplete knowledge, men are beguiled into
error; and it is to such unreason that most human catastrophes are to be
attributed.
* * * * *
Most of those who attempt to write on Strategetics, and whether applied
to Chess-play or to Warfare, very quickly are compelled to seek refuge in
vague phrases; in order to conceal their uncertain grasp on the subject
discussed. The uninformed believe in them, because of their reputation,
and are satisfied that the thing is so, without understanding _WHY_.
Words intended to convey instruction, should not be used except in their
proper meaning. Each word should be defined for the student and its use
regulated. The true use of words being established, there is no longer
danger from a play upon them; or, from different and confused ideas
annexed to them, either by the persons who read, or who employ them.
By means of this warning, the student easily may detect the empty
mouthings of enthusiastic inexperience, and equally so, the casuistries
of the subtle expert; who often uses language merely to conceal from
youthful talent, knowledge which if imparted, might be fatal to his
domination.
As the student progresses toward proficiency, he, sooner or later, will
come to realize, that of all disgusting things, to a mind which revolts
at nonsense, reasoning ill is the worst.
It is distressing, to be afflicted with the absurdities of men, who,
victims of the fancy, confound enthusiasm with capability and mistake
mania for talent. The world is full of such people, who, in all honesty
thinking themselves philosophers, are only visionaries enamoured of their
own lunatic illusions.
The true discipline for the student who aspires to proficiency at
Chess-play, is, in every succeeding game, to imitate more closely the
play of the Great Masters; and to endeavor to take his measures with more
attention and judgment than in any preceding.
Every player at Chess has defects; many have very great ones. In
searching for these one should not treat himself tenderly, and when
examining his faults, he should grant himself no quarter.
Particularly should the student cultivate confidence in and rigidly
adhere to the standard of skill, as interpreted by that immutable System
of Chess-play, of which Morphy is the unapproachable and all-sufficient
exponent.
Observing the lack of method displayed by the incompetent
Chess-commander, the student of this system will remark with
astonishment, the want of plan and the entire absence of co-operation
between the various Chessic corps d’armee, which under such leadership
are incapable of a general effort.
How dense is such a leader in the selection of a project, how slow and
slovenly in its execution; how many opportunities does he suffer to
escape him and how many enormous faults does he not commit? To such
things, the numerically weaker but more skillful opponent, often is
indebted for safety and ultimately for success.
One who is opposed by such blockheads, necessarily must gain advantages
continually; for conduct so opposite to all the laws of the Art, is, in
itself, sufficient to incur ruin. It is for such negligence on his own
part that one often has cause bitterly to reproach himself. But such
errors, especially on the part of great players, are exemplary lessons
for the student, who from them may learn to be more prudent, circumspect,
and wise.
* * * * *
Those who make a mere pastime of Chess, who have no desire for the true
benefit of the game, do not deserve information.
Such people are more numerous than may be supposed. They have few
coherent ideas and are usually influenced by mere chatter and by writers
whose sole excuse is enthusiasm.
These players at the game cannot benefit by example. The follies
of others afford them no useful lesson. Each generation of such
“wood-shifters,” has blindly followed in the footsteps of those preceding
and daily is guilty of errors which times innumerable have been fully
exposed.
It is the darling habit of such folk to treat the great things in Chess
with levity and to dignify those insignificant matters which appertain to
the game when used as a plaything.
Such people are merely enthusiastic; usually they are equally frivolous.
They do everything from fancy, nothing from design. Their zeal is strong,
but they can neither regulate nor control it.
Such bear about their Chessic disabilities in their character. Inflated
in good fortune, groveling in adversity, these players never attain to
that sage contemplation, which renders the scientific practice of Chess
so indescribably beautiful.
There is another class of Chess-players who from mere levity of mind are
incapable of steadily pursuing any fixed plan; but who overturn, move by
move, even such advantages as their good fortune may have procured. There
are others, who, although possessed of great vivacity of mind and eager
for information, yet lack that patience necessary to receive instruction.
Lastly, there are not a few whose way of thinking and the validity of
whose calculations, depend upon their good or ill digestion.
It is in vain that such people endeavor to divine things beyond their
understanding. Hence it is, that among those incapable of thought, or
too indolent for mental effort, the game proceeds in easy fashion until
routine is over. Afterward, at each move, the most probable conjecture
passes for the best reason and victory ultimately rests with him whose
blunders are least immediately consequential.
* * * * *
Understanding of high art is dispensed only to the few; the great mass
neither can comprehend nor enjoy it. In spite of the good natured
Helvetius, all are not wise who wish to be so and men ever will remain
what Nature made them. It is impossible for the stream to rise higher
than its source.
“The progress of human reason,” writes the great Frederic, “is more slow
than is imagined; the true cause of which is that most men are satisfied
with vague notions of things and but few take time for examination and
deep inquiry.
“Some, fettered by prejudice from their infancy, wish not, or are unable
to break their chains; others, delighting in frivolity know not a word
of mathematics and enjoy life without allowing their pleasures to be
interrupted by a moment of reflection. Should one thinking man in a
thousand be discovered it will be much; and it is for him that men of
talent write.
“The rest naturally are offended, for nothing so enrages the mediocre
mind as to be compelled to admit to itself its own inferiority.
Consequently, they consign book, author, and reader conjointly to Satan.
So much easier is it to condemn than to refute, or to learn.”
* * * * *
The early success of many young students does not permit them to observe
that they often have departed from the rules of the Art. As they have
escaped punishment for their errors, they remain unacquainted with the
dangers to which they were exposed. Constant good fortune finally makes
them over-confident and they do not suspect it necessary to change their
measures, even when in the presence of an able foe.
Thus, the youthful tyro, inconsiderate, inconsistent, and turbulent, and
oblivious to the innumerable dangers by which he is surrounded, plays
his pieces hither and thither, as fancy and inclination dictate, culling
bouquets of the most gorgeous flowers of the imagination; thoughtless of
the future and perfectly happy because he cannot reflect.
To reason exactly, the student first must rid his mind of all
preconceived notions; he must regard the matter under consideration
as a blank sheet of paper, upon which nothing is to be written save
those things which by the processes of logic and demonstration, are
established as facts.
There is much difference between the Art of Logic and mere conjecture.
The calculations of arithmeticians, though rigorous and exact, are never
difficult; because they relate to known quantities and to the palpable
objects of nature. But when it is required to argue from combining
circumstances, the least ignorance of uncertain and obscure facts breaks
the chain and we are deceived every moment.
This is no defect of the understanding, but error arising from plausible
ideas, which wear the face of and are too quickly accepted for truth.
A long chapter can be written on the different ways in which men lose
themselves in their conjectures. Innumerable examples of this are not
wanting, and all because they have suffered themselves to be hurried away
and thus to be precipitate in drawing their conclusions.
The part that the General, whether in Chess-play or in Warfare, has
to act, always is more difficult because he must not permit himself
the least mistake, but is bound to behave with prudence and sagacity
throughout a long series of intricate processes. A single false
deduction, or a movement of the enemy unintelligible to a commander,
may lead him to commit an irremediable error; and in cases wherein the
situation is beyond comprehension, his ignorance is invincible.
For however extensive the human mind may be, it never is sufficiently so
to penetrate those minute combinations necessary to be developed in order
to foresee and regulate events, the sequence, utility and even existence
of which, depend upon future contingencies.
Incidents which are past, can be explained clearly, because the reasons
therefor are manifest. But men easily deceive themselves concerning the
future, which, by a veil of innumerable and impenetrable secondary
causes, is concealed from the most prying inspection.
In such situations, how puerile are the projects even of the greatest
Strategist. To him, as much as to the tyro, is the future hidden; he
knows not what shall happen, even on the next move. How then may he
foresee those situations which secondary causes later may produce?
Circumstances most often oblige him to act contrary to his wishes; and
in the flux and reflux of fortune, it is the part of prudence to conform
to system and to act with consistency. It is impossible to foresee all
events.
* * * * *
“It is not possible,” writes the Count de Saxe, “to establish a
system without first being acquainted with the _principles_ that must
necessarily support it.”
In corroboration of this is the opinion of Frederic the Great:
“Condemned by my unfortunate stars to philosophies on contingencies and
on probabilities I employ my whole attention to examine the _principle_
on which my argument must rest and to procure all possible information on
that point. Deprived of such precaution, the edifice I erect, wanting a
base, would fall like a house of cards.”
Everyone who does not proceed on principle, is inconsistent in his
conduct. Equally so, whenever the principle on which one acts is false,
_i.e._, does not apply to the existing situation; all deductions based
thereon, if applied to the existing situation, necessarily are false.
“Those principles which the Art of Warfare prescribes, never should be
departed from,” writes Frederic the Great, “and generals rigidly should
adhere to those circumspections and never swerve from implicit obedience
to laws, upon whose exact observance depends the safety of their armies
and the success of their projects.”
Thus the student will clearly see that all other calculations, though
never so ingeniously imagined, are of small worth in comparison with
comprehension of the use of Strategetic principles. By means of these
latter, we are taught to control the raging forces which dominate in the
competitive arts and to compel obedience from friend and foe alike.
“To the shame of humanity it must be confessed,” writes Frederic the
Great, “that what often passes for authority and consequence is mere
assumption, used as a cloak to conceal from the layman the extreme of
official indolence and stupidity.
“To follow the routine of service, to be busied concerning food and
clothing, and to eat when others eat, to fight when others fight, are the
whole warlike deeds of the majority and constitute what is called having
seen service and grown grey in arms.
“The reason why so many officers remain in a state of mediocrity, is
because they neither know, nor trouble themselves to inquire into the
causes either of their victories or defeats, although such causes are
exceedingly real.”
In this connection, writes Polybius, the friend and biographer of
Hannibal:
“Having made ourselves masters of the subject of Warfare, we shall no
longer ascribe success to Fortune and blindly applaud mere conquerors,
as the ignorant do; but we shall approve and condemn from Principle and
Reason.”
To the Chess-student nothing can be more conclusive than the following:
“My success at Chess-play,” writes Paul Morphy, “is due to rigid
adherence to fixed rules and Principles.”
* * * * *
_“Chess is best fought on Principles, free from all deception and
trickery.”--Wilhelm Steinitz._