Chess, Checkers, and the Dark Side of Brilliant Minds

Not Sober Geniuses: Chess, Checkers, and the Dark Side of Brilliant Minds

In the world of intellectual games, where logic, cold calculation and discipline reign supreme, there is a dark side - the chronic relationship of many great masters with alcohol. These are stories of geniuses who challenged not only their rivals, but also their own passions, turning a glass into a piece of a chess or checkerboard.

The Great Chess Elite: Passions of Champions

The stories of great world champions are often filled not only with triumphs but also with personal drama. For some, alcohol became a stress reliever, for others, a destructive habit.

Alexander Alekhine: Complex character and French chic

The fourth world champion, Russian aristocrat Alexander Alekhine, was considered one of the greatest chess masterminds in history. His life in exile, filled with chess tournaments and socializing, included a notable addiction to strong drink.

Alekhin's propensity for alcohol, especially between major tournaments, was attested to by many of his contemporaries and chess journalists. They noted that his consumption, especially of brandy, could be excessive - the volumes were measured in pints. Assuming that he was talking about $1.5$ British pints, this is about $0.85$ liters of hard alcohol per day. Chess historians, analyzing his 1935 match against Max Euwe, often point to Alekhine's dissolute lifestyle at the time as one of the factors that weakened his game and contributed to his sensational defeat. However, despite these personal difficulties, his genius was so powerful that he remained a dominant figure. His ability to recover form and mobilize, which he brilliantly demonstrated when he regained the crown in the 1937 rematch, is indicative of a complex and contradictory character.

Mikhailo Tal: The Magician and the Whiskey

Unlike Alekhine, Mikhailo Tal, the "Wizard of Riga" and eighth world champion, made his free-spirited lifestyle part of his image. Tal was the king of an intuitive, attacking style, often ignoring academic rules.

His friends, and in particular his wife Sally Landau, recalled that Tal could not imagine his life without cigarettes and, like many in the chess elite of that time, without strong drinks. According to Tal himself and his friends, a small amount of alcohol (whether it was high-quality vodka or whiskey) helped him "relax" his inner censor. This allowed him to make his famous, at first glance, crazy sacrificial moves. Alcohol, thus, allegedly acted for Tal as a catalyst for creative carelessness, which corresponded to his brilliant but risky style of play.

Viktor Korchnoi: Cognac against jitters

Even such a legendary wrestler and a fierce "hermit" as Viktor Korchnoi, who was a model of psychological resilience, had his own little tricks for dealing with extreme nervous tension.

In his fight with Anatoly Karpov, which became the most intense psychological confrontation in the history of chess, Korchnoi felt enormous pressure. His seconds and journalists reported that before particularly decisive games he could take a small dose of cognac. The goal was purely pragmatic: to relieve the frantic nervous tension, calm the trembling hands and allow the brain to work with a lower level of anxiety. In this case, alcohol was an anti-stress psychological tool in conditions of superhuman tension.

Other Chess Stars and Paradoxes of History

It wasn't just the champions who had this passion. Historical anecdotes suggest that playing "under the weather" wasn't all that uncommon:

Paul Morphy: America's Fading Star

Although there is no direct evidence that the American genius Paul Morphy (mid-19th century) was an alcoholic in the modern sense, his tragic fate is linked to emotional and mental disorder. After a meteoric rise to absolute dominance in the chess world, Morphy suddenly gave up the game, sinking into loneliness and paranoia. In a time when mental illness was not well understood, his increasing isolation and eccentricities may have been accompanied or complicated by alcohol abuse. This is an example of how the psychological problems that accompany genius could be exacerbated at the time in the absence of proper help.

David Bronstein: Creative Nature and Decline

The outstanding Soviet grandmaster David Bronstein, who played for the world championship in 1951, was known for his creative approach. However, his career after the peak was marked by instability. Testimonies from his colleagues and party comrades often mention Bronstein's tendency to drink, especially during periods of his creative and sporting decline, which affected his results.

Cultural Code: Lasker and "Alcoholic Chess"

It should also be remembered that in the old days, drinking alcohol during a game was part of the culture. Think of the legend of the second world champion Emanuel Lasker and "alcoholic chess", where the pieces were filled with alcohol. This story, which has come down to us through chess historians and journalists, claims that taking a piece could mean drinking its contents. For example, a "eaten" king could force the player to drink a quarter of a liter of cognac. This shows that for the elite of the past, the combination of a sharp mind and a glass could be an eccentric form of leisure.

Beth Harmon and the Dependency Mapping

Although the heroine of the popular TV series "The Queen's Move" is fictional, her struggle with alcohol and drug addiction is a cultural reflection of real problems that faced the chess elite of the 20th century: loneliness, emotional instability, and the pressure of fame, which often led to seeking solace in bad habits.

And Checkers: "Two-sided" Stars

Passions have not escaped another intellectual sport - checkers.

• Vasil Sokov: Multiple USSR draughts champion and one of the most talented players of his time. Sokov's life was unfortunately overshadowed by alcoholism. His talent was extraordinary, but his habit often led to failures in important matches and, ultimately, affected his life path. His story is one of the saddest in Soviet draughts, demonstrating how destructive passion can prevail over genius.



• Other mentions: In the draughts community, as in chess, there is a sad tradition in various forums and memoirs of pointing out chess players whose game suffered from addiction. This suggests that the problem was widespread in intellectual sports in general, where emotional burnout and stress required an "outlet".

These stories, filled with drama and paradox, show that even the world's greatest minds were not immune to human frailties. They are an integral part of the rich, complex, and sometimes dark history of intellectual games.

Cultural Code: Chess and Alcohol as Entertainment

It should also be noted that in the old days, drinking alcohol while playing was part of the culture. Remember the legend of Emanuel Lasker and "alcoholic chess", where taking a piece meant drinking. This shows that for the elite of the past, the combination of a sharp mind and a glass could be not only an addiction, but also an eccentric form of leisure.

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