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Copyright (C) Wilson F. Engel, III, 1992-2001 All Rights Reserved The Chess Master or The Labyrinth of Laughter (As told to the Scribe Wi Ki by the learned Bai Cha most illustrious and assiduous student of the Master Confucius of ancient times.) by Wilson F. Engel, III
Mr. Wan is a rather ordinary businessman, successful according to his station and versed in the ways of the world, but bored with the tedium of his life as an administrator. He is almost forty years old, and already, in his idle moments, he is planning his scholarly retirement from the active life. He daydreams of reading poetry and taking tea. In plum-blossom time he is, by chance, visited by Mr. Tze, an old chum with whom he attended early school, but who he has not seen since. This is a refreshing surprise. Even after their many years' separation, the two men feel comfortable, talking as openly as they did when they were very young. In many ways they are the same in their characters and, in their inmost interests, as when they gamboled like young lambs through their Mandarin characters in the nursery for the privileged intellectual elite—with one important exception. Mr. Wan's friend now loves chess. He loves chess so much that he has become very good at the game. In fact, Mr. Tze has become so adept at competition that he has earned himself a high international ranking. Even more, others with the highest rankings seek him out for matches—for fun. All he does now, he says, is play chess. Mr. Tze laughs at how some people take their chess ranking very seriously. In contrast to them, he thinks rankings to be inconvenient trifles compared to the mystical symmetry of the game. He says he has been at chess for over twenty years—so why be bothered with the false notoriety of all that? This point of view appeals to the reclusive and reflective side of Mr. Wan. In parting, Mr. Tze suggests that Mr. Wan consider taking up the game of chess. II After long reflecting upon the invitation of his friend, Mr. Wan decides to try his hand at chess at a local monthly competition. Even though he is familiar with chess, from idle attempts in friendly games over the years, he is very apprehensive about this competitive undertaking. He knows that, as a tyro against competition-hardened experts, he is likely to make stupid mistakes. He expects that people will laugh at a man, no longer young, bumbling through the game. He hates the idea of people laughing at him. He does not tell his friend. The competition takes place in a public park in full view of casual spectators and family and friends of the combatants. To his surprise, Mr. Wan discovers that he is not laughed at by the crowd or by the other contestants. To the contrary, they seem to respect his desire to join them in the fun. They are a various lot, from every walk of life, and they take the game more or less seriously but they induce in Mr. Wan a relaxed feeling for gamesmanship. He actually enjoys the play. In fact, Mr. Wan does respectably well for a first try at competition. As a result of his first success, Mr. Wan begins to compete regularly and, compounding his success, he begins to take the game increasingly seriously. III Mr. Wan now plays chess every chance he can, and, like the natural scholar he is, he really studies the game. He reads the rice-paper wall posters devoted to chess situations. He reads about the famous plays and techniques. He studies the ancient technical manuscripts, written so long ago that even the authors' names have been lost to the ravages of time. He constructs elaborate mathematical strategies starting from both the opening and closing moves. He also studies the history of this ancient game. He seeks out the very best players of his time. He even seeks out relatives of the deceased greats of the game to discover whether clues to their success lay among their effects. He contributes articles to the obscure chess bureau publications and he exchanges erudite scrolls with the cognoscenti. He becomes known for his probity and finesse, but, most of all, he becomes renowned for his dedication to the game. Now, Mr. Wan does nothing but play and study chess. He still puts in his required hours at his workplace, and he continues his punctilious attention to his administrative duties but clearly he has become obsessed with the game of chess. Instead of poetry and tea, Mr. Wan now looks forward to a retirement of complete absorption in the profound and variegated mysteries of the game of chess. IV Around this time, Mr. Wan has another visit from his old friend Mr. Tze. His friend is pleased to notice that Mr. Wan has been captivated by the game of chess. Mr. Tze says he recognizes "the chess disease" and, unaccountably, he laughs. Mr. Wan, however, is not amused by his friend's laughter. Rather, he is disturbed by the new pattern of laughter that emerges in his encounters with his friend and other players. Mr. Wan discovers that the players at each chess competition begin to take him less, not more, seriously than before. This paradoxical state of affairs perplexes him, and he is sometimes angry, reflecting on the injustices done him. Desiring to be taken most seriously, he is mentally affected by what he perceives as increasing ridicule.The ridicule confuses him since, by his estimation, he is becoming increasingly serious about the game. He thinks he deserves more respect than he is given. Worse than everything, he suspects that his vulnerability to the laughter of the others could spoil his game. He begins to hide from competition he thinks beneath him to protect his game. He now also begins to protect his international ranking jealously. He retreats for a while to playing only against himself. This satisfies him to a degree. Yet the solitude eats at his heart. He longs again for competition; however, he fears the implication of contempt. He withdraws and becomes morose. |
