How a Surrealist Sketched the Chess Squares
DISCLAIMER: This blog is really long with loads of stuff, so in order to not lose interest, in the words of my friend @Simaginfan, pop in and out when you have time to spare - like reading a book - and get to things in your own time. I hope you enjoy the text in this blog.
When one passes a certain stage, one no longer moves the pieces, but simply watches them move.
It was July of 1930, the peak of the summer in Germany. Usually, around this time, visitors enjoy relaxing in the sunshine and enjoying the sights and attractions around Germany, as it's the perfect time for a city escape or a relaxing countryside break. But the year 1930 is infamously remembered for the outbreak of political tensions in Europe, especially Germany. Deteriorating economic conditions in the nation marked the beginning of something nobody wants to remember or even think of. However, amidst all this drama, there was still room for chess.
The 3rd official Chess Olympiad was held in the city of Hamburg, Germany, in 1930. 18 nations battled it out to prove themselves the strongest chess-playing nation. Frank Marshall, representing the United States was one of the most relevant players on this occasion.
When the train slowly pulled out of the station, Frank Marshall, eager to prove that he was still a tough force, took out the miniature chessboard from his pocket and began to contemplate it. He did not set out the pieces but simply studied the sixty-four black and white squares on which, you might say, he played not only chess but his whole life as well. He finally sat down over the board and shook hands with his opponent. The man sitting opposite to him was an enlightened, disciplined, and neatly dressed Frenchman, Marcel Duchamp.
Duchamp played a Queen's Indian in reply to Marshall's 1.d4, and the two men agreed to a draw after 38 moves of fight after there was seemingly no life left in the king-pawn endgame. Duchamp was one of the few to force Marshall to yield a draw. But hey, wait, did I really just say that Marshall was battling somebody named Marcel Duchamp? Many of you reading this might recall this name as the one who crafted some of the most influential artworks of the twentieth century.
In this blog, I will present the story of one of the most interesting individuals to have ever embraced this game of 64 squares, and how an artist made a relevant presence in the chess world, resembling chess as a form of art. This is the true story of how a surrealist sketched the chess squares.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Early Life
- Passion for Art and Chess
- Stepping Away from the World of Art
- Stepping onto the Chessboard
- The 1930s and Beyond
- Duchamp's Love for Chess in Words and Images
- Conclusion
Marcel Duchamp was born on July 28, 1887, in the town of Blainville, France to parents Eugène Duchamp and Lucie Duchamp. Duchamp’s father worked as a notary but the family had phenomenal talent when it came to art, which ran particularly from his grandfather, Émile Frédéric Nicolle, who was a shipping agent but also took engraving very seriously. They enjoyed spending time together playing chess, reading books, painting, and making music.
Four of the six Duchamp children, including Marcel himself, pursued careers as artists. Gaston, born in 1875, later adopted the name Jacques Villon, while Raymond, born in 1876, became known as Duchamp-Villon. Marcel, the youngest brother, and his sister Suzanne, born in 1889, both retained the name Duchamp.
At the age of eight, Duchamp followed his brothers' path by leaving home to attend school at the Lycée Pierre-Corneille in Rouen.
In the early stages of his career, Duchamp's artworks were influenced by Post-Impressionist styles. He studied art at the Academie Julian and played with classical techniques and subjects, although he enjoyed playing billiards more than attending classes. During this period, Duchamp created and sold cartoons that depicted his cheeky humor.
Marcel learned how to play chess in 1898 via his elder brothers. As a kid in his early teens, Duchamp picked up chess in 1902, the same year he created his first painting. His two brothers got involved in the Cubist circle in Puteaux, on the outskirts of Paris, where they used to have regular games in their studio.
Duchamp clearly found the atmosphere inspiring, as he blended chess as a theme into several of his early important works. One of these works, The Chess Game (1910), was influenced by Fauvism and was submitted to the 1910 Salon d’Automne. He further blurred the line between Cubism and Futurism in two more paintings, Portrait of Chess Players (1911), where he showed his two elder brothers playing the royal game, and King and Queen Surrounded by Swift Nudes (1912).
All these artworks are now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Stepping Away from the World of Art
And Taking up Chess
Later on, following the uproar sparked by Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) (1912), which 100,000 visitors viewed during the month-long exhibition in New York City in 1913, he paused his artistic talent for a bit. Duchamp withdrew from painting circles and in the very same year, he worked as a librarian at the Bibliotheque Sainte Genevieve. One of his art pieces during this time was a bicycle wheel mounted on a stool. In 1914, he tried a hand at the military but was rejected after being marked unfit.
Duchamp was drawn to the fields of math and physics, fascinated by the fresh discoveries happening within them. He found particular engrossment and inspiration in the theoretical works of Henri Poincaré. Poincaré's ideas suggested that the laws governing matter were shaped by the minds that perceived them and that no theory could be deemed as an absolute truth.
All these ideas and thoughts were reflected in Duchamp's art, as he welcomed any explanation, looking over each one as the creation of the individual who decided to put it all together, rather than the ultimate truth.
The things themselves are not what science can reach..., but only the relations between things. Outside of these relations there is no knowable reality.
- Henri Poincaré
It's widely acknowledged that Duchamp was just as talented as any other painter. However, what he didn't believe in was the inborn value of art. He refused to enter the field of conventionality and instead wanted to introduce a forceful scholarliness into his new world. In 1915, he began working on one of his most famous but incompleted pieces, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) for which he had been studying since 1913.
The Large Glass, like the Nude, was intended to stand out as an exceptional work of modern painting. From 1913 to 1923, Duchamp dedicated almost all of his efforts to creating preliminary studies and the actual painting itself. His departure from painting certainly did not signify an end to his productivity.
CHESS, SOMETHING DUCHAMP COULDN'T RESIST!
When the First World War broke out, Duchamp made his first move to New York in 1915, completely unaware that he had already gained some level of celebrity status. The way he was received also uplifted his mood. He found himself mingling in high-society art circles and bumped into figures such as the collector Walter Arensberg, the poet Alfred Kreymborg, Dr. Ernest Southard, and Man Ray. Interestingly, they all shared a love for the royal game of chess!
Duchamp had a reputation that led to many offers from art galleries longing to get hold of the painter. But he refused them all as he did not want to start his career as a full-time painter. Duchamp became part of an artist colony in Ridgefield, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City.
He ended up being an important presence in the late-night chess gatherings at the Arensbergs’ apartment. In some pictures of Duchamp’s workspace around 1917, you can see a sizeable chessboard hanging on the wall, likely used for analyzing chess positions.
To support himself, he decided to give French lessons. Feeling like he was getting too immersed in art, Duchamp, wanting to bring in a change, moved to Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, in 1918. There, he spent his time playing chess in local clubs and receiving lessons from a top professional. In May 1919, while still in Argentina, he wrote a letter to the Stettheimers — three sisters whom he had previously taught French to in New York, which said:
Nothing in the world interests me more than finding the right move. I like painting less and less.
Duchamp wanted to create his own chess set and accomplished it with the help of a local craftsman. After a brief return to Paris, he was back in New York by 1920. As soon as he arrived in New York, he joined the Marshall Chess Club and played there every morning. In 1921, he wrote to Francis Picabia:
My ambition is to be a professional chess player.
In 1922, he took part in the Metropolitan Chess League and ended up on the winning team with the Marshall Chess Club. During that time, he had the opportunity to play against Capablanca, who was conducting a 21-board simultaneous exhibition. Although Duchamp lost, it motivated him to study chess harder. It was the right time to say that Duchamp had now become an artist whose ultimate goal was to quit art for the love of chess.
All Duchamp does now is play chess, and he would be quite happy just to become unrivalled at it one day.
- Breton's Magazine
In 1923, he decided not to continue The Large Glass and left it incomplete. Besides it, he had worked upon only a few other ready-mades.
Duchamp later claimed that it was not his objective, but at different times, he highlighted the art-like qualities of chess while also searching for chess-like qualities in art. He was attracted to the nature of the game. He loved how chess has limitless potential combinations of moves and strategies, just like every other chess enthusiast.
In 1923, he entered the city of Brussels which he chose as the initial point for his new journey in chess. He joined a local chess club and played regularly in tournaments. He participated in the National Belgian Tournament, where he placed third with an overall score of 7/9. One of his wins was against the well-known Edgard Colle. He lost two games to the strongest players in Belgium, and one of them was the famous George Koltanowski.
Both Koltanowski and Duchamp were present at the establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the governing body of chess, in 1924. They both went on to become great friends and each other's well-wishers.
In June 1927, Duchamp married Lydie Sarazin-Levassor, a pioneer of the automobile industry, however, they divorced six months later. In January 1928, Duchamp expressed that he could no longer manage the weight of marriage and its limitations, leading to them being divorced soon. Duchamp had now formulated a routine of playing chess every day from 6 pm up to late at night and then going to bed early morning. This routine was a part of his life for the next 20 years.
Duchamp was known as a skilled player, but some felt that he didn't have the level of aggressiveness to effectively intimidate his opponents. Edward Lasker, who had faced him many times, called him a 'master among amateurs' who was willing to take risks to end up on the winning side.
If there were official rankings of the United States chess players in the 1920s and 1930s Duchamp would certainly have ranked among the top 25.
- Edward Lasker.
Duchamp again faced his friend Koltanowski in 1929 in Paris. But this time, Duchamp turned the tables in some fashion. He registered a victory over one of the best blindfold players of all time in just 15 moves. A quick knockout indeed.
Obviously, Duchamp had no fear of Koltanowski's "Knight Ascending a Chessboard." The game was balanced until White decided to get a bit greedy by capturing the rook with 15.Nxf8?? and our protagonist spotted the strongest reply with 15...Bd4+! His win against a game master meant the world to him and became the moment of his chess career.
M. Duchamp's view of chess and his art was fairly complex. He became fully addicted to chess playing, in each game he sought thrill and especially unrealised beauty. Until now, he had crossed this border and limits. He became a great commander who sent his courageous formations into a destructive fight. Offensive skirmishes and long strategic battles became an inseparable part of his life.
PERFORMANCE AT THE CHESS OLYMPIADS
In July-August 1928, he played on the French team at the 2nd Chess Olympiad in The Hague. He played Board 3 and won 1 game (defeating Vladimir Petrov of Latvia), drew 11, and lost 4. He lost one game, to Hans Mueller, in 10 moves, the shortest game of the Olympiad. In July 1930, he again played for the French team at the 3rd Chess Olympiad in Hamburg but this time as a Board 4. Alexander Alekhine led the charge as Board 1 with 9/9. Marcel Duchamp won 1, drew 6 (one of which was against Frank Marshall), and lost 8.
In 1931, he played as the reserve board for the French team at the 4th Chess Olympiad in Prague. He won 1, drew 3, and lost 5. In 1933, he played at the 5th Chess Olympiad in Folkestone as Board 4. This time, he won 1, drew 2, and lost 9. He had a total of 4 wins, 22 draws, and 26 losses overall in Chess Olympiads.
In 1930, he finished 9th with 4.5/11 in the tournament conducted in Nice (a city in France).
Duchamp also wrote the book Opposition and Sister Squares Are Reconciled (1932) about extremely rare chess endgame positions along with Vitaly Halberstadt. The book was released in a limited edition of 1,000 copies by L'Echiquier, Edmond Lancel, in Brussels. One of the endgame positions is the one that arose from Lasker vs Reicheim in 1901. It was written in French, English, and German. Duchamp won the Paris Championship in 1932.
By 1933, Duchamp and his fellow chess players were facing increasingly tough competition from stronger teams, especially from young German and Russian players. The chess scene was evolving into a more professionalized environment with a daring pace, which was challenging for Duchamp to keep up with, marking the end of the era of amateur chess.
GETTING INVOLVED IN SURREALISM
Duchamp made sure to not step into the land of art circles again, however, he was involved in discussions with surreal artists, which were composed by many of his former Dadaist friends. He published The Green Box in 1934, which contained a series of documents relating to The Large Glass. Andre Breton, a French and Surrealist poet, wrote extensively on Duchamp and on the importance of the work which he had recently published, that appeared in the Paris magazine Minotaure in 1935.
From 1935, Duchamp had a close association with the surrealists and helped Breton organize all the surrealist exhibitions from 1938 to 1959, including the famous New York exhibition in 1942 during the Second World War.
TAKING UP CORRESPONDENCE CHESS
Marcel Duchamp now turned his face towards Correspondence chess, as it allowed him to slowly think over each move in a much more detailed and precise manner. He won the European Correspondence Chess Championship in 1933 and the Internal Correspondence Chess Tournament in 1934-35.
Between 1934 and 1939, he participated in the inaugural Correspondence Chess Olympiad and was unbeaten.
THE SAD REALIZATION
In 1940, Duchamp realized that his dream of becoming a great chess player was simply out of reach.
Duchamp needed a good game of chess like a baby needs a bottle.
- Henri-Pierre Roche, Marcel's friend
In June of 1942, Duchamp boarded a ship from Casablanca to New York and decided to make New York his permanent home to escape the difficulties of World War II in Europe. He set up his studio on 14th Street. Around the same time, Duchamp and George Koltanowski, the best chess friends, joined forces to establish the Greenwich Village Chess Club. Towards the end of the war, he organized a chess exhibition at the Marshall Chess Club and invited artists to redesign the standard chess sets.
After the war, in 1948 and 1949, he played in the preliminaries of the New York State Chess Association and finished in first place on both occasions. His best result in a competitive chess tournament after the 1932 Paris triumph was probably in the 1950 New York Championship, where he won 5 out of his 9 games.
Marcel married Alexina "Teeny" Sattler Matisse in 1954 who was a keen chess player. She joined the Marshall Chess Club and enthusiastically took part in all the events. In the 1950s and 1960s, Marcel got involved in a lot of fun activities concerning chess along with his people. He was no longer an active competitor in the world of chess but simply enjoyed it until the end.
I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art - and much more. It cannot be commercialized, Chess is much purer than art in its social position. Chess is purer, socially, than painting, for you can't make money out of it.
- Marcel Duchamp
LAST YEARS
In 1964, he had a documentary made about him in France. He played the last chess tournament of his life in 1967 in Monte Carlo before suddenly dying of heart failure on 2nd October 1968, peacefully collapsing in his studio. He is buried in the Rouen Cemetery, in Rouen, France.
Duchamp's Love for Chess in Words and Images
Discovering a person's hobby can be really delicious at times. But was chess a hobby for Marcel Duchamp? Absolutely not. Amidst the world's chaos and disturbing sounds, the Dadaist leader found solace on the board of 64 squares. He was ready to play under any circumstances he could.
The Chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts. And these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chessboard, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem.
- Marcel Duchamp
A chess game is very plastic. You construct it. One creates beautiful problems and that beauty is made with the head and hands.
- Marcel Duchamp
Damn, did you actually make it to the end? If yes, then congratulations, quite an accomplishment to be honest. You have proven that you are a keen chess reader who could spend hours staring at a chess article and absorbing the fun by reading the stories of such chess players.
It was really nice to present this beautiful story in front of the chess community, as reading these stories about individuals with such love for this royal game provides satisfaction to the keen chess players in this era. Thank You for reading and I hope to meet you in the comments section!
I would like to apologize for not providing my game analysis for the first time. I haven't studied chess for the past 3-4 months due to my hectic academic schedule every day, nor have I been performing in my online or offline games. I just didn't feel like providing the annotations so if anyone's upset, just let me know in the comments.
Here are the sources used for writing the blog: Messy Nessy's article, Christies.com, Bill Wall's blog, Britannica, and Wikipedia. And a credit to Picwish as well, which was used for the photo enhancement of a couple of blurred images.
This will be an end to this blog, and once again, thank you for reading. I don't know when I will be publishing my next blog, but just like last time, it won't be anytime soon.
Until next time, I am outta here.