Des Moines Tribune from Des Moines, Iowa • 21

i Des Moines THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1972 PAGE 21 THE FRONT ROW By Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart A WOMAN who still never shops in the Loop without being rY smartly hatted and white-gloved was walking through the Big Store the other day when to her astonishment she saw coming toward her another woman also wearing gloves and a hat. I t' j. breakfast the other morning the morning of the day he was elected prime minister of if i a Japan. If you give up: He aie bean-paste soup, pickles and seaweed. What do you suppose hopeful Pat and hopeful Eleanor are nlanning to KAKUEI TAN AKA feed Dick and George on that big morning next November! kji 'Xi I tmni RS.

Mahlon Gottschalk of M' Minburn reminds us that As the two approached each other they flashed big smiles. And as they passed, these two truly perfect strangers reached out with white gloves for a quick handshake. Not a word was spoken. None had to be. IRIGHT Sight: The fur paws are left on all dressed rabbit offered for sale in the markets of France.

Why? "So the client will be assured it's not cat," says my source. KRNT's a rperson Connie McBurney has a tiny Yorkshire terrier whose name is Eliza Doolittlc. And they say another Yorkshire named Henry Higgins lives near Windsor Heights. Some enchanted evening! ONE newspaper in Iowa ran this headline during the recent convention in Miami: "Say McGovern to ask Kennedy to be mate." Even in high circles! SOME cooks use belts to strap themselves in their kitchens. They're the cooks aboard ship in the Bermuda Yacht Races.

They see so much heavy weather in such small craft that the ships' cooks have to take measures to stay in the galley. HOW They Talk: In this country we call them crib deaths, but in England they're called cot deaths. Somehow it sounds so unfeeling. CUESS what Kakuei Tan-7 aka was served for mainly to bis quirks, whims and temperamental outbursts which have jeopardized his career as well as costing him immense public sympathy across the world. Indicating perhaps something of the American's light contempt for chess, the book is sloppily produced my reviewer's copy has the title printed upside down on the spine, and Fischer's name is misspelled on the jacket, an unpardonable error and is outrageously overpriced at $7.95.

It seems a hasty attempt to capitalize on the current match in Iceland, but will do nothing to recruit aficionados to the game. In fact, its cramped annotations will repel all but the most zealous chess-worm. WHAT is needed at this time is a humanized history of modern chess, beginning with the landmark London tournament of 1851 and concluding with the Icelandic saga of 1972. (Incidentally, one of the major publishers has scheduled for this January a com-, plctc handbook on the Fisch-er-Spassky match. Let us hope that it offers some interesting apcrcu to the general reader as well as a syllabus for serious students of the game.) A really useful book on the world chess championship might indicate to the unin-structcd American audience jj -V next winter the birds would love to have the seeds in all the melons and squash we are eating right now.

Wash the seeds and be sure you get them "powder dry" so they won't mold. "Don't store them in a tight container until cooler weather," Mrs. Gottschalk advises. "A paper bag with a few small airholes is better than plastic, and shake the bag as new seeds are added." --'-J TRIBUNE PHOTO BY THOMAS DE FEO OWN in Rio they call D( Duke Ellington "the Pope fidence weakens and his particular flaw is exposed to relentless attack. This flaw may be vanity, or timidity, or rashness, or anger, or arrogance but it is always, at this level, a psychological one.

(This is what Smyslow, the world's champion in 1960, alluded to when he replied to By Sydney J. Harris 1972 Chicago Daily News THE ORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP, by S. Gligoric and R. G. Wade (Harper Row, rpHERE ARE two games 1 called chess, really one is the game that persists in the popular imagination, and the other is the game that is played by experts over the board.

The first game is tedious, abstruse and mathematical, presided over by Olympian graybeards with prodigious memories, infinite patience, and the uncanny ability to project a dozen moves ahead. The second game the real one is well-paced, pragmatic as a military campaign, and far more a matter of temperament than of theory. Its devotees are as diverse as any other random group of people including idiots and geniuses, mathematical marvels and men who coidd scarcely total up a grocer's bill the same way twice. Some chess masters can remember every combination made in the Hastings tournament of 1935; while others cannot recall which opening they played yesterday. Some experts can play 40 opponents blindfolded; others not even one.

Some champions can anticipate a dozen complex variations; others see only two or three moves ahead. Moreover, chess is primarily a game of youth more than of age. Bobby Fischer is only the latest in a long line of boy prodigies, including the great Morphy, who when he was 6 beat his father in his first game, and the immortal Ca-pablanca, who was champion of Cuba at the age of 12. Past middle age, most players lack the stamina for tournament competition; every reigning champion in the last 100 years has been ig-nominiously dethroned by a much younger man. TIIOSTOF ALL, chess is not i'l an "intellectual'' game, as it is generally considered to be in the United Stales.

Some of the finest players have been cultured men. But more have been bores or freaks who, away from the chessboard, could scarcely tic their own shoelaces or cross the street without assistance. Chess ability, indeed, is much on the order of having perfect pitch related to nothing else in the total personality. The dozen greatest players of the last century have had practically nothing in com- of Jazz." By the way some months ago when Duke and the members of his orchestra flew to Rio they paid $2,069 in excess baggage. That big brass tuba, you say? No nowadays it's plastic.

until now, been just as implacable as in the more exalted realms of trade, diplomacy and gun-running. In their previous encounters. Fischer has been bested by Spassky, who is surely never going to join the select company of chess immortals. But, as 'The World Chess Championship" book fairly stales, "Fischer is a much more dangerous rival to Spassky than any of the Soviet grandmasters, "not only because of his youth, but Fischer "has a much better percentile of successes than the world champion hniisolf on the rating lists." Indeed, Fischer has an iu-c i I record in international competition, and it would look even belter if he had not angrily out of so many tournaments on the most trivial of pretexts. Book Review YOUR HOROSCOPE nion except their exquisite mastery of the board.

Steinmitz was a pedant, Laskcr an artist, Capablanca a bon vivant, Alekhine a morose alcoholic, Euwe a prim schoolteacher, Botvinnik a mechanical man, and Fischer gives the impression that he would be just as satisfied (or as disgruntled) to be the world's bowling champion. At Us highest level, chess, like all good games whether tennis or bridge or poker is psychological combat. All the top tennis players have roughly the same gifts of stroke production; all the leading card players are equally proficient in technique; all the tournament chess players know every opening, gambit, trap, and all their variations. It is the boldness, the imagination, the playing on nerves, that eventually decides the contest. The essential human factors of character and temperament make the ultimate clilference between two combatants brandishing identical weapons.

rpHUS, the game viewed by I the observer is not the game that the contestants are playing. They arc operating at a level above technique, aiming to exploit a personal weakness more than a technical defect: To move the opponent into an area where his self-con to be the greatest living player, the formal chess championship of the world was inaugurated. Until then, "champions" had been crowned by acclamation; some of them reigning, like Steinmitz or Lasker, for a quarter-century; and most of them reluctant to give an up-and-coming contender the opportunity to meet them fairly face-to-face. Fischer's complaint, though expressed in less gentlemanly tones than most, is by no means singular in the devious world of chess, where Talleyrand and Metternich would have fell comfortably at home. But Russia, beginning in developed an added dimension to the machlpolilik of the game; for its own reasons of national prestige, it has managed to dominate championship matches since that time.

Until the current Fischer-Spassky match in Iceland, there have been nine matches between champion and challenger, involving only six players, and all of them in the Russian sphere of influence. SOME outside observers, less partial than Fischer, have also suggested that Ihc Russians have a tacit agreement to maintain this hegemony by 'drawing" games against one another when it would serve their collective purpose. The cold war in chess has, ITER trying to convey A an interviewer's question, "Who is your most dangerous opponent?" with: "In chess, as in life, a man is his own most dangerous opponent." Donne and Dostoievsky both would have applauded this answer.) In international chess a pursuit taken with Ihc utmost, seriousness almost everywhere except in I he United States the inherent problem of personality in ganio-manship is overlaid by national pride and politics so much so that Fischer has complained with sonic justification that the Russians have "conspired" until now to deny him a free shot at the crown. something of the reason that Goethe said, "The game of chess is the touchstone of the intellect." Far from being an "elile" activity, chess is played ardently by millions of ordinary factory workers and unlettered farmers in all parts of (he earth, its local and national heroes receiving accolades that we reserve only for hockey stars, conductors of TV talk shows, and other such members of our demotic royalty. Chess is making the headlines these days but only because Fischer has been acting up again, and the pot has been sweetened by many, many thousands of dollars.

This is something we can understand the slow burn and the fast buck but it is contrary to the true spirit of chess, which has lasted longer than any extant civilization, and which will continue to bewitch the mind and delight the spirit long, long alter all our big-money culture heroes are at one willi Nineveh and Tyre. and high drama of grandmaster chess, I must perforce let you down by confessing that this book under review is, unfortunately, not for the general reader. It combines T0 pages of comment on the personalities and careers of the six champions since 1948 (written by S. Gligoric, a Yugoslav master), plus another 135 pages exhaustively annotated championship games (coin-piled by R. G.

Wade). Fewer than four pages are devoted to Fischer, mid these 4 CTUALLY, and legally, i there was no "official" world's chess champion until 1948. Then, years after the death of Alekhine, who was generally acknowledged DM. Ch ess Players Excited About Publicity THEY'RE WATCHING SPASSKY-FISCHER MATCH CLOSELY By Carrol! Righter FOR FRIDAY, JULY 21 ARIES (Mar. 21 to Apr.

Plan some trip that will give you the data you need for some good purpose, and it would be well to be more modern. Do some studying that will help you now. Take some time for fun in p.m. TAURUS (Apr. 20 to May 20) You have fine creative ideas that you should make a note of so you do not forget them.

Put the most creative to work at once. Try to come to a far better understanding with mate. GEMINI (May 21 to June 21) Cement better relations with partners by listening more attentively to them and getting facts straight. Put that new idea to work in public life and get right results. Think.

Grow. CANCER (June 22 to July 21) Have a more enthusiastic approach to whatever work you have to do and get much accomplished. Find the right clothing that will make your appearance more attractive. Arrive on time for some important appointment. LEO (July 22 to Aug.

21) The evening is excellent for any pleasures you want to enjoy with congcnials. Take mate along and show that you are truly devoted. Do not forget to pay important bills. VIRGO (Aug. 22 to Sept.

22) Make those improvements at home that add to its charm and comfort, and increase harmony with those who dwell with you. Being hospitable to others is fine. Think along more constructive lines. LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct.

22) You have an opportunity to be with wise associates and gain their ideas for your early advancement as well as theirs. Joining with people you admire at recreations is fine. Hobbies can be particularly enjoyable. SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov.

21) You are able now to understand how to have greater prosperity in the future, and with fewer complications arising than in the past. Get ideas from a banker regarding financial matters. Advance. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec.

21) You have fine ideas you can now put across with partners, so sit down early with them. Accepting invitations is excellent since good things can come of this. Show finesse. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan.

20) Get off privately with those people who are definitely important to your welfare; state your aims for the future and gain their support. You are able to express yourself well now and can accomplish a great deal. AQUARIUS Jan. 21 to Feb. 19) Your mind is working quickly and accurately and you know how to get much done along new and fascinating lines.

You can be far more productive than in the past. Evening is favored for enjoying yourself. PISCES (Feb. 20 to Mar. 20) You are able to see that bigwig you know and get his support for your ideas and talents.

Add to present prestige by doing some entertaining in evening. However, it is not necessary to be extravagant in this. IF YOUR CHILI) IS BORN FRIDAY he or she will be one of those delightful young people with a quick mind and much intelligence, who can reason profoundly and will get good ideas from the subconscious which are prophetic. Teach early to overcome that "know-it-all" attitude, or others could turn against this child and the fine success possible here would not then manifest. A good religious background early is very helpful.

A certain amount of discipline given diplomatically and with wisdom is fine here. I fi 197? WcNaught Syndicate, Inc.) player, Kiycar-old Douglas KeMey of 52!) Walcrhury Circle, said hp at the best age to learn chess and intends to keep devoting one hour a day to chess after he. finishrs high school and college. Sometimes Eekley spends his daily practice hour just reading books and magazines about chess maneuvers, and he admits he has his eye on achieving a high rating. "I don't know if I'll ever he a grand masler, but it will be fun," said Eekley, who in April accompanied six other Roosevelt players to the annual National High School Championship in New York City.

Right now, Eekley is happy about playing for Roosevelt, which he said has been a "big chess school" for about four years. Moines Chess Club and says he no longer worries about his rating. But he's taking advantage of Ins early retirement (he is a mathematician who occasionally does consulting work for research projects at major universities across the country) to resume the two hours a day of practice and study that made him a tournament winner when he was a Des Moines high school student in the early 1950s. But at 37 he said he is over the hill as a chess player. "By the lime you are 35 you begin to lose your ability for prolonged concentration," Penquite said.

"Extensive tests run during chess tournaments have shown that chess is one of the most fatiguing games there is," he said. As much as he enjoys chess, Penquite doesn't advise trying to learn the game at his age. "It's hard for an older person to learn the game," he said. By Stephen Gross DEDICATED Dcs Moines chess players are excited about all the publicity the game has been getting lately, but the general public seems to be greeting the whole thing calmly. Members of the Dcs Moines Chess Club, headquartered at the YMCA, and local high school trams that, compete around the state and sometimes the nation are following the international championship between Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and American Bobby Fischer enthusiastically.

"Everybody is really happv to have an American in the tournament," said Mark Bell-nap, of 1240 Fifth president of the Des Moines Chess Club. "There hasn't been an American world champion since about 'I860." But there has been no noticeable increase in chess club members in recent weeks, Bellnap said. The only other index of honored ratings ol expert, master and grand master), estimates that most, players in Iowa tournaments are in Class and Class D. lie classified himself and his friends the Dcs Monirs Chess Club about 20 people-as "not rralhj serious" about the game. a means they only spend two weeks be! ore a tournament strategy books that outline the hundreds of attacks and defenses possible in chess.

And that is far from what it, takes to become a master, said Bellnap, who said lie became "seriously" involved with chess in high school tournaments and now plays only about once a week at Friday night, club meetings. During the year he also plays in the smaller Drake University Chess Club, which this year qualified to compete in the North American Intercollegiate Tournament at Toronto, Ont. A Roosevelt High School public interest, the sales of chess sets in Des Moines stores, lias not indicated a wave of enthusiasm. When contacted by The Tribune, several department stores said they stocked chess sets only for Christmas sales or not at all. Some stores reported having chess sets left over from Christmas and only one noted "very unusual" sales of chess sets since the international tournament began publicizing the game.

1EANWIIILH Des Moines i'l chess buffs, mostly young people with a sprinkling of veterans who have attended many chess tournaments in the city over the years, take the whole thing seriously. Most of them don't expect to become "grand masters" like Fischer, but they aren't exactly slouches at the game either. Bellnap, at 25 a Class A chess player (rankings run from lowest Class up through Class A and on to the OHN PENQUITE, 2935 tage Grove a 37-ycar-old expert-rated chess player finds himself one of the elder members of the Des -i. i-i ri -i i--.