the royal game
Growing up, Mirko Czentovic, a poor Yugoslavian orphan raised by a priest, was not exactly the brightest child out there. He was a well behaved kid who did as he was told, yet his "slow-functioning brain" (p. 2) caused him many learning disabilities. A reserved and quiet young boy, Czentovic mostly stayed at home watching his foster father play chess. Too everyone's suprise, after much observing, Czentovic finally revealed his brilliant chess skills, making him one of the greatest chess players in the world.
Dr. B, an Austrian emigrant who interferes in a game between a man names mcconner and Czentovic, is secretly a brilliant chess player. When he was held hostage by the Nazis, a few weeks before, he was placed in a hotel room where his "world consisted only of table, door, bed, wash-basin, chair, window, and wall"(p. 21). He began to go crazy until he steals a chess book that he finds in one of the men's pockets. This book becomes his life and he teaches himself how to play chess by himself using his blanket which resembles a chess board. He memorizes every move, every strategy until he goes crazy and punches his hand through the window, sending him to the hospital, where he is diagnosed with chess poisoning.
Although both players are extremely brilliant, Czentovic and Dr. B have very different styles of playing. Czentovic is a deeper thinker when it comes to playing chess. He takes the full ten minutes to decide what move to make, whereas, Dr B. automatically knows what his and Czentovics moves are. Additionally, Czentovic must carry a chess board around with him in case he needs to defend a move, whereas Dr. B. is able to picture the whole bored and every move in the mind. Dr B.'s experience caused him to be a more energetic player. He must walk around the room and shake his leg unlike Czentovic who is a more calm and quiet player.
Dr. B, an Austrian emigrant who interferes in a game between a man names mcconner and Czentovic, is secretly a brilliant chess player. When he was held hostage by the Nazis, a few weeks before, he was placed in a hotel room where his "world consisted only of table, door, bed, wash-basin, chair, window, and wall"(p. 21). He began to go crazy until he steals a chess book that he finds in one of the men's pockets. This book becomes his life and he teaches himself how to play chess by himself using his blanket which resembles a chess board. He memorizes every move, every strategy until he goes crazy and punches his hand through the window, sending him to the hospital, where he is diagnosed with chess poisoning.
Although both players are extremely brilliant, Czentovic and Dr. B have very different styles of playing. Czentovic is a deeper thinker when it comes to playing chess. He takes the full ten minutes to decide what move to make, whereas, Dr B. automatically knows what his and Czentovics moves are. Additionally, Czentovic must carry a chess board around with him in case he needs to defend a move, whereas Dr. B. is able to picture the whole bored and every move in the mind. Dr B.'s experience caused him to be a more energetic player. He must walk around the room and shake his leg unlike Czentovic who is a more calm and quiet player.