Yes, I can hear you say it’s been long you hear from me. Im here again with another psychological side of chess.
As strongly as I support the use of psychology in chess, Im here to show you the one that might not work for you but had highly worked for only one man; Alexandre Deschapelles.
A frenh champion who only played tough tournament by removing a pawn and asked his opponents to make single or double move losing tempi before he would start playing.
His vast success made psychologists to name such mind-set The Deschapelles’ Coup
If you’re wondering what he was trying to prove, then you need to listen to A. Deschapelles in his own words:-
“I never thought, nor do I believe, that a
player of my force could ever appear from
the chilly regions of the north. A southern
sun can alone organize a brain of sufficient
chess-genius to cope with me. In proof of
this, hear what happened in Prussia. After
the battle of Jena, in 1806, our army entered
Berlin. The ladies there, having expressed
wonder at our rapid march, were told
politely, by one of the French officers, ‘We
should have arrived here even twenty-four
sooner, had we not met with some slight
obstacles on the way!’ — these slight
hindrances being an army of 300,000 men,
whom we were forced to get past! Well, I
lodged at the house of a colonel of the
Prussian national guard, who, the very first
evening, took me to the celebrated Berlin
chess club, instituted by the great Frederic
himself.
“A numerous party of amateurs were
assembled to receive me; the lists were
pitched, the arms in order. The three
strongest heads of the club were opposed
to mine. Before playing, in the course of
some preliminary conversation, I asked
whether any foreigner of my acquaintance
had ever enjoyed the honour of an
introduction. The reception book being
produced, displayed a number of names,
French, English, and so forth, but not one
whom I knew. ‘Which party has been chiefly
victorious, yours or your visitors?’
demanded I. ‘Oh!’ replied they, cavalierly
enough, ‘our club have always come off
winners.’ ‘Very well,’ replied I; ‘such will not
be the case this time.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Your club
must lose!’ Fancy the sensation produced by
these words! They all gathered round, and a
noise like a Babel broke forth; from which
issued such expressions, from time to time,
in German, as, ‘Oh, what insolence! What
presumption! We’ll punish him!’
“Before playing, it is necessary to settle the
terms. I at once declared I never played
even, and offered the pawn and two. ‘What
is your stake?’ was the question. ‘Whatever
sum you please,’ answered I; ‘from a franc
to a hundred louis.’ They now said they
never played in the club for money. I
thought to myself, if that be the case, why
ask me what my stake was? But I let that
pass; and the three best players sat down to
play against me. Not only did I insist on their
consulting together, but I further authorized
every member of the club to advise them as
he might think fit. It was agreed we should
play even, in other respects; and as they
obstinately refused odds, I resigned myself
and them to fate.
“The move was drawn for, and gained by
me. I played the king’s gambit. They took
and defended the pawn. Feeling a little sore
at what had passed, I thought the less
ceremony was necessary; so on the eleventh
move, I got up, and told them, in an off-hand
way, that it was useless to continue the
game, as I had a forced mate in seven
moves, which I detailed to them. I then
appeared as if about to leave the room,
accompanied by my host, and a friend, a
cavalry colonel in our service; who, being
very fond of chess, had come to take part, as
second, in the duel.
“The members of the club crowded round,
and, changing all at once their tone, asked
me politely to favour them with another trial… the next day left Berlin
for Hamburg. I did not expect much from
them; Berlin is so cold! Besides, for twenty
years, I gave the pawn and two moves to
the first players in Europe, be they whom
they might, when they presented
themselves; and would do so still.”
To hear A. Deschapelles narrate his chess
doings, with the real spirit of military
frankness, is one of the pleasures of this world.
The image you see, shows one the middle games between A. Deschapelles vs De Labourdonnais in 1836.
After Nxh6+…gxh6 can you prove how Deschapelles mated black in 4moves?