A Chess Problem, by A. A. Milne

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BUT at chess everything that the enemy does to you is deliberate. He cannot say, “Sorry!” as he takes your knight; he does not call it hard luck when your king is surrounded by vultures eager for his death; and though it would be kindly in him to attribute to the bad light the fact that you never noticed his castle leaning against your queen, yet it would be quite against the etiquette of the game.

Indeed, it is impossible to win gracefully at chess. No man yet has said “Mate!” in a voice which failed to sound to his opponent bitter, boastful, and malicious. It is the tone of that voice which, after a month, I find it impossible any longer to stand.

by A. A. Milne 1882-1956

abridged

Abridged from ‘Not That It Matters’ (1919), by Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956).

Précis

Milne argued that all misfortunes in chess are in fact the result of deliberate actions, and any kind of commiseration would be out of place. Consequently, no one who wins at chess is ever magnanimous about it, and the triumphant note in the cry of ‘Check mate!’ is enough to end Milne’s enthusiasm after about a month.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What was that took away Milne’s enthusiasm for chess after about a month?

Suggestion

The tactless victory cries of his opponents.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Chess players are unsympathetic towards their opponents. People who play other sports are different.

Précis

Questions for Critics

Sevens

Jigsaws

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