chess

[mbgross]

I imagine that Lincoln was a great chess player considering how his mind operated.

[RJNorton]

Mike, here is a story regarding Abraham Lincoln and chess. It comes from a discussion Judge Samuel Treat had with Jess Weik in 1883:

"On the afternoon just mentioned when I visited him Judge Treat told me, among other things, that one morning Lincoln came to his office and joined him in a game of chess. The two were enthusiastic chess-players and when the opportunity offered indulged in the game. On the occasion named they were soon deeply absorbed, nor did they realize how near it was to the noon hour until one of Lincoln's boys came running with a message from his mother announcing dinner at the Lincoln home, a few steps away. Lincoln promised to come at once and the boy left; but the game was not entirely out; yet so near the end the players, confident that they would finish in a few moments, lingered a while. Meanwhile almost a half an hour had passed. Presently the boy returned with a second and more urgent call for dinner; but so deeply engrossed in the game were the two players they apparently failed to notice his arrival. This was more than the little fellow could stand; so that, angered at their inattention, he moved nearer, lifted his foot, and deliberately kicked board, chessmen, and all into the air. "It was one of the most abrupt, if not brazen, things I ever saw," said Treat, "but the surprising thing was its effect on Lincoln. Instead of the animated scene between an irate father and an impudent youth which I expected, Mr. Lincoln without a word of reproof calmly arose, took the boy by the hand, and started for dinner. Reaching the door he turned, smiled good-naturedly, and exclaimed, 'Well, Judge, I reckon we'll have to finish this game some other time,' and passed out. Of course I refrained from any comment," continued Treat, who, by the way, was old and had never been blessed with a child, "but I can assure you of one thing: if that little rascal had been a boy of mine he never would have applied his boots to another chessboard."

[mbgross]

Thanks for sharing! A great example of Lincoln the indulgent parent! I figured that Lincoln would have liked chess, with its competition based only on logic and the reliance only on self. thanks again.

[David Lockmiller]

(04-05-2023 08:13 AM)mbgross Wrote:  Thanks for sharing! A great example of Lincoln the indulgent parent!

I am not so sure that "Lincoln [was] the indulgent parent." It is highly likely that Mary had sent one of the boys to call for her husband to dinner two times.

"it was to the noon hour until one of Lincoln's boys came running with a message from his mother announcing dinner at the Lincoln home, a few steps away." . . . "almost a half an hour had passed. Presently the boy returned with a second and more urgent call for dinner."

And, it is highly likely that Tad was the son in question.

[AussieMick]

I'd like to support David. And add to the perspective ...

Yes, 'kicking over a table' is the act of an impolite hooligan. But ...
The lad was sent by his mother to fetch his father home. He had passed the message on politely (apparently) and been told that Lincoln would be coming (immediately or, if not, very soon).
No doubt Mary would have grown frustrated when Lincoln made no appearance and told the boy , in no uncertain terms, that dinner was ready and Lincoln was keeping everybody waiting ... and he was to come IMMEDIATELY.

Now, the boy would have been feeling a 'tad' (my word for it) annoyed that he was the go-between and that his father had mis-led him. No wonder he was upset. What was the boy to do? Stand and wait? For how long? Return to Mary?

If Judge Treat had any decency he would have stood up and said to Lincoln, " Sorry, Mr President ... I'm keeping you from dinner... please ... we can leave the game as it is."
( Quite possibly Lincoln was making his moves quickly and the Judge dawdling and yawning and dreaming)

And of course we have no way of knowing what Lincoln did or said to the boy as they hurried to dinner. I like to think Lincoln would have apologised for not having finished up as he had promised ... but told the boy that he really should not have acted so abruptly in knocking the table over .... but he understood his annoyance.

[RJNorton]

When I read the story I thought the purpose of it was to show how Lincoln was too lenient with his son Tad.

William Herndon wrote, "He (Lincoln) was in the habit, when at home on Sunday, of bringing his two boys, Willie and Thomas – or “Tad” – down to the office to remain while his wife attended church. He seldom accompanied her there. The boys were absolutely unrestrained in their amusement. If they pulled down all the books from the shelves, bent the points of all the pens, overturned inkstands, scattered law-papers over the floor, or threw the pencils in the spittoon, it never disturbed the serenity of their father’s good-nature. Frequently absorbed in thought, he never observed their mischievous but destructive pranks, as his unfortunate partner did, who thought much, but said nothing. And, even if brought to his attention, he virtually encouraged their repetition by declining to show any substantial evidence of parental disapproval."

Herndon also wrote, "Lincoln would, when his wife had gone to church, to show off her new bonnet, or when she had kicked him out of the house, bring to the office Willie and Tad— these little devils . . . would take down the books, empty ash buckets, coal ashes, inkstands, papers, gold pens, letters, etc., etc., in a pile and then dance on the pile. Lincoln would say nothing, so abstracted was he, and so blinded to his children’s faults."

I interpreted Judge Treat's story as being in support of Herndon's feelings about Lincoln as an overly indulgent parent.

[David Lockmiller]

Batgirl made this blog post on December 19, 2018 on chess.com:

The event related in this article from the 1898 edition of the American Chess Magazine would have taken place around 1851, the year of the first international chess tournament in London and a decade before Lincoln would be inaugurated president of the United States.

Lincoln as a Chess-Player.

Mr. Lincoln was very partial to and quite skillful in the game of chess, and a few years before he was made President, Judge Samuel H. Treat, a grave and learned gentleman, then Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, was his frequent antagonist, and probably a little his superior as a player, writes G. M. McConnel in the Chicago Times-Herald. In the hot months of summer, Springfield was a sleepy place, and one sweltering summer noontide these two friends were having an engrossing game in the still, deserted Supreme Court room, with the board on their knees between them. In the critical stage of the closely contested game, while Treat was deeply pondering a move, Lincoln's son "Tod," [sic] then probably 8 or so years old, came suddenly into the room and, laying his hand on his father's shoulder, said, insistently :

"Pa ! Ma says for you to come down home right away. She wants you."

"All right, Tod," said his father, abstractedly, "you run home and tell her I'll be there in a minute."

The boy had probably some experience of what "in a minute" meant when chess was in question, and he muttered something with an ominous shake of the head, but walked quietly to the door and waited there several minutes. Treat did not stir, but studied the board with the closest attention, and Lincoln sat motionless. Presently the boy came back, gave his father a little shake, and repeated :

"I say, ma wants you to come down home right away ! She wants you now !"

" Sh-sh ! Tod ! Yes—yes—in a minute—in a minute," said his father, with a deprecatory wave of his hand, but without taking his eyes from the board.

The boy stood for a minute or two in petulant impatience, and then, suddenly lifting his foot, with a vigorous kick he sent the board and the chessmen flying about the room. Treat sprang to his feet, his usually quiet visage flaming with wrath, but clinched his teeth and said nothing. Mr. Lincoln dropped back in his chair with a curious laugh of amused dismay, looked up with unruffled good humor and said :

" Well, Judge, I guess that's Tod's game ! You set 'em up again and we'll have it out some other day. Come along, Tod. Let's go see what ma wants," and without other words he took the boy by the hand and strode calmly away toward home.

The incident did not promise much in respect of disciplinary force in the matter of " bringing up" a boy "in the way he should go," but it did throw a strong light on that wonderful quality of serene and endless patience that carried him undismayed through the most appalling perplexities and responsibilities that have confronted any statesman of modern times. (Emphasis added.)