You Touch, You Play – Double Touch
One of those imperatives is; once you touch a piece you are
required to make a move with that piece. There is no way to take back you
decision and attempt to make a move with another material. Unless of course the
piece you have touched has legally allowed spaces to advance. Once you let go
the action is completed and the piece cannot be touched again until the
competitor completes their turn of play.
I was watching the @Netflix Documentary Queen of Chess and
realised that this situation occurred at a major tournament. Thus the
"double touch" incident refers to a controversial 1994 chess match
between Grandmaster Garry Kasparov and female chess prodigy Judit Polgár.
After realizing, the move he was about to make was bad, Kasparov placed the knight on an entirely different square instead. Judit Polgár did not immediately protest, and the arbiter allowed the move to stand.
However cameras were recording even though the cameramen
were taking a break. Thus the video has caught Kasparov touching one of his
knights, briefly lifting it, and then taking his hand off the piece to place it
on a different square.
The incident caused a massive stir in the chess world and is
analysed in the Netflix film Queen of Chess. Kasparov subsequently denied that
he ever fully let go of the piece, but video evidence from the broadcast
suggests otherwise.
Now I am thinking whether this rule, if applied, would make
everyday living more complacent or discontented. Why would considering
assumptions is conceived as slowness. How many times your judgment had played
games with your determination? Did you ever stick with a choice even thought
your opinion was not concrete? Obviously not accepting, misfigured blueprint,
may then have a serious impact on the outcome. Changing, altering trajectory regularly,
just because upfront effort is not devoted to the analysis, or understanding,
may result, in mistrust.
Yet mistakes are for humans to make. We learn from our blunders,
miscalculations, inaccuracies. Still we take decisions based on instant
circumstances not even giving conclusions, a second thought. Can a simpler
system be established to provide further insides to complex matters? Will AI
play a genuine, honest, sincere role helping us not to jump to deductions?
Never forgetting playing chess with a time constraint makes decisions ever more
delicate. Where as in real life even though, at times there seems to be ample
duration, it is evident in our veins to make hurried declarations.
Well actually Polgár went on to lose that specific game,
though she ultimately exacted competitive revenge by defeating him in 2002 — making
her the first woman to beat the world's top-ranked male player. Congratulation
to Judit Polgár for being such an amazing player and having dedicated her
entire life studying chess. Thank you @Netflix for this outstanding
documentary.
So next time there appears a critical move in front of you,
please consider not having an option of double touch. Hold your horses before
the race is under way.
I love experimenting with the game of chess and try to
deduce acceptable lifetime consequences.
All the best and continue learning from chess.
