Introduction
Albert Einstein is undoubtedly one of the greatest scientific celebrities ever. His distinct hairstyle and overall quirky looks have made him an enduring example of the “absent-minded genius”. What then did Einstein have to say about chess and did Einstein really say chess was a waste of time?
We’ll answer this question and more on this article, so keep reading!
Who was Albert Einstein
For those of you living under a rock, or maybe you’re just curious. We want to save you a trip to Einstein’s Wikipedia page by writing a very short biography of him.
Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time. He is best known for his theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, as well as his formula of mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2.
In his ‘miracle year’ of 1905, he published four groundbreaking papers which outlined the theory of the photoelectric effect, explained brownian motion, introduced special relativity, and demonstrated mass-energy equivalence. He then went on to work on problems of statistical mechanics, quantum theory, particle theory, and thermal properties of light.
Einstein lives on in popular culture, so much so that the last name “Einstein” is commonly associated with genius. People all over the world even if they don’t know much about physics, know a thing or two about this legendary scientist.
Did Einstein say chess was a waste of time
There are a lot of misattributed quotes online for pretty much every historical figure out there, and it’s even worse for Einstein.
You can find all kinds of crazy quotes online; they are commonly used to give a sense of legitimacy to whatever argument that person wants to make. Einstein is commonly quoted when discussing philosophy, science, religion and chess.
So, did Einstein say chess was a waste of time? Let’s find out.
The actual relevant quote is this:
“Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer.” – Albert Einstein
The quote comes from the book: The Immortal Game: A History of Chess (2006) by David Shenk.
The quote can mean many different things to many people. I have seen people use it to criticize chess as a waste of time, but I have also seen people quote it to defend chess. It’s all a bit subjective.
To really get to the bottom of this we have to know more about Albert Einstein, did he like chess? Or did he dislike it? Let’s take a look.
Did Albert Einstein play chess
Yes, Albert Einstein played chess, in fact he really liked it. He liked to play casually to relax, he disliked the competitive nature of the game but enjoyed it as a game.
“I have always disliked the fierce competitive spirit embodied in that highly intellectual game.” – Albert Einstein
There are only two documented games from Einstein. But they are proof that he was a decent chess player.
In the first one he played against someone called Sell, he opened with the Giuoco Piano and won in 19 moves. This was a casual match and no one really knows much about it.
The second game on record was played on Princeton University in 1933. He played against fellow famous scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. In this game he played the Ruy Lopez and won in 34 moves showing some pretty sharp moves.
That’s pretty much it for Einstein and chess. He was a casual chess player but he was more than decent, displaying many characteristics commonly associated with a strong chess player.
Who knows maybe in another dimension Einstein would have been a legendary chess player, but in this one he was a casual chess player.
Did Einstein like chess
According to friends and family, he did like the game, he was friends with Emmanuel Lasker who was world champion for 27 years. He was amazed that someone as smart as Lasker could devote so much time and effort into chess.
Some people say that Einstein thought that chess was a waste of time, others say that he loved the game. How can we know the truth?
It’s going to be difficult to prove either of those. I mean we’re talking about a guy who died in the 50s, and whose quotes are often exaggerated or misrepresented online.
We can still make a pretty good guess based on what we know of Einstein as a person.
He liked chess, that’s a fact. He called it an intellectual game but he saw it as a game to have fun just not something to devote your entire life to.
Einstein probably felt that the strongest chess players in the world could do more for humanity if they used their intellect to pursue science for example. He must have held the common belief that just intellect made you a stronger player.
Einstein was very famous; in America he would be constantly asked to explain “his theory” to strangers.
So, he probably felt similar to how very tall people feel when people tell them the old tired joke of “How’s the weather up there”.
This means that this quote:
“Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer.” – Albert Einstein
Was probably in response to someone believing that because Einstein was widely believed to be the smartest man of his time, that he ought to be very good at chess just because of his impressive intellect.
Is chess a waste of time
I don’t think playing chess is a waste of time. Actually I don’t think doing things like watching a movie, reading a book or spending time with my friends and family to be a waste of time and neither should you.
The mere idea that just engaging in leisure activities, is a waste of time is frankly absurd. It may look like Einstein said that, but what he probably meant was that he couldn’t believe how someone so smart like Lasker could play the game so much and make a living out of it easier than doing science like he did.
What he probably failed to realize is that sometimes our values don’t align with others and that is alright. Some people are prepared to make the sacrifices required to reach their goals, no matter how ambitious they are. But some people do not, some are content with what they have and would like to enjoy their free time doing the things they love.
They say opposites attract and that could be one reason why Einstein and Lasker were friends, here we had a genius that changed physics forever, and on the other char we’ve got a legendary chess player that was the reigning world champion for so long that even today his reign hasn’t been surpassed!
What should we do with our free time
Some people might argue in favor of more “productive” hobbies. Things like reading a book, or studying work related things might look good from the outside but I don’t really agree with that.
I genuinely believe that hobbies are for fun, even if they could be productive and produce value for yourself and others that shouldn’t be the end goal when you engage in those. S
o for example if your hobby is chess, it might seem like waste of time if you’re not a professional to study the game and to try and improve. But that’s not how “hobbies” work, the simple fact that you enjoy studying this game is reason enough to do it!
There is a time and place for everything, and if you’re currently happy with your career there is nothing wrong with spending some quality time with yourself. Hobbies and idleness in general are integral to mental health and great work-life balance, don’t forget that.
Closing Thoughts
It should be pretty clear to anyone now, Albert Einstein did like chess he just didn’t like the competitive aspect around it. He was a decent player, it’s not like he was so bad at it that he had to resort to attacking the game to protect this ego or anything like that.
One thing is certain, Einstein definitely believed that we should use our skills and knowledge in a way that helps advance society. He was probably annoyed that such a brilliant mind like that of Emanuel Lasker wasted so much of it playing chess.
But no matter what Einstein thought about chess, it’s not a waste of time, there are so many documented health benefits to playing chess that it would be in everyone’s best interest to at least play a little bit of chess every once in a while. Hey who knows maybe you’ll like it!