Bobby Fisher - Move by move to insanity

[joea]

I read an excellent short story years ago in one of my Dad's sci-fi books, a colection from If magazine-Midnight by the Morphy Watch. (Apparently Paul Morphy had an elaborate watch made).

http://quillandkeyboard.blogspot.com...phy-watch.html

In "Midnight by the Morphy Watch", the titular timepiece (sorry) is rediscovered by Stirf Ritter-Rebil, an aging chess enthusiast and antiquarian, in a San Francisco secondhand shop of the sort that only do business in the pages of weird fiction. The watch is bit more elaborate than its real-life counterpart and Ritter (as he prefers to be called) soon discovers that he has purchased more than an historical curiosity. At a local chess tournament, he finds that his atrophied chess skills are returning. In fact, he is playing better than ever. Soon he is winning game after game and progresses to defeating masters while blindfolded in a simultaneous match against four opponents. As Ritter's powers grow, so does his mania for the game. He can't stop thinking about chess or dreaming about it. The game becomes literally all-consuming in Ritter's expanding mind. It also doesn't help that he is haunted by four spectral figures and a prowling "something" with a hint of the cosmic about it.

Very good story, one I'd love to read again if I can find it at my folk's place this Xmas.