It was absolutely impossible. Twenty-five chess masters from the world at

large, foregathered in Boston for the annual championships, unanimously

declared it impossible, and unanimity on any given point is an unusual

mental condition for chess masters. Not one would concede for an instant

that it was within the range of human achievement. Some grew red in the

face as they argued it, others smiled loftily and were silent; still

others dismissed the matter in a word as wholly absurd.

A casual remark by the distinguished scientist and logician, Professor

Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, provoked the discussion. He had, in the

past, aroused bitter disputes by some chance remark; in fact had been

once a sort of controversial centre of the sciences. It had been due to

his modest announcement of a startling and unorthodox hypothesis that he

had been invited to vacate the chair of Philosophy in a great university.

Later that university had felt honoured when he accepted its degree of

LL. D.

For a score of years, educational and scientific institutions of the

world had amused themselves by crowding degrees upon him. He had initials

that stood for things he couldn't pronounce; degrees from France,

England, Russia, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Spain. These were expressed

recognition of the fact that his was the foremost brain in the sciences.

The imprint of his crabbed personality lay heavily on half a dozen of its

branches. Finally there came a time when argument was respectfully silent

in the face of one of his conclusions.

The remark which had arrayed the chess masters of the world into so

formidable and unanimous a dissent was made by Professor Van Dusen in the

presence of three other gentlemen of note. One of these, Dr. Charles

Elbert, happened to be a chess enthusiast.

"Chess is a shameless perversion of the functions of the brain," was

Professor Van Dusen's declaration in his perpetually irritated voice. "It

is a sheer waste of effort, greater because it is possibly the most

difficult of all fixed abstract problems. Of course logic will solve it.

Logic will solve any problem--not most of them but any problem. A

thorough understanding of its rules would enable anyone to defeat your

greatest chess players. It would be inevitable, just as inevitable as

that two and two make four, not some times but all the time. I don't know

chess because I never do useless things, but I could take a few hours of

competent instruction and defeat a man who has devoted his life to it.

His mind is cramped; bound down to the logic of chess. Mine is not; mine

employs logic in its widest scope."

Dr. Elbert shook his head vigorously. "It is impossible," he asserted.

"Nothing is impossible," snapped the scientist. "The human mind can do

anything. It is all we have to lift us above the brute creation. For

Heaven's sake leave us that."