![]() Strangelove.” The Master is not much of a moviegoer-his professional activities leave little time for it-and, as far as I know, he has never seen one of Kubrick’s pictures. My acquaintance with the Master goes back several years, but it was only recently that I learned of a connection between him and another man I know-the brilliant and original film-maker Stanley Kubrick, who has been responsible for such movies as “Paths of Glory,” “Lolita,” and “Dr. At a rook and four pawns down, the potzer gave up, and a new game began. The Master, smiling as seraphically as his hawklike, angular features would allow, said, “You always were a good pawn player-especially when it comes to pushing them,” which his deluded opponent took to be a compliment. Since there is no one to blame but yourself, nothing is more rankling than a defeat in chess, especially if you are under the illusion that you are better than your opponent. He was moving pawns wildly, and his hands were beginning to tremble. A potzer is not rational (otherwise, he would have avoided the contest in the first place), and this one was determined to fight it out to the end. A glance at the board showed that the Master was a rook and a pawn up on his adversary-a situation that would cause a rational man to resign the game at once. When I saw him one day recently, he was at work on what in the language of the park is called a “potzer”-a relatively weak player with an inflated ego. It is impossible to cheat in chess, and the only hustle that the Master perpetrates is to make his opponents think they are better than they are. It is a hard way to make a living, even if you win all your games the Master wins most of his, although I have seen him get beaten several games straight. The Master plays for at least eight hours a day, usually seven days a week in the winter he plays indoors in one or another of the Village coffeehouses. ![]() ![]() In case of a draw, no money changes hands. He plays for fifty cents a game if you win, you get the fifty, and if he wins, he gets it. The Master is a professional chess player-a chess hustler, if you will. On pleasant afternoons, I often go into Washington Square Park to watch the Master at work.
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