Professional Chess Profits

Professional cliess players, considerDg the Iüborious nature of their work, he cbaracter of mind, and the long prejaratory stndy required, are probably as 11 paid as any kind of intellectual workers. The professional chess player vho earns by his play more than a deentniodest living is a highly successful man. An expert may be hired to run a hess automaton aud play with all omers at a salary less than some type■writers earn. There are iu all the world jrobably less than half a huudred highy skilied professional chess players. ?be Hastings conveution brought tojether 22, and the number was notable. A few professional chess players are men of means, butfor the most part the mssion for the game leads the profesional player to put aside material considerations in order to follow his bent. Some of the best known players dress shabbily and live plainly. The ablest and mostsuccessfulusnallyeke out their incomes made directly from the game by writing on chess, discussing problems, and the like. Books on chess succeed one another rapidly, bnt none bas a large sale. They are coetly to produce, and the stereotype plates are of small value. The aggregate of considerable prizes offered in chess contests throughout the world amounts in any one year to only a few thousand dollars, and a stake of $1 ,000 is a large one. Amateurs, wbo fax outnumber the professionals, provide the purses and meet the expenses of the match games. St. Petersburg is an important cbess center, and there the traveling expenses of the professionals are made up by the local clubs. Professional chess players are rarely men of liberal education and nsually men of one idea. Chess has been the diversion of great and broad minded men, bnt it is commonly the business of men devoted to one idea. The professional chess player seems tireless in the pursuit of the game. One whose duty it was to play six hours a day with all corners at a place of amusement was accustomed to followhie day 's work with two honrs of laborious study of special chess problems. It was this spirit that made Paul Morphy of New Orleans abandon a promisinc career at the bar andcling to the game until his physician warned him that he must give it up or lose his reasan. Famoos as chess has long been, there are comparatively few really skilled amateurs, and it is impossible to maintain anywbere a very large chess clnb. One of the largest in the world is in this city, yet it is not a large clnb compared with other successful clubs formed on different lines. It is almost impossible in this country to form a large chess club on any hut socially democratio lines. Some of the best amateur chess players are mechanica wbo would find the atmosphere of the ordinary social club quite unendurable. There is a strong contingent of good chess players in the Germán quarter. They frequent a locally famous club, lodged in an old house down Second avennue, but known to chess experts the country over. There are some oddly placed chess experts in remote ■villages who come to New York perhaps once a year, as to the chess headquarters of the country. One such majj is a bank offlcer and general factótum in a small border state city. Although occupied with a thousand business details he íinds time to conduct games by correspondence with European experts, to arrange chess tournaments and towrite upon chess. When he comes to New York, he busies himself among chess players to the neglect of all his friends not equally devoted to the