The Man Who Studied Pillsbury’s Brain

  

    When Harry Nelson Pillsbury (1872-1906), one of the strongest players in the world at the time who was also known for his blindfold play and mental feats of memorization, died at the age of 33 of syphilis which probably accounted for his mental illness, his brain was studied. 

    Dr. Elmer Ernest Southard (1876-1920). Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, had the distinction of being the man who performed the study and he found no difference between Pillsbury’s brain and that of anyone else. 

    When he died despite being under the care of three physicians at the Hotel Prince George in New York City on February 8, 1920, the American Chess Bulletin deemed it a notable loss. He passed away in the prime of life as a consequence of an attack of pneumonia which laid him low the day following a lecture he delivered before the Association of Mental Hygiene at the Academy of Medicine.

    Southard was born on South Boston, Massachusetts and as a child he preferred books and chess. After graduating from high school in 1893, he entered Harvard, where he received three degrees. In 1902 he studied in Germany. 

    Dr. Southard attained distinction in his chosen profession as a writer of books and assistant editor of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. He was also remembered as the most brilliant player who ever represented Harvard in the matches against Columbia, Yale and Princeton/\. 

    One of the best players in Boston, in a number of occasions he was a reserve on the American team in cable matches. He is also given credit for originating the Danver Opening (1.e4 and 2.Qh5) during the period of 1906-9, when he was assistant physician and pathologist in the Danvers State Hospital for the Insane. The hospital has been the setting for a couple of movies and a video game.

    Besides his wife, Dr. Mabel Fletcher Austin, a lecturer on social hygiene at Wellesley he was also survived by two sons and a daughter. The oldest son, Austin, developed schizophrenia and committed suicide several years after his father's death. 

    Southard was a member of the St. Botolph and Boston Chess Clubs, and was considered one of the best amateur chess players in the country. 

    Later in life Southard experienced chronic headaches and minor seizures that were sometimes accompanied by partial vision loss for several hours, which he attributed to mental strain. I am not a doctor, but these are the most common symptoms of a brain tumor. 

 

    Here’s a game featuring the Danvers Opening (also known by various other names) which has occasionally been used by GM Hikaru Nakamura in Internet blitz games and, also, a couple of times in serious tournament games. A couple of GMs have voiced the opinion that it’s playable and it could be effective because of its shock value. Engine analysis suggests that there is no refutation.

 

[Event "Team Match, held at Boston"] [Site "?"] [Date "1905.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Dr. Elmer Southard (Boston"] [Black "H.B. Hll (New England)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C20"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1905.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.08.05"] {C20: Danvers Opening} 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3. Bc4 Qf6 {Besides this the top engine recommendation is 3...g6} 4. Nc3 (4. d3 g6 5. Qd1 Na5 6. Nd2 Bc5 7. Ngf3 d6 8. h3 Nxc4 9. Nxc4 {is completely equal. Skurikhin,D (2399)-Lunev,A (2519) Tula RUS 2003}) 4... Bc5 5. Nf3 Nge7 6. d3 Qg6 {Not bad ny any means, but 6... d6 seems better.} 7. Qxg6 Nxg6 8. h4 h5 9. Nd5 Bb6 10. Be3 {White's opening has not lead to anything, but on the other hand, black has not managed to show any defect in 2.Qh5 either! Now black has the correct idea...challenge the N on d5. The problem is he challenges with the wrong N!} Nge7 {[%mdl 8192] It's hard to believe, but this move loses.} ({Black should try} 10... Nce7 11. Bxb6 Nxd5 12. Bd4 {Equally good is 12.Bc5, but this is kind of cute!} (12. exd5 axb6 13. d6 {is equal.}) 12... Nb4 13. Bxe5 Nxc2+ 14. Kd2 {Here black should avoid taking the R and play} Nxe5 15. Nxe5 {and now} Nxa1 16. Bxf7+ Ke7 17. Ng6+ Kxf7 18. Nxh8+ Kf6 19. Rh3 (19. Rxa1 {Oddly enough, this is inferior. After} d6 20. f4 Bg4 21. Rc1 c6 {and the N on h8 is lost.}) 19... d5 20. Rf3+ Ke6 21. Ng6 dxe4 22. dxe4 {with equal chances.} Bd7) 11. Bxb6 {[%mdl 32] The only difference between this position and the one after 11.Bxb6 in ht e bote is that black has a N on c6 instead of g6.} Nxd5 {Here is the difference...wgure can play 12.exd5 which in this line attacks the N.} 12. exd5 Nb4 13. Bxc7 Nxc2+ 14. Kd2 Nxa1 15. Bxe5 {The N on a8 is not going anywhere.} O-O 16. Rxa1 a6 17. Re1 {Wgite has a B=N=P vs a R which is, along with his active pieces, sufficient compensation to give him a winning advantage.} b5 18. Bb3 Re8 19. d6 {Clamping down on black's position even further.} Bb7 20. Ng5 Rf8 21. Bd4 a5 22. Re7 {Black has no reasonable moves.} a4 23. Bxf7+ Rxf7 24. Rxf7 {White has a forced mate.} Bd5 25. Rxg7+ Kf8 26. Nh7+ Ke8 27. Nf6+ {Black resigned. Flawless play by Southhard.} (27. Nf6+ Kd8 28. Bb6+ Kc8 29. Rxd7 Ra5 30. Rc7+ Kb8 31. d7 Be6 32. d8=R+ Bc8 33. Rdxc8#) 1-0