Albert Einstein has been dead for 49 years, but Ralph Gardner can still see the great physicist’s dark eyes across the chessboard.
“Dr. Einstein taught me how to play chess,” says Gardner, a former New York Times editor. In 1934 Gardner was 11 years old. He had learned to speak German from his grandparents, so a friend invited him to a Manhattan tea party honoring Einstein (who spoke at least four languages but preferred German). “First, he asked me if I played an instrument,” says Gardner. “I told him no. He said he played the violin. Then he asked me if I played chess. I said no. I was getting worried that he would think I couldn’t do anything. He said he would teach me chess, and he did.” Einstein returned for several successive Saturdays and taught his new student until tea was served. Gardner learned later that the tea ...
