George Salmon - Chess

Chess

George Salmon was a keen chess player, he was a patron to the University Chess Club, and was also the President of Dublin Chess Club from 1890–1903. He participated in the second British Chess Congress and had the honour of playing the great chess grandmaster Paul Morphy in Birmingham, England, on 27 August 1858. He beat Daniel Harrwitz in an interesting game.

Even in his famous book Infallibility of the Church, Salmon mentions chess a few times:

• He argues that the doctrine of papal infallibility is vitally important for opponents of Catholicism to refute; otherwise all other arguments would be of little importance, as when a chessplayer wins lots of pieces but his king is checkmated.
• In another chess reference Salmon said that if one met someone who says that he has never been beaten, this player could be given rook odds. Thus "the delusion of infallibility can never grow up in the mind of anyone except one who has never met a strong antagonist."
• Salmon said that if one played someone who would normally receive queen odds, then one would go easy and not be too strict, e.g. allowing take-backs. Thus he is so convinced that the Popes have erred that he is not threatened by acknowledging when they have been right.