This is the translation from Dutch of the chapter “The universe of abstractions” from Kris Burm’s (creator of the project GIPF games) book The Right Move. The original and other extracts were published at http://krisburm.be/nl/extracts

“The Right Move” is a manifesto on abstract games as a form of art. For the moment its full version is only published in Dutch.

The universe of abstractions

Just like all forms of art, abstract games enrich the mind. They nourish thought and stimulate analysis. They compel you to seek creative and inventive solutions, to reason flexibly, and to expect the unexpected; they confront you with the moment, with the changeable and the irreversible; they make you understand what cannot be fathomed, that you must not be hasty or be paralyzed by it; they instill in you a sense of causality and responsibility for your own decisions; they teach you to accept rules, boundaries, and conventions, and that within them there are still unlimited possibilities, meaning that this does not necessarily come at the expense of your freedom, and so on.

I must add the most important aspect of all, and that is that in this case, it is literally a game. And a game is just a game. Unlike in real life, there are neither direct benefits nor harmful consequences attached to it. Playing a game is almost the same as physically entering a surreal playground, where you can try out all kinds of assumptions without having to pay the price if things go wrong. Just one example: learning to lose is a necessity, and learning to handle winning is equally so. It is precisely the non-committal nature, combined with what is listed above, that makes a game so valuable, even of crucial importance.

In short, abstract games provide access to the universe of abstractions. And allow me to take that a step further: that universe determines everyone’s life more than what we perceive as reality. Almost all important concepts we deal with daily are abstract. Traditionally, the greatest thinkers have pondered the most diverse abstract subjects: truth, reality, the meaning of things, life and death, the nature of man, animal, and nature, power, faith, society, culture, beauty, art—you name it. I can already hear some chuckling, but I dare to assert that immersing yourself in an abstract game aligns with this. It has a meditative quality; it opens you up, it compels contemplation and reflection. Every good abstract game has a strong metaphorical dimension: it transcends itself, the tangible nature of the pieces. There is not only the buzzing and grinding of abstract thought, but also the undergoing of a philosophical, sometimes even metaphysical process that crystallizes on the board, game after game. Extremely concrete and yet not, for it is intangible, as may be seen from a statement by Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968): ‘Nothing interests me more than finding the right move!’

That, it seems to me, is a very fundamental attitude to life. The intention to strive, the search for the right move, the right action, the drive to be able to take a step that is undeniably significant. Duchamp was extreme in this, both as a chess-playing artist and as an art-making chess player.

(c) Kris Burm, 2014, “The Right Move”

Original