Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 47 — page 92: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ROBOTS’ GAMBIT the perfect move. He sat down opposite Mr. Hobbs. “Would you teach me the game, Henry ?”’ he asked. “I’m very anxious to learn.” Mr. Hobbs slapped his knee and chuckled. “Delighted, Jose, delighted.’’ As he set up the pieces he said to Mike: “Wait till Jose tangles with that Morphy. It'll be murder, son—sheer black-and-white murder.” Carol slammed the door behind her. Her father was in the library, of course, bent over a chess board. His heavy forehead was creased with more than the usual number of lines and his mouth was set in a pout that was out of place in a man of his years. Sitting across from Mr. Mercer was the mechanical man he had named for Paul Morphy, the nineteenth cen- tury chess wizard. The robot was calm and relaxed. He had just moved. **An Alekhine combination, by Jupiter!’’ said Mr. Mercer. “*T recognise it now. He used it against Tylor at Margate in— let me see—1937, Where the 91 devil did you pick that up, Morphy ?” “From you, sir,’ the robot replied. He had been made in the form of a heavy-set man, grey-haired and comfortable- looking. ‘““You’ve taught me everything I know about chess.” “Yes, yes, of course,”’ said the man. “But it certainly is a shock to see something like that coming back at you... Carol, my dear, hello. Why, what’s the matter?” ““Oh, father, that Mike is a beast. I hate him!” ‘*What’s he done, the cad ?” ‘““He took all the money we were going to use to build our house and spent it—simply threw it away!” “But your house is ail bought, Carol. The pieces are all stacked in the old barn out back. Finest pre-fab outfit I ever saw. All you have to do is hire the assemblers to put it up when you’re married.” ‘““‘We’re not being married.” Carol dropped to her knees and put her head in her father’s ample lap. “I gave him back his ring,”’ she sobbed. “T hate him, the selfish brute!”’ comicloooks.conhn