A new book chronicles the life of Henrique Costa Mecking, known as Mequinho, Brazil's first homegrown international chess grandmaster who abandoned the game in the late 1970s due to illness and embraced faith. Titled 'Entre Bispos e Reis,' the work by journalist Uirá Machado blends biography with insights into elite chess. It explores how Mequinho's diagnosis of myasthenia gravis led him to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
In the 1970s, Henrique Costa Mecking, or Mequinho, emerged as a chess sensation from Rio Grande do Sul. As a child, he defeated adults while still in early elementary school. By January 18, 1972, nearing his 20th birthday, he received a hero's welcome at Rio de Janeiro's Galeão airport after strong performances in the Hastings tournament in the United Kingdom, earning him the title of Brazil's first international grandmaster born in the country.
Journalist Uirá Machado's debut book, 'Entre Bispos e Reis,' delves into Mequinho's trajectory. The prodigy, often called the 'Pelé of chess,' faced expectations of becoming world champion. However, his career faltered in the late 1970s due to erratic results. He was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease affecting the nervous system, which posed a risk to his life. Mequinho credited his near-cure to faith in Jesus Christ and largely stepped away from chess.
Post-diagnosis, he immersed himself in preaching within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (RCC), a movement emphasizing the Holy Spirit's direct actions, including healings and spiritual ecstasies. He attended seminary but was never ordained and began discussing end-times revelations.
Machado's narrative humanizes Mequinho, portraying his childlike aura persisting into adulthood—shy at times, arrogant and tantrum-prone at others, especially against perceived opponent tricks. Family tensions arose; Mequinho felt his parents hindered his full chess dedication, despite his father's tournament travels. As Machado notes, 'He expected more support—although he had support... the family made him finish high school, start a degree [in physics, soon abandoned].' Mequinho severed ties abruptly with family, friends, and partners, including during his father's death.
No evidence suggests romantic relationships; he cited lack of time amid his world champion ambitions. The book highlights chess's physical toll—matches lasting five hours daily, sometimes resuming over days—which exacerbated his illness's impact. Machado ponders Mequinho's pre-existing religiosity from a Catholic school and devout mother, suggesting the disease deepened his faith intensely. 'This dive may have been the way he found to remain able to tell a story about himself... when his condition as a chess player was threatened,' Machado explains. Religion, he adds, replaced chess for the obsessive prodigy.
