Improvement in an isolated, schizoid youth of sixteen took place after he became interested in chess. It provided an outlet for his hostile impulses in a nonretaliatory situation. The authors stress the dynamics in the use of the game, showing that it is a social experience which necessitates abiding by rules, taking into consideration the wishes and acts of another person, and wherein intense interpersonal relations are possible in a brief period. Good use was made of the patient's digressions from the game and his newly acquired ability to speak about his feelings, fantasies and dreams which the particular emotional situation of the game touched off. The report also demonstrates how the fact that chess is a game, and not real, enabled the patient to exert some conscious control over his feelings and thus learn to master them to a limited extent.