A story in chess lore involves the great Danish-Jewish player Aron Nimzowitsch, who, at a tournament in the mid-1920s, found himself struggling against the German master Friedrich Sämisch. Infuriated at the thought of losing to an opponent he considered inferior, Nimzowitsch jumped on the table and shouted: “To this idiot, I must lose?”

It’s a thought that must have crossed the minds of more than a few liberal pundits and Democratic eminences late on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), as Kamala Harris’ hopes for winning the presidency began suddenly to fade.