This image comes from "The Book of Games" comissioned by Alphonso X, 1283 Prologue The most significant event to occur in the history of chess was the transformation of the game from its Medieval form into its Modern form. This metamorpho...
The Traxler Counter Attack With best play, does Black have a chance with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 ? In Part I we examined White's response 5. d4 White's two most common responses however are 5. Bxf7+ and ...
Take a walk with me on the wild side . . . of chess.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When Tarrasch wrote, ". . .S...
"English chess owes more to the Rev. George Atwood than it does to any other person." - Dale A. Brandreth, chess historian and collector extraordinaire As most folks know, the custom of saving games didn't really begin in earnest un...
Honest Abe - Chess Player Although the documentation is rather sparce and anecdotal, Abraham Lincoln was known to have been a chess player. Below are a few of the instances where Chess crossed path with Mr. Lincoln. "The Every-day...
Chess often forms a juncture with various disciplines such as literature, poetry, music, painting or films. The point where they meet can be symbolic, thematic or just a hook meant to reel in the audience. Certain artists or writers are, in fa...
Le Roi jouant avec La Reine(Max Ernst, 1944) called "The King of Chess" in "Chess Review's" coverage of theImagery of Chess "The King Playing With the Queen" was originally a wire-reinforced plaster sculpture painted...
Cross-pins or double pins are names for a rare and particularly interesting tactic. Under certain conditions it can also be called the St. Andrew's Cross, counter-pins and combination pins. A cross-pin can be absolute, relative, ...
Dr. Hermann von Gottschall Dr. Hermann von Gottschall (1862-1933) was a reputable German chessplayer and problemist. He also edited the German periodical "Deutsche Schachzeitung" from 1892-96 (having co-edi...
1892 "BCM" In 1894 Nellie Love Marshall Showalter, the wife of then U.S. Chess Champion, Jackson Whipps Showalter, played Mrs. Harriet Worrell, the wife of the renowned chess player who had died in 18...
The ancient Estonian city of Tartu lies about 2500 miles from Paris, France. In the 19th century Tartu didn't exist as such but rather was known as Dorpat under the umbrella of the Imperial Russian empire. Dorpat lay in Livonia, a part ...
I'd written about Paulsen several times in different places. HERE is my article at Chess.com of which I'll consider this an extension. Why write more on Louis Paulsen? I am fascinated with the 19th century and chess during that era. ...
Below is an article published in several periodicals in late 1900. It appeared just shortly after the death of Wilhelm Steinitz and offers some astute appraisals of the chess players who contributed to the development of c...
The Northern Gambit The moves of the Danish or Northern Gambit are 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 - after which Black can accept the gambit with 3...dxc3 or decline it in a variety of ways. The Danish o...
Danish Gambits of Dr. Lindehn Non-Danish Gambits of Dr. Lindehn - Dr. Lindehn's Games at Odds ...
In the 1890s women's chess in England, as in most places, was considered nearly inconsequential. To bring this arena to the forefront required dedication, energy and persistance. It so happened that man...
Joan Carbó i Batlle was born the same year as Paul Morphy. In fact, Batlle was just 3 weeks older than his more famous contemporary. Also a lawyer, though born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Batlle with his two friends, Judge Josep-Salvi Fàbregas...
The Introduction: The second half of the 18th century into the early 19th century was marked with cultural changes previously equaled perhaps only by the Renaissance. There were great and important politica...
Some men and women are clearly champions and reach the pinnacle of their field in an almost predictable manner. Some are champion material, but the fates have conspired against them, keeping them from reaching the ...
Dr. Richard Eales' great book "Chess: the History of a Game" in part traces the popularity of mostly modern chess through time. I was chagrined, however, by its minor mention of the Turk in this regard. Obviously I consider the exploits of...
Once again I'm indebted to my dear friend Deb for finding this. We were searching for the whereabouts of a certain chess board and chess set that once belonged to E. B. Cook and was used when Frederick Perrin, Thomas Frere and Willard Fiske...
Although his association with Paul Morphy was somewhat minimal, Frederick Perrin's chess career was very often viewed though Morphy-colored glasses. When Morphy first arrived in New York for his national debut, Per...
There were a few 19th century London chess players who, although they weren't quite on par with the best, were by no means second-rate players and made names for themselves both locally and abroad. &...
Meisterdrittel. It's a curious fact that the informal title of "Master" ("Mаэстро"), the equivalent of today's International Grandmaster that was used in Russia during the late 19th-early...
