3847. ---- HISTORY OF CHESS - Some Recommended Books: ***** THIS SECTION UPDATED 20 DEC 11 *****
RETURN TO HOME PAGE Tony Peterson, 11 Westbury Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 4DW, UK. Tel: 01702 462757. email: tony@chessbooks.co.uk £0.004661. ---- JUST PUBLISHED: Richard Forster: The Zurich Chess Club, 1809-2009. Foreword by Vladimir Kramnik.
McFarland, US 2011. New hardback. 436pp., numerous photos, selected games and compositions. Founded in 1809, the Zurich Chess Club is the world’s oldest chess organization. This historical text examines how the club, a driving force behind Swiss chess, also became a major player on the international chess scene. Includes the history and development of the club, its outstanding members and its memorable activities. Its historical tournaments are covered in-depth, including the 2009 jubilee festivities. (A.) £40.004445. Dalton (O.M.): Early Chessmen of Whale's Bone Excavated in Dorset. Communicated to the Society of Antiquaries.
From Archaeologia Vol.77. Oxford 1928. Offprint, foolscap, blue printed wrappers. VG. pp 77-86, 2 plates, text-illustrations. Final paragraph states that the pieces were given to the British Museum in 1927. Not in LN 1955 catalogue but is No.270 in Bibliotheca Van der Linde-Niemeijeriana Vol.1 1974. £20.001876. Davidson (H.A.): A Short History of Chess.
Greenberg, NY 1949. 1st Edn. G. 228pp. With bookplate of Jens Enevoldsen. The author states that he knows of no other history of chess being published in the U.S. before this one. £25.003300. del Rio (Ercole): The War of the Chessmen. La Guerra degli Scacchi, o sia Il Re de'Giuochi. Edited & Translated by Christopher Becker.
Caissa Limited Editions, US 1984. F. pp lxi, 184. This is the first publication of a manuscript by del Rio written around 1800 but unpublished until this edition in 1984. The original Italian plus English commentary added by Professor Christopher Becker who has added a long scholarly introduction which traces the early development of chess and explains the place of this work in chess history. Limited to 700 numbered copies. £21.00194. Eales (R.): Chess. The History of a Game.
Batsford 1985. 1st Edn.VG,d/w (faded on spine). 240pp. A seriously researched, but also readable, history. £15.003216. Garzón (José A.): The Return of Francesch Vicent. The History of the Birth and Expansion of Modern Chess.
Valencia, 2005. New large hardback. 495pp, illustrations. Garzón, of Valencia, succeeded with a remarkable chess historical coup as he was able to trace the apparently lost incunabulum of Francesch Vicent in an Italian manuscript - his "Libre dels jochs partitis dels scachs en nombre de 100" which was published in 1495 in Valencia. José’s latest work on the birth and the expansion of modern chess is connected with this and further find(s), and contains reproductions from the original manuscript, the 100 problems, a comparison with Damiano and other manuscripts etc. A monumental work. £50.008. Gizycki (J.): A History of Chess.
Abbey Library, Revised 1977. 8 x 11in. Paper a bit yellow as usual o/w VG,d/w. 375pp., many illustrations, including colour plates. First published in Polish in 1960. For this English edition B.H.Wood has added a new chapter on Anglo-Saxon aspects of the game and thoroughly revised the original text. Includes sections on chess and art, in poetry & prose, mathematics, famous people who played chess etc.. £15.004214. Gizycki (J.): Schach zu Allen Zeiten.
Stauffacher Verlag, Zurich 1967. Large thick hardback, 21 x 27.5cm., VG,d/w (small tear top of spine), with card slipcase. 391pp., many illustrations, including colour plates. First published in Polish in 1960. This First German edition with new chapter on German chess history. Includes sections on chess and art, in poetry & prose, mathematics, famous people who played chess etc... £25.009. Golombek (H.): A History of Chess.
Routledge 1976. 1st Edn. Large format, VG,d/w. 256pp., numerous illustrations, some coloured. £10.003989. Griffiths (M.J.): Chess in Wales.
Moravian Chess (2008.) New hardback. 339pp, 68 illustrations, mainly from photos, 32 games, index of Welsh chess players. (A.) A history of Welsh chess up to 1970. Includes sections on Thomas Bowdler and Philidor, Captain Evans, early clubs, details of the associations, championships, congresses, correspondence chess, the clubs, their officials, matches etc.. £25.002685. Hagedorn (R.K.): Benjamin Franklin and Chess in Early America. A Review of the Literature.
University of Philadelphia Press, 1958. 1st Edn. Paper somewhat yellowed as usual o/w VG,d/w. pp92, plates. Details 60 works printed in America from 1802 to 1859, Franklin's "Morals of Chess", with commentary and essay on Franklin. A scarce and useful reference work. £50.0012. Hartston (W.R.): The Kings of Chess. A History of Chess Traced through the Lives of its Greatest Players.
Pavilion, 1985. 4to, VG,d/w. 192pp., well illustrated with photos and old historical prints and pictures, a few famous games annotated. (A.) £15.003299. Hilbert (J.): Essays in American Chess History.
Caissa, US 2002. 1st Edn. F. 359pp., illus. A collection of 30 pieces by one of America¹s most highly acclaimed chess historians, containing over 300 chess games, many not available before, including long-forgotten ones by the likes of Steinitz, Pillsbury, Lasker, and Capablanca. Chapters literally run the gamut from humor to murder. Detailed coverage of long-forgotten events include the Franklin Chess Club Championship of 1897-98, the Washington Chess Divan Championship for 1942 (won by Reuben Fine), and Atlantic City 1921. Essays on correspondence chess, as well as chapters on players such as Mackenzie, Capablanca, Whitaker, and others are included. Twenty-four photographs and line drawings. A treasure trove for chess history buffs. (A.) £28.004251. Johnson (D.): White King and Red Queen. How the Cold War was Fought on the Chessboard.
Houghton Mifflin, US 2008. 1st US Edn. VG,d/w. 352pp., photos. "The story of 20th century chess and its inexorable connection to the rise and fall of Soviet Communism." The author is a Cold War correspondent, historian and chess player. £10.002004. Lasa (T.von der): Zur Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels.
Leipzig 1897. (Facsimile Reprint 1978.) VG. pp viii,269. His most important book, still perhaps the clearest account of the game's development in Europe from medieval times. (Oxford Companion.) £35.003278. Soltis (A.): Soviet Chess 1917-1991.
McFarland, US 2000. Large h/b. F. 450pp., photos, bibliography, indexes, crosstables, numerous annotated games, many of which are little known in the West. (A.) A comprehensive work, much drawn from Soviet sources, combining both the chess and the politics of the time. £48.00