1866 A.D.
Wilhelm Steinitz of Austria declares himself world champion
1886 A.D.
First official world championship won by Steinitz in New York
1925 A.D.
Aron Nimzowitch publishes My System
1927 A.D.
Alexander Alekhine dethrones José Raúl Capablanca in Buenos Aires in 34 games, the first truly great and modern chess match
1938 A.D.
The A.V.R.O. tournament is held in Holland, possibly the strongest such event ever
1946 A.D.
Alekhine dies with the title, the only champion ever to do so
1948 A.D.
Mikhail Botvinnik of the Soviet Union takes Alekhine’s title in a special tournament
1950 A.D.
The first computer chess algorithms are developed by mathematician Claude Shannon
1956 A.D.
Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn plays the game of the century at the Marshall Chess Club
1969 A.D.
Fischer publishes My Sixty Memorable Games
1972 A.D.
Fischer defeats Boris Spassky in Reykjavík, Iceland, in the single greatest chess spectacle of all time
1975 A.D.
Anatoly Karpov of the Soviet Union is named world champion when Fischer fails to defend his title
1985 A.D.
Carry Kasparov of Russia beats Karpov to become world champion
1992 A.D.
First chess site on the Web: Internet Chess Server (ICS)
1993 A.D.
The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer is released, greatly popularizing the game throughout the United States
1997 A.D.
Kasparov loses a landmark six-game match to IBM’s Deep Blue computer
2000 A.D.
Vladimir Kramnik of Russia defeats Kasparov to become the fourteenth world chess champion
2002 A.D.
Kramnik and the commercial chess program Deep Fritz tie an eight-game match
2003 A.D.
Kasparov draws a match with Deep Junior
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Like a chess player, he cared more for the process than the result.
Mischa Elman, violinist
I think one reason why chess appeals so much to musicians is that playing it is like composing.
Ben Franklin
Life is a kind of chess.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Chess is the touchstone of the intellect.
Thomas Jefferson
I played Dr. Franklin at chess, and was equal to him at the game.
John Maynard Keynes
Chess is a cure for headaches.
Ann Landers, replying to a teenager who wanted to appease his father by losing to him at chess (February 1964)
A person of integrity does not take a dive for any reason whatever. Do your homework during the evening and play chess with friends.
Chinese proverb, inscription on chessboards
Whoever moves his hand and does not draw back is a great man.
Bertrand Russell, The Art of Philosophizing
So long as it [mathematics] remains pure, it is a game, like solving chess problems.
Isaac Bashevis Singer, responding to a question about chess
It’s the fairest of all games.
Star Trek, “The Corbomite Maneuver”
Spock: A very interesting game, this poker.
Kirk: It does have its advantages over chess.
Voltaire
Chess is the game that reflects the most honor on human wit.
Chess in the Movies
2001: A Space Odyssey
Blade Runner
Blazing Saddles
Casablanca
From Russia with Love
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Monkey Business
The Seventh Seal
The Thing (1982)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
Movies about Chess
Black and White Like Day and Night
Chess Fever Dangerous Moves
Fresh
Searching for Bobby Fischer
The Chess Players
The Great Chess Movie
The Luzhin Defense
The Mighty Pawns
The Tournament
Chess in Classic Literature
Alien, Woody
“The Gossage-Vardebedian Papers”
Beckett, Samuel
Endgame; Murphy
Borges, Jorge Luis
“The Game of Chess”
Burroughs, Edgar Rice
The Chessmen of Mars
Carroll, Lewis
Through the Looking-Glass
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Doyle, Arthur Conan
“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual”
Eliot, T. S.
“A Game of Chess” (in “The Waste Land”)
Faulkner, William
“Knight’s Gambit”
Fleming, Ian
From Russia with Love
García Márquez, Gabriel
Love in the Time of Cholera
Joyce, James
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Kawabata, Yasunari
The Master of Go
Nabokov, Vladimir
The Defense
Orwell, George
1984
Poe, Edgar Allan
“Maelzel’s Chess-Player”
Pound, Ezra
“The Game of Chess”
Tolstoy, Leo
War and Peace
Vonnegut, Kurt
All the King’s Horses
Zweig, Stefan
“The Royal Game”
The following contest is the most famous one in chess history, even though it was a casual game played on the friendliest of terms. It was played in September of 1858 at the Paris opera, between acts of The Barber of Seville. White was Paul Morphy and Black consisted of a team of two players, the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, who consulted and advised each other throughout.
White
Black
Comment
1W.
e2-e4
…
A king-pawn opening.
1B.
…
e7-e5
A double king-pawn defense.
2W.
Ng1-f3
…
Attacking Black’s e-pawn.
2B.
…
d7-d6
Philidor’s Defense.
3W.
d2-d4
…
Threatening the e5-pawn again.
3B.
…
Bc8-g4
Pinning the f3-knight.
4W.
d4xe5
…
Essentially forcing Black’s response.
4B.
…
Bg4xf3
Reducing the threat to e5.
5W.
Qd1xf3
…
Taking back by developing.
5B.
…
d6xe5
Re-establishing material equality.
6W.
Bf1-c4
…
Threatening mate at f7 with the queen.
6B.
…
Ng8-f6
Shielding f7 from the queen.
7W.
Qf3-b3
…
Giving a double attack to f7 and b7.
7B.
…
Qd8-e7
At least guarding f7.
8W.
Nb1-c3
…
Developing and stopping a queen check at b4.
8B.
…
c7-c6
Guarding b7 with his queen.
9W.
Bc1-g5
; …
Developing and pinning the f6-knight.
9B.
…
b7-b5
Hoping to end the threat to b7.
10W.
Nc3xb5
…
A knight sac to keep the initiative.
10B.
…
c6xb5
Taking the knight to win material.
11W.
Bxb5+
…
Taking with the least valuable unit.
11B.
…
Nbd7
Blocking the check, but self-pinning his knight.
12W.
0-0-0
…
Castling queenside to pressure the d7-knight.
12B.
…
Ra8-d8
Adding protection to the pinned d7-knight.
13W.
Rd1xd7
…
Taking with the rook to keep the pin.
13B.
…
Rd8xd7
Taking back to avoid material loss.
14W
Rh1-d1
…
Piling up on the pinned d7-rook with a new piece.
14B.
…
Qe7-e6
Offering a queen trade and unpinning the f6-knight.
15W.
Bb5xd7+
…
Taking the rook and clearing the b-file for use.
15B.
…
Nf6xd7
Taking back and guarding b8.
16W.
Qb3-b8+!
…
The most famous move in the history of chess.
16B.
…
Nd7xb8
A forced capture, but exposing the d-file.
17W.
Rd1-d8#
(1-0)
Black is checkmated.
Black is way ahead in material but it doesn’t matter. He’s checkmated. White developed and used all his pieces. In the end, only two remain: the dark-square bishop at g5 and the rook at d8. They give the mate. That’s perfect economy of means and aesthetically most pleasing. A truly great teaching game. No wonder it’s so remembered and so loved.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bell, Robert Charles. Discovering Old Board Games. Shire Publications Ltd., 1973.
Davidson, Henry A. A Short History of Chess. David McKay Company, 1981.
Hooper, David, and Kenneth Whyld. The Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Murray, Harold J.R.A. A History of Chess (1913). Oxford University Press, 1978/Benjamin, 1985.
Pandolfini, Bruce. Let’s Play Chess. Fireside, 1986.
-----. Principles of the New Chess. Fireside, 1986.
-----, (ed.). The Best of Chess Life and Review, vols. 1 and 2. Fireside, 1988.
-----. Pandolfini’s Chess Complete. Fireside, 1992.
Abinger Harvest (Forster), 139-140
absolute pins, 186-187, 189
advantage. See also material advantage
definition of, 351
evaluating
in endgame, 303, 314-315
in middlegame, 236, 252
factors determining, 79-82, 202-205
small, value of, 130-131, 202-205
“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual” (Doyle), 364
Alekhine, Alexander, 339, 358, 360
Alekhine’s Defense, 123-124, 355
algebraic notation, 33-38
for commentary, 36-37
for file and rank names, 4-5, 33-34
reasons for, 37-38
for units and moves, 34-36
algorithmic chess, 348
Alien, Woody, 364
All the King’s Horses (Vonnegut), 364
analysis
calculation vs. intuition in, 253
definition of, 252-253, 351
in middlegame, 236, 252
process of, 254-256, 273-274, 303
purpose of, 253-254
specific vs. general, 254
analytic method, definition of, 254
Anderssen, Adolf, 359
attack
advantages of, 82-84, 86
castling and, 222-223, 225
center control through, 196, 245
as defensive tactic, 313
definition of, 85-86, 351
discovered, 49-52, 273, 291-292, 303-304, 306-307
definition of, 352
double
avoiding, 227
definition of, 352
double check, 50-51, 352
open lines and, 210-211
premature, 132
preparation for, 85
battery
definition of, 211, 335, 351
in endgame, 335-336
power of, 211-212
Beckett, Samuel, 364
Benko Gambit, 355
Benoni Defense, 355
Bird’s Opening, 355
bishop(s), 351
development of, 158-159, 162-163, 170, 213-214, 216
exchanging, for knight, 220, 228
fianchettoed, 154
in flank openings, 154-155
influencing squares of opposite color, 195-196, 245
with knight, relative value of, 142-143, 192-193
move of, 14-16
notation for, 34-35
placement of, 282-283
effective, 88-89
starting, 8
trapping of, 344-345
value of, relative, 43, 238-239
with knight
vs. knight and bishop, 192-193
vs. rook and pawn, 142-143
in pairs, 191-192
vs. knight and bishop, 192-193
vs. knight, 190-191, 193-194
black
definition of, 351
disadvantages of, 82-84, 105
opening, 114-140
copying white in, 116-122
goals of, 84, 114
playout of, 17-177, 129-130, 134-137, 145-153, 164-172
recommended, 115-116
alternatives to, 123-127
strategy of, 236-237
Black and White Like Day and Night (film), 363
Blackburne, Joseph Henry, 165
Blade Runner (film), 363
blockades, 206
board
center of, See center
configuration of, 3-6
diagonals of, 4-5 (See also diagonals)
files of, 4-5 (See also files)
kingside of, 7-8
piece placement on, 6-8
placement of, 5-6
queenside of, 7-8
ranks of, 4-5 (See also ranks)
Borges, Jorge Luis, 364
Botvinnik, Mikhail, 358, 360
Brunswick, Duke of, 365-366
Budapest Defense, 355
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 364
calculation, defined, 351
candidate passed pawn, 327
Capablanca, José Raúl, 327, 358, 360
Capablanca’s Rule, 327-328
captures/capturing
castling and, 225-226
en prise units, 43-44
exchanges, See exchanges
of king, 11-13
losing a piece, definition of, 127-128
notation for, 35
by pawns, 18-19
en passant, 30-33
definition of, 352
notation for, 35
forks, 45
of pinned pieces, 189
rules on, 10, 11, 14
strategies for, See tactic(s)
toward center, 209-210, 330
trading
benefits of, 128
definition of, 127-128
Caro-Kann Defense, 355
Carroll, Lewis, 364
Casablanca (film), 363
castles. See rook(s)
castling, 222-227
attack against, 333-334
&n
bsp; to break pin, 214
check and, 26-27, 224-225
defensive aspects of, 222
delay of, 233
development and, 226
direction of, criteria for, 224
guidelines for, 157
kingside, 26-27
advantages of, 101, 224
notation for, 35
losing ability to, 137, 157, 201
luft (breathing space) from, 289
notation for, 35
offensive aspects of, 222-223, 225
pawn structure and, 247-250, 264-267
preventing opponent from, 221, 226
queenside, 26-27
advantages of, 101, 224
notation for, 35
rules for, 25-27, 224-226
value of, 222-223
Catalan Opening, 355
center
capturing toward, 209-210, 330
control of
advantages of, 87-90, 235-236
classical center, 96-97, 112-113
definition of, 96
development from, 97-103
in endgame, 289
through attack, 196, 245
definition of, 87, 351
enlarged/big, 87
opening of, 157, 200-201, 227
king and, 222
Center Counter Defense, 124-126, 355
Center Game, 355
champions, world, 358, 360
attention brought by, 347, 349
future characteristics of, 347
chataranga, 2, 359
check
castling and, 26-27, 224-225
definition of, 20, 25
discovered, 49-51
double, 50-51, 352
to force trade, 271-272, 309-310
getting out of, 20-22
notation for, 35
perpetual, 24
pointless, costs of, 177-178
checkmate
basic, defined, 351
crisscross, 62-63
definition of, 20, 25, 351
examples of, 22-23
Fool’s Mate, 38-39, 79, 108
as goal, 77
insufficient material for, 24
Pandolfini’s Ultimate Guide to Chess Page 23
