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The VIth I.G.K. Sixth Symposium
Synopsis of Presentations
Amsterdam 2001

Yuri Averbakh: Vida, Rabelais and Kochanowski In the XVIth century three works of the great humanists of the Renaissance epoch appeared in which the game of modern chess was described in detail. The first of them was "Scacchia Ludus", the poem of the Italian Marco Girolamo Vida, the second - "Gargantua and Pantagruel" of the French writer Francois Rabelais, the third - "Szachy", the poem of the Pole Jan Kochanowski. After an analysis of these three games the author established that Vida's poem is a primary source partially of one of the games in Rabelais´ work and in whole of Kochanowski´s game. But the main plot and the final of Vida's poem are based on the famous Eastern legend of Dilaram. One of these medieval positions is presented here. Kochanowski transformed only one position of medieval chess to the modern one. The mate of Dilaram: 1. Rh4-h8+ Kg8xh8 2.Ah3-f5+ Kh8-g8 3.Rh1-h8+ Kg8xh8 4.g7+ Kh8-g8 5.Ng4-h6 mate.

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Dr. Ricardo Calvo: The Oldest Chess Pieces in Europe? The fascinating question can be answered as follows: The 4 small ivory artefacts preserved in the Mozarabic monastery of Peñalba de Santiago (Leon/Spain) known there as "the pieces of Saint Genadio". They are Mozarab chess pieces at least from the first years of the 10th century, and very likely from the 9th century. Here is a picture of the venerable lot: A few introductory words. Mozarab (pronunciation: [mOzâr´ubz], Spanish MOZÁRABE from Arabic musta'rib, "arabicized") means any of the Spanish Christians living under Muslim rule (8th-11th century), who, while unconverted to Islam, adopted Arabic language and culture. Their position was the usual one of Christians and Jews in Islam: they were a separate community, locally autonomous, and they paid a special tax in place of the requirement made of Muslims to serve in the army.

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Dr. Jean-Louis Cazaux: Is Chess a Hybrid Game? Foreword : the opinions developed in this presentation are subjective. I have studied the history and structure of Chess and other board games only by pure passion for several years and hold no title to pretend that my assertions are sound. However, I thought that it could be useful to share my current views with the IGK community, in simplicity. Chess (as an evolution of Chatrang / Chaturanga) and Xiangqi striking resemblance is certainly not fortuitous. Its study is the object of this researchers and enthusiasts group. Logically, 4 possibilities can be sketched out : The first 3 schemes are too simple to explain all Chatrang and Xiangqi similarities AND differences. A more complex scheme should be envisaged. Birth of games is not necessarily a linear evolution. 2 (or more ?) seminal games, with mutual coupling by means of cultural influence should be envisaged. It is true for Tabula / Nard, ancestors of our Backgammon, which can be seen as the marriage between two of the most famous ancient civilisations: Egypt and Mesopotamia. For Chess, the Silk Road, as a proven bridge between Chinese and Indo-Persian worlds, offers a very plausible ground for such a model

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Barbara Hollander: Les Echecs amoureux 1. Murray verwendet in seiner History of Chess (1913) die gereimte Dresdner (früher Königl. öffentliche Bibliothek, ms Oc. 66, Mitte 15. Jh.) und eine Prosaversion (Paris, Bibl. Nat. ms fr. 143, Ende 15. Jh.) und untersucht die Romance (deren gereimte Fassung um 1370 und deren Prosafassung 1410 entstand) an zwei Stellen seines Buches, in den Kapiteln The Mediaeval Game (S. 476-482) und The Moralities (S. 555-557). Im Zusammenhang der mittelalterlichen Spielweise dient der Text ihm als Beispiel für Versuche, das Spiel zu beschleunigen und interessanter zu machen. Er nennt die vorgerückte Stellung der Figuren „short assize”. Die Schachpartie selbst, deren erste 9 Züge und deren Ende im Gedicht genau wiedergegeben werden, während das Mittelspiel ausgelassen ist, übersetzt er in moderne (englische) Notation. Die Partie wird indessen nicht analysiert. Mit der allegorischen Entwicklung der gesamten Romance hält sich Murray nicht weiter auf, er geht nur kurz auf die den Schachfiguren zugehörigen Namen und Symbole ein.

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Gerhard Josten: Chess - a living fossil Until recently the academic search for the origin of chess was mainly based on literary sources and only now and then the examination of statuary counters was of interest. Starting with Joseph Needham´s work written in 1962 for the first time the game itself and its structure were brought into the focus of attention in the search for its origin. In 1994 Hans Holländer put forward the suggestion that neither the names and forms of the counters nor history should be analysed with priority but the structure of the game of chess itself. This suggestion is what is being pursued here. An analysis of all variants of chess shows that its structure is based on three main elements. The element of hunt games is represented by the central figure, the element of variation of counters by the officers and the element of race games by the pawns. Based on this observation the first thesis proposed here is that chess was created through the unification of these three elements. Games or related techniques, which certainly preceded the invention of chess and which contain these elements in an isolated form, can be found in the entire area along the Silk Road. The whole process of unification, however, still raises some questions. Considering the geographical, historical and cultural conditions, which are relevant as matters stand, in the second thesis put forward here, the actual process of unification is being ascribed to a civilization which died out long ago. An important hint concerning this thesis was given by Isaak Lindner in 1975: The Kushan Empire. On the one hand there are accounts of intensive contact between this empire and its contemporary political neighbours from the Near East to India and China, neighbours which did not only take over the inheritance of this empire - but claim the invention of chess for themselves nowadays. On the other hand this empire is characterized by a harmonious melting of motives and elements of various cultures and artistic traditions, excellent conditions for the process of unification, which was necessary for the invention of a game like chess. These theses were developed solely on the basis of an examination of the structure of the game of chess. Only academic verification through literary and further archaeological sources can show their validity.

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Isaak Linder: To the tenth Anniversary of the Initiative Group Konigstein: About the Origin of Chess The first meeting of the chess historians in the Koenigstein-Group in 1991 gave many impulses to the numerous works from many countries concerning the early history of chess. The meetings of IGK attracted a number of historians who had the possibility to present their opinions about different questions in connection to the history of chess. In 1997, for the first time Indian historians took part in one of the IGK Symposiums. It is necessary to express gratitude to those who organised such meetings - Joannna and Dr. Thomas H. Thomsen, Egbert Meissenburg, Ernst Strouhal, Manfred Eder and the staff of the Max Euwe-Center. Now is time to sum up all that what has been written during the last 10 years and to combine the research materials together. About protochess original hypotheses were represented by Prof. Dr. Joachim Petzold (Germany), Dr. Gianfelice Ferlito and Alessandro Sanvito (Italy), Jurij Averbach (Russia), Ricardo Calvo (Spain), Prof. David H. Li (USA), Ken Whyld (U.K.). Very interesting were the researches of Dr. Andreas Bock-Raming (Germany) in connection with Manasollasa a Sanskrit manuscript of the 12th century. Another indologist, Prof. Dr. Renate Syed from the University of Munich, started her chess historical researches in 1993. She expressed the opinion that chaturanga firstly appeared as a didactic model of war which was transformed into a game. She supported her hypothesis by archeological findings of the terracotta figures of the 5th to 6th centuries. There are valuable works of Koichi Masukawa from Japan about the history of Shogi and international chess in his native country. I should mention the studies of Gerhard Josten, too, who deepens the questions about the origin of chess besides other authors.

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Donald McLean: The Fool's Guide to Pawn Promotion The pawn, that most humble of board game denizens, is the focus of our study. Approaching the subject from a wide angled historical view, this essay focuses upon the life of a pawn and concludes with a specific formula for pawn promotion native to ancient Egypt. Depictions of extraordinary transformations guide the way to a fortune etched with folly and serendipitous outcomes. Follow the pawn to the opposite edge of the board and witness the transformation which attends his penultimate achievement.

A Brief History of the Pawn:
A quick study of the pawn's development through the ages with reference to senet, mehen and chess
Demise of pagan mystery cults: hidden clues to the pawn's eclectic history

Pawn's Paradise:
Le Fou-Bishop states a case on behalf of the promoted pawn
Feast of Asses, Celebration of the Boy Bishop and Pharaoh's "mau"
Further analysis of the pawn's role in senet, mehen and chess

Pawn's Perdition:
Le Fou visits H.J.R. Murray's Hell

Pawn's Predilection:
The myth of the eternally returning pawn
The pawn and free will in chess

Pawn's Passepartout:
The King's generous genes, the Queen's good graces, the Knight's move and the promoted pawn consolidated

The Fool's Eucharist and the Riddle of Egyptian Pawn Promotion:
The enigma of senet pawn promotion.
A riddle is distributed on diskette for those who wish to accept it. Digest the cyber "host", then seek and find the secret of Egyptian chess concealed deep within the universal mind.

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Egbert Meissenburg: Das Buchprojekt - A New History of Chess The original intention to write and to publish "A New History of Chess" was to offer a comprehensive survey on the subject, updating the knowledge so far available. Various remarks, ideas and allusions to the contents of this book already have been made. The aim in the present state of discussion is to elaborate a firm structure for the “new” book which is an initiative of the INITIATIVE GROUP KOENIGSTEIN. It should be academic and the texts should be written by profiled chess historians. The contents of the planned book has been discussed in my paper. My aim is to write a ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE HISTORY OF CHESS in 4 parts (bibliography | a full list of chess manuscripts in private and public libraries | the game [Spielspezifik] | the results of chess playing in the sciences | with the title "Chess As A Symbol Of The World". The alternative suggestion is to prepare a single volume treating (only) chess as metapher of the world but written by a single writer.

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Michael Mark: But it probably does come from India The available evidence suggests that chess began in India. Persian and Arab texts clearly identify the Indian sub-continent as the source of chess. The suggestion that “Hend” or “Hind” in these texts refers to somewhere else cannot be correct. The first Persian references to chess may be earlier or later than the Harshacharita, but even if earlier, this does not suggest that chess came from Persia rather than India. Indeed, an early date would give more weight to the account in the Chatrang-namak of how chess came to Persia. The absence of early Indian chess pieces is not due to the absence of chess. The early references to chaturanga are to a two-handed game, al-Adli and al-Masudi are writing about a two-handed game in India, and the terminology is purely Indian. The names of the two-handed game in nearby countries derive from chaturanga. The four-handed game in India was a variation of the two-handed game, and the four-handed game described by al-Beruni was being played with a two-handed set. The etymological contest between India and Persia is between (1) a war game called the army game with pieces all of which are associated with Indian armies, and (2) a war game called after a square or a plant with a root that can look like a human figure, one of the pieces of which, the rukh, has no obvious significance, and its the name and nature are not explained in any old text, even the Chatrang-namak. There is no serious evidence suggesting any other place of origin than India or the Persian empire. The likelihood is that it originated in India in the 6th century.

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Dr. Peter J. Monte: Vicent Reconstructed This paper presents a description of Lucena’s plagiarism of all hundred problems in the lost book. In this third theory (after the reconstructions by Averbakh and Calvo) attention is paid to the presentation of LUCENA (the original Rio and Brussels copies; de Cossio’s facsimile). It is corrobated by data from medieval sources and from modern ones (the French LUCENA and Latin GÖTTINGEN MSs; the Italian CESENA MS, DAMIANO, ‘White’s Damiano”) as well. Although inspired by Averbakh’s valuable and creative reconstruction, this attempt deals with peculiarities, which were not at his disposal at the time. Probably haunted by a nearing deadline of printing, LUCENA took liberties with VICENT. They offer an explanation for his duplicates and for the disturbed arrangement of his 150 problems (the little beads of his ‘rosary’). The hypothetical sequence of VICENT’s problems and the corresponding ones in sources of the modern chess are visualized in the attached concordance on pp. 61-64. Openings in Modern Chess (1497-1634) This paper deals with opening lines as presented in the first period of the modern chess from LUCENA (1496/97) to SALVIO (1634). Openings nomenclature was and will always be an arbitrary enterprise. For instance, the ‘Spanish Opening’ is an approriate name, but the ‘Ruy Lopez’ is not for two reasons. LOPEZ’s name should be attached to a line in the King’s Gambit Declined. The Muzio Gambit’ should be called after POLERIO. Rather exceptionally, this master honoured his predecessors. On the other hand, LOPEZ manipulated a line of the Petroff Defence in order to depreciate DAMIANO one again. Different views and improving ‘novelties’ on the eve of opening theory are mentioned. In some lines passar battaglia, the King’s leap or varying ways of castling are applied. The Spanish Gambit (King’s leap) is quite famous; the positions in the King’s Gambit (passar battaglia) and the Two Kinght’s Defence (ways of catsling) are lesser known (see diagrams). Finally, an amount of curiosities (for instance, judgement by SELENUS, GRECO and other writers; terminology) is presented.

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Carlo Alberto Pagni: An Unknown Manuscript by Ludwig Bledow In 1997 a reprint, in facsimile edition, of the book by L. Bledow "Die zwischen dem Berliner und Posener Klub durch Correspondenz gespielten Schach-Partien mit Anmerkungen und Varianten, nebst einer Sammlung von fünfzig anderen Correspondenz-Partien, herausgegeben von L. Bledow", Berlin 1843, has been published. The copy which was used for the reprint is in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. In that copy are sticked, here and there, some handwritten leaves: all of them have been happily reprinted in the facsimile! The handwritten leaves contain: The correspondence games played in matches by the following clubs: Pesth-Paris, 2 games, 1842/45; London-Portsmouth, 2 games, 1845; Orléans-Valenciennes, 2 games, 1843/44; Marseille-Algiers, 2 games, 1844/46; Nottingham-Huddersfield, 1 game, 1840; Liverpool-Armagh, 1 game, 1841; Liverpool-London, 1 game 1844?; Liverpool-Leeds, 1 game, 1838?; Shottishbrooke-City, 1 game, 1840/41; N.N. -N.N. through the Delhi Gazette, 2 games, 1840?; Altenburg-Leipzig, 1 game, 1844; Leipzig-Lübeck, 1 game, 1845; Dannenberg-Lüchow, 2 games, 1844/45; Durham-Sunderland, 1 game, 1845; Glückstadt-Schleswig, 1game, 1843/1844; Stralsund-Greifswald, 1 game, 1843/1844; München-Augsburg, 2 games, 1842/43; Café National-Café Guttenberg Leipzig, through the Leipziger Tagesblatt, 1 game, 1842; Kurnik-Schrodo, 1 game, 1843/45. A list of the members of the Posen chess club and of some players participating to the match Berlin-Posen. Some pages with the new analyses of the Berlin-Posen games. The last moves of the games Hamburg-Breslau 1840-1843 which were lacking in the book, because the games had been interrupted by the great Hamburg fire in 1842. They were resumed later in the autumn 1842 and ended in 1843. Some addenda and corrections are handwritten on various pages of the book. It is certain the handwriting is by Bledow himself. In fact, as Mrs. Katrin Böhme of the Staatsbibliothek wrote me, there are papers in the Bibliothek proving that: the Bledow´s widow sold to the Regia Bibliotheca Berolinensis (named today Stadtbibliothek zu Berlin) the Bledow's library, for 600 Talers, in March 1847. there is a list of the Bledow's library books, with catalogue numbers, and one of that numbers was written on the reprinted book. the binding of the book had been made just for the Bledow's collection. Moreover some of the handwritten new games had been copied by magazines and journals issued shortly before Bledow´s death. The games Kurnik-Shrodo came to the end in 1845 and the Marseille-Algiers in 1846; the games Paris-Pesth had been copied from the "Palamede" 1846, page 70; the games Lüchow-Dannenberg had been published on the "Leipziger Illustrirte Zeitung" January 31 and February 7, 1846. Bledow died August 6, 1846. Pictures of the handwritten leaves are presented.

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Carlo Alberto Pagni: On the Chess Correspondence Matches between Clubs in the 19th Century More than 600 games played between clubs all over the world in the 19th century, since 1823, have been collected and published in 4 booklets in the years 1994-1997. The record of many other games has been lost and/or the result is unknown too. Some of the strongest world´s players were often members of the committees of various clubs and sometimes have been playing alone (for a stake, as for instance Steinitz) against the committee of a club. In many of those games new moves and variations, which are the basis of the theory of still widely employed openings were introduced: sometime the opening was given the name of the country of one out the opposing clubs: f.i. French Defence, Scottish Game, Hungarian Defence. The moves had been transmitted usually by letter but sometime through the columns of newpapers, as for instance the Delhi Gazette, the Hamburger Correspondent and the Breslauer Zeitung. The electric telegraph and cable were employed too, to transmit the moves, since their introduction. The first games played in the various countries of the world are shortly illustrated. Literature: Carlo Alberto Pagni: "Correspondence chess matches between clubs 1823-1899", vol. 1, Torino (1994), 189 games, pages 189 + VIII Carlo Alberto Pagni: "Correspondence chess matches between clubs 1823-1899" vol. 2, Torino (1996), 250 games, pages 99 + XIII Carlo Alberto Pagni: "Correspondence chess matches between clubs 1823-1899" vol. 3, Torino (1997), 95 games, pages 41 + VII Carlo Alberto Pagni: "For the history of correspondence chess in Italy. The matches between clubs in the XIXth and at the beginning of the XXth century", Torino (1994), 40 games, pages 61 + II

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Dr. Ulrich Schadler: The Talmud, Firdowsi, and the Greek game "Polis" In the discussion about the history of chess the question of the identity ot two games mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud plays an important part. In Kethuboth (fol. 61b) a board game played with "little dogs" - a fairly common designation of gaming counters in Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and Rome - is mentioned together with "nardshir". In Shebuoth 29a, Nedarim 25a, and Kiddushin 21b a board game called "iskundre" is mentioned, the name of which is normally held to derive from Alexander the Great's name and which medieval commentators have identified with the "game of little dogs". This points to a Greek origin of these game(s) mentioned in the Talmud. A Greek board game known from ancient sources was in fact played with "dogs": À Ì » µ ¹ o r À Ì » ¹ - the name of the " city " . This game seems to have been the Greek version of he Roman " luduslatrunculorum" . In the Near East , a n a realinked to the Greek world by reciprocal contacts centuries before Alexander's campaigns, where Greek was the international language, and many cities were founded from Alexander's until Roman times, the Greek polis - game seems to have been very well known even at the end of the 1st millenium AD when Firdowsi wrote his "Shahname". Polis ?

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Hanspeter: Suwe Bemerkungen zur Rochade-Notation In seinem Vortrag "The Early History of Castling" (Symposium Hamburg 1999) berührte Peter J. Monté, wie auch schon van der Linde und von der Lasa in ihren Arbeiten, Fragen der Rochade-Notation nur am Rande, und wenn, war das Augenmerk mehr auf die Interpretation fraglicher Termini gerichtet, denn alle Beispiele sind der deskriptischen Notation zuzuordnen. Eine umfassende Arbeit, die alle zugänglichen relevanten Quellen hierzu auswertet, steht noch aus. Noch weniger ist über die Geschichte der algebraischen Rochade-Notation in den bislang erschienenen Schachgeschichtswerken zu lesen. Die „Nullen“ werden scheinbar als gegebene Tatsache hingenommen. Das Wenige, was hierzu im historischen Sinne ausgeführt wird, macht die Geschichte der Notation nicht nachvollziehbar und stimmt nur wenig mit den tatsächlichen Entwicklungsvorgängen überein. Das Anliegen meines Vortrages ist es, die Lücken der Geschichte der algebraischen Rochade-Notation, wenn auch nicht erschöpfend, so doch in einer chronologischen Übersicht zu schließen und hierbei auch das Rätsel der „Nullen“ – wenn es denn überhaupt eines ist – aufzulösen.

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Prof. (Mrs.) Rangachar Vasantha Game boards, Pieces, Dices - its relation with Indian Chess: an Archaeological Investigation My paper explores the unexplored available archaeological evidences, spread over the sub-continent and tries to establish the possibility of this game being played as early as 1st and 2nd century AD. It is quite interesting to establish that the game with dice might have been very popular and was played more as an amusement (gamble) rather than as intelligent game.

Nagarjunakonda site belonging to Ikshavaku period (2nd - 3rd cent. AD) is attested by the variety of findings, Tabular and cubical dices made of ivory, shell and terra-cotta, the marks or symbols on their facets range from one to eight, The game pieces are of various shapes resembling the chess pieces, and are of stone, terra-cotta and ivory, Game boards are also found and marked on the casing slabs at public places like bathing ghats, assembly hall etc. Sannathi site belonging to Buddhist period (1st - 2nd cent. AD) exhibits A decorated tabular ivory dice A broken clay piece with incised square board A terracotta elephant, horse and a horse head Ujjain exvacation yielded a tubular dice of ivory from the levels of 1st-2nd cent. AD Many more evidences from Hastinapura, Nasik, Sanchi and other places. My survey has been also extended to various museums, and examines the available evidences.

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Alex de Voogt & Johan Weststeijn: Sa'id ibn Jubayr: Theology, Chess and Rebellion Sa'id ibn Jubayr was a Koran scholar of the first Islamic century, who acquired fame not only as a theologian but also as a chess player and a political activist. The combination of scholar, player and rebel is the more unusual since he was a freed black slave from East Africa. Sa'id ibn Jubayr is known as one of the most learned of the second generation muslims. He is the first chess player to have been associated with the skill of blindfold play. Finally, his execution after the revolt of the Koran scholars against the Umayyad dynasty--a revolt in which he played a leading role--has made him a martyr in the eyes of later generations. Two aspects of Sa'id ibn Jubayr's life have received attention in the Arabic sources. First, his execution by the Umayyad governor has been given a central place in Sa'id ibn Jubayr's biography. In addition to anecdotes concerning his execution we can find traditions that connect Sa'id ibn Jubayr with the skill of playing blindfold chess. In both cases it was his reknown as a pious theologian that instigated a discussion in the Arabic sources. It seems that other aspects of his life, such as his revolutionary activities, have not been regarded as problematic in combination with his theological scholarship. Only one accusation in the anecdotes on Sa'id's life questions the legality of his participation in the revolt. During the final argument between Sa'id ibn Jubayr and his executioner, Sa'id was accused of creating dissension in the community of muslims. The participation of this pious theologian in a revolt, however, has not been made a central object of debate in the Arabic sources. It is argued that a combination of the material from the two existing discussions, the one focusing on his execution and the one concerning his chess mastership, can give insight in the attitude of Arabic authors towards the rebellious aspects of Sa'id ibn Jubayr's life.

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Ken Whyld: The Gottingen MS. The Goettingen ms has been described as the earliest chess text to feature only the "new" game, viz. with the modern queen and bishop. It was first described in detail by von der Lasa, in Schachzeitung 1869 (pp. 129-140), with corrections in 1870 (pp. 202-204). He ascribed it to the 15th century, a view supported by van der Linde, who placed it at the beginning of what he called the Transitional Period (1480-1570). In 1922 the French scholar, Victor Place, writing in La Strategie, described in detail a manuscript that he had bought ten years earlier in Paris. A prominent feature of this manuscript is the name Lucena. From this element Place developed the theory that the Goettingen ms and his ms were both written by Lucena and, as they both show a better understanding of chess than is evident in Lucena's book of 1497, they were his later works. The present paper questions the validity of Place's theory, and, by making a side-by-side comparison of the mss, puts forward a new hypothesis.