The Spanish Origin of the Checkers and Modern Chess Game. Volume III.


Book Description

Since 1987 we have defended in articles that the Spanish queen Isabella I of Castile (Isabel la Catolica) was the new chess queen (dama) on the chessboard. Other publications were in 1990, 1994, 1997, and 2004. And of course, Marilyn Yalom studied our book during her visit to the National Library in The Hague (Holland) before she wrote Birth of the Chess Queen in 2004. In her book one cannot see that in 1987, 1990, and 1994 we already published material about Isabel la Catolica (Isabel I of Castile) being the new powerful dama or chess queen on the chessboard. In other words we can state here that we have been studying Spanish history and its chess literature for over 30 years. Since 2003 we have also known the development of the new bishop in chess."




Woldouby's Biography, Extraordinary Senegalese checkers player during his stay in France 1910 – 1911.


Book Description

Every checkers player knows about Woldouby's famous position. This 21 year-old Senegalese drew a lot of attention in Paris in 1910 when he won against all challengers in his store located in the Senegalese village of the Exposition of Jardin d'Acclimatation zoologique. No one understood how this player could win all the games that fast. After Amadou Kandie Woldouby was the second African who participated in a checkers tournament in Paris since he became the city champion in 1911. In 1911 he left France and no one knew his whereabouts since then. In this biography we show that Weiss' golpe (shot) actually was Woldouby's golpe, since he won against Isidore Weiss with it. On the other hand we want to show that Woldouby returned to Senegal in 1911 to take the place of a checkers runner-up in 1913. His biography deserves a worthy place in the history of checkers, as he was the prominent predecessor of the famous Senegalese checkers player Baba Sy.




The History of Checkers (Draughts)


Book Description

The modern game of chess started around 1475 in Spain when the queen and bishop got a much more powerful move. It was called ""Mad Queen Chess."" These new rules quickly spread throughout western Europe and in Spain. The enhanced move for the chess queen started after the coronation of the powerfull queen of Spain Isabella I. The historical records duly note that Queen Isabella I was crowned with the sword of justice raised in front of her, and the sceptre and throne were given to her. This allusion to the real-world event is so clear within the Scachs d'Amor poem to Isabella's actual coronation that the inspiration of Queen Isabella for the new chess queen and powerfull dama of the draughts game is unquestionable. The Spaniards like the Moors, played a game on the board of lines and called it alquerque. The game became modern draughts through being transferred to the chessboard around that time. This book is the result of at least 30 years investigations in the Spanish archives




The Poem Scachs d’amor (1475). First Text of Modern Chess.


Book Description

The Obres e Trobes (the first book printed in Spain in 1474 in Valencia) is an art competition held on March 25 of that year. There are many poets who have poems and couplets in this art competition, and we find three poets among them, writers of scachs d'amor: Francesc Castellvi, Bernard Fenollar and Narcis de Vinyoles. The Obres e Trobes is considered to be the first literary work printed in Spain of which the only known copy in the world is preserved in the University Library of Valencia. It consists of 60 leaves without foliation and signature and is written in Roman letters on paper with hand and star watermark. The three poets, as we see, already knew each other. Seeing the relationship they had with King Ferdinand and knowing his passion for the game of chess, there may be another thing they thought about around 1475. It was time to change the figure of the queen and bishop on the chessboard and inform the King by means of their poem in the form of a manuscript."




The History of Alquerque-12. Spain and France. Volume I.


Book Description

Scholars did not consider it necessary to grant Spain the honour of being the creative country of the game of draughts and of the new modality in the chess game with the new dama. Both the alquerque-3 as the alquerque-9 games were known in Roman times. Completely different is the situation for the alquerque-12 game. It is said that the alquerque has its origin in Egypt. Perhaps this is the case for the alquerque-3 and alquerque-9 games, but never for alquerque-12 game. Some authors claim that the alquerque-12 game is a Greek or Roman game, but the great expert of these games, Dr. Ulrich Schadler, discards it. This book is the first proof that the alquerque-12 game was not popular at all in France, but much more in Spain, where the new chess game and draughts game were invented.




The Origin of the Checkers and Modern Chess Game. Volume III


Book Description

This book, Volume III, at this moment is one of the most profound, rigorous and well-documented investigations ever into the history of draughts or chess. In this monumental work, around one thousand books dealing with history, bibliography, technical treatises, literature, general culture, etc. were carefully studied and referenced. The intersection between the games of chess and draughts was much greater than was first thought, as the present research demonstrates. And as could not be otherwise: with the work and cooperation of one of the all-time great figures of the history of draughts and a chess historian specialized in the medieval-renaissance period and technical bibliography, everything would out. Indeed, a solid foundation on which to accommodate a truth that had so fiercely resisted the light of day. If this were not the case, without this team work, a lot, and maybe too much, time would have gone by until everything would have finally settled into its rightful place.




American Chess Bulletin


Book Description




An Uncommon History of Common Things


Book Description

Pop culture fans and trivia lovers will delight in National Geographic’s highly browsable, freewheeling compendium of customs, notions and inventions that reflect human ingenuity throughout history. Dip into any page and discover extraordinary hidden details in the everyday that will inform, amuse, astonish, and surprise. From hand tools to holidays to weapons to washing machines, this book features hundreds of colorful illustrations, timelines, sidebars, and more as it explores just about every subject under the sun. Who knew that indoor plumbing has been around for 4,600 years, but punctuation, capital letters, and the handy spaces between written words only date back to the Dark Ages? Or that ancient soldiers baked a kind of pizza on their shields— when they weren’t busy flying kites to frighten their foes?




The World Almanac and Book of Facts


Book Description

Lists news events, population figures, and miscellaneous data of an historic, economic, scientific and social nature.




The Book of Firsts


Book Description

The Book of Firsts is an entertaining, enlightening, and highly browsable tour of the major innovations of the past twenty centuries and how they shaped our world. Peter D’Epiro makes this handy overview of human history both fun and thought-provoking with his survey of the major “firsts”—inventions, discoveries, political and military upheavals, artistic and scientific breakthroughs, religious controversies, and catastrophic events—of the last two thousand years. Who was the first to use gunpowder? Invent paper? Sack the city of Rome? Write a sonnet? What was the first university? The first astronomical telescope? The first great novel? The first Impressionist painting? The Book of Firsts explores these questions and many more, from the earliest surviving cookbook (featuring parboiled flamingo) and the origin of chess (sixth-century India) to the first civil service exam (China in 606 AD) and the first tell-all memoir about scandalous royals (Byzantine Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora). In the form of 150 brief, witty, erudite, and information-packed essays, The Book of Firsts is ideal for anyone interested in an enjoyable way to acquire a deeper understanding of history and the fascinating personalities who forged it.




Recent Books