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July 2019

Chess in Scotland

Logo Chess Scotland

by Alan McGowan

Most of our members will remember Alan McGowan from Canada as the author of the marvelous Kurt Richter book, published last year (Alan McGowan: Kurt Richter - A Chess Biography with 499 Games). However, Alan is also a renowned historian for Chess Scotland. We are most grateful that he just contributed an overview, to be shared with our community.

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76th Auction at Klittich-Pfankuch auction house on 22nd June 2019

Marco Nolte, Adelheid Klittich-Pfankuch and Dr. Karl Klittich
Marco Nolte, Adelheid Klittich-Pfankuch and Dr. Karl Klittich

On the eve of the Saturday auction Adelheid Klittich-Pfankuch and our board member Dr. Karl Klittich invited the CH&LS members and guests to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the antiquarian bookshop Karl Pfankuch, founded in 1919.

Karl explained in a short speech the relation between the Klittich-Pfankuch auction house and the still existing Karl Pfankuch & Co, nowadays a renowned stamp & coin dealer.

https://www.pfankuch-briefmarken.de/

Also Karl summarized, how our late friend Roger Klittich, a lawyer by training, had started the auction business. Just be chance, as a great number of confiscated Russian Icons had to be auctioneered for the Brunswick authorities.

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Announcement Exhibition "Chess & Religion" in Ebersberg (Bavaria)

Logo Schach- und Kulturstiftung G.H.S.

Our member Georg Schweiger just provided the information about the fourth exhibition, organized by the Foundation Chess & Culture G.H.S. in the Ebersberg townhall.

www.ghs-schachundkulturstiftung.de

For further information see the flyer (in German language). There you will also find Georg Schweiger's contact - CH&LS members are invited to visit.

Some comments to the Sothesby Catalogue about the "Lewis chessman" auctioned in July 2019.

by Morten Lilleören

Regarding the Lewis chessman up for sale at Sotheby’s 02 July: Here is a link to the catalogue:

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/old-master-sculpture-works-of-art/attributed-to-the-lewis-chessmen-workshop-probably

[The Lewis Chessmen sold at auction for £735000: The Guardian]

I will give a few comments about the catalogue note here, but more facts and arguments about the Lewis chessmen are contained in the attached articles. These articles were originally published in 2011/12 on the websites of ChessBase and the Chess Cafe. However, the articles are now either completely or partially inaccessible. They are therefore republished. They contain lots of facts around the Lewis chessmen and their origin. The articles were a part of a polemic. Their main criticism was the lack of historiographical craftsmanship behind the notion about an Icelandic origin - claiming that the authors of the ‘theory’ took the liberty of suppressing inconvenient facts while at the same time adding fiction when regarded necessary.

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