Timothy Harding's new book: British Chess Literature to 1914

Our member Timothy Harding recently published British chess literature to 1914 (McFarland 2018), an impressive book that will interest many chess historians, especially those who are specialized in the 19th century. With his permission, we took away following summary of its content from the blog of our fellow member Michael Clapham who reviewed the book thoroughly. There the interested reader will find his complete review (https://chessbookchats.blogspot.com/2018/08/british-chess-literature-to-1914-by.html):
Dr. Timothy Harding, author of previous deeply researched works on chess history including Correspondence Chess in Britain and Ireland, 1824-1987, 2011, Eminent Victorian Chess Players, 2012, and Joseph Henry Blackburne, 2015, all published by McFarland, surveys British (and Irish) chess literature up to the First World War in this latest work.
The Preface sets out clearly the aims and content of the book which has a special emphasis on chess columns, and these are comprehensively examined in the first four chapters, plus the very detailed 45 page Appendix I. British and Irish Chess Columns to 1914: An Annotated List, describing nearly 600 columns. Chess Periodicals also receive extensive coverage, especially The Chess Player's Chronicle and its successors which are covered in a separate chapter of 54 pages.
The history and description of chess columns and periodicals take up six of the seven chapters, and 230 of the 274 pages which discuss chess literature, leaving just one chapter of 44 pages for the comparatively weak examination of chess books; and anyone hoping for a thorough review of the rich history of British chess books will be very disappointed. As early as page 10 Harding dismisses old chess books as having "little to offer the historian" and it is clear that the author is much more inclined towards chess columns and periodicals than general chess books.
Obituary of Jørn Erik Nielsen

Jørn Erik Nielsen
* 12-05-1948 † 03-08-2018
Our friend Jørn Erik is dead after a long cancer illness. He was not a very strong player himself, but he left his mark on Danish chess through his untiring work in teaching and history research.
Jørn Erik was educated as a teacher and worked for many years at the Brundlund school in his home town of Aabenraa in southern Jutland. Of course it was important to him that the pupils also became acquainted with chess, and thanks to his engagement. Brundlund won the Danish schools’ team tournament in 1994 and went to Iceland to represent Denmark in the Nordic championship. This peak performance was documented by Jørn Erik in a booklet containing games, pictures, Icelandic history and geography – undoubtedly the trip was a memory for life for all participants! The teaching material Jørn Erik created for his pupils is still in use in school clubs all over Denmark.
New book by Santo Daniele Spina

In the wake of the four hundredth anniversary of the publication of the Carrera's Treatise on Chess (1617), Santo Daniele Spina's writing presents in modern chess notation with many diagrams the odds theory exposed in the fifth book of Il gioco degli scacchi (The Game of Chess) in comparison with Ruy Lopez, Gianutio and Salvio and it is another step forward with regard to English translation by William Lewis (1822).
In the fifth book, divided into thirty-one chapters, Carrera examines the openings giving the first move to Black or to White according to the odds type offered weaker chess player.
More information:
Report of the Committee of Cash Auditors

The Committee of Cash Auditors, consisting of Dr. Michael Negele and Rob Spaans, has checked the financial statements over 2017 as presented by Treasurer Michael Clapham. We have concluded that these financial statements are an accurate reflection of the financial status and events of the Chess History & Literature Society in 2017.
20-07-2018, Wuppertal
Tobiblion update

Per Skjoldager has updated the database of the BoC-Project. Texts, pictures and hammer prices of the 74th Klittich auction are now available for members in Tobiblion.
New Member: Henrik Malm Lindberg

Another new member, Henrik Malm Lindberg, introduces himself in the members area.
New Member: Bob Jones

In the members area, our new member Robert 'Bob' Jones will be introduced by Claes Løfgren.
Ingenious chess puzzles

Werner Keym has recently sent his Chess Problems out of the box to your "interim web-editor". However, your humble one is totally ignorant in this specific field of expertise, so my announcement is somewhat delayed. I needed more than a month to ponder about the position displayed with the author's likeness.
Dear Chessfriends, be aware, think first of the last move of Black. Two members of the CH&LS are involved in this re-edition: Godehard Murkisch (Treuenhagen) representing the Nightrider Unlimited Publishing House and Ralf Binnewirtz (Meerbusch), who did the layout.
Michael Negele
Our chairman provides the following information:

As usual the Board of our Society came together for its bi-annual meeting in the last week of June during the likewise bi-annual auction days of antiquarian bookseller and auction house Klittich-Pfankuch in Braunschweig (Brunswick). This time the former treasurer, successively chairman of the Society (at that time still the Ken Whyld Association) Guy Van Habberney had been invited to join, and for good reason: the Board informed him that on a proposal of the Board the Council of Representatives had decided to appoint him as Honorary Member of the Chess History & Literature Society! Later that afternoon of Friday June 22nd this appointment was made public at the beginning of the informal member meeting in which on behalf of the Board Honorary Member Michael Negele pronounced an appreciation. From July 9th on the text of this warmly applauded appreciation can be found in the member pages under News for members.
[Update 2018-07-09] The text is now available, A short appreciation by another "Honorary Member" [/Update]
Read more … Our chairman provides the following information:
Obituary of Peter J. Monté

Peter Monté
* 13-09-1939 † 07-06-2018
After a short disease our Dutch member Peter Monté passed away on June 7th. Born in 1939 he was 78 years old.
Peter fairly recently joined our Association after giving a much-appreciated lecture in Wijk aan Zee in January 2015 (Wijk aan Zee 2015). As he explained at the time, he initially wanted to find out when the first King’s gambit was played, an opening he himself also very much preferred to play OTB. After 25 years of assiduous research, the end result was the monumental The Classical Era of Modern Chess (McFarland, 2014, xxii + 594 p.). This is truly a work of great chess scholarship at a PhD level, and I am certain that it will stand the test of time and eventually be mentioned in one breath together with Murray’s monumental History of Chess (1913).
Peter Monté was a stubborn man, a character feature which certainly helped him a lot in his research.
Boechout, Belgium
Guy van Habberney