Chess piece finds in Sandomierz and a conference volume
by Siegfried Schönle [You can find the original article in German here. Translation by DeepL]
Who among the chess piece collectors and chess book collectors knows right away where Sandomierz is and what was found there? Certainly very few!
I didn't know, or more precisely: I didn't know anything about this place!
Sandomierz is a place in Poland, located south-west of Lublin and about 230 kilometres south of Warsaw.
A conference of Polish and international researchers, organised and led by Ms. Agnieszka Stempin, dealt with the sensational finds from the years around 1968. The conference took place after 50 years, in 2018, under the title:
The Cultural Role of Chess in Medieval and Modern Times
50th Anniversary Jubilee of the Sandomierz Chess Discovery
This highly recommended conference volume [MUZEUM ARCHEOLOGICZNE W POZNANIU BIBLIOTHECA FONTES ARCHAEOLOGICI POSNANIENSES, Vol. 21] was edited by Ms. Agnieszka Stempin and is printed entirely in English. The lectures and essays are divided into 5 groups:
- Sandomierz Chess in the Context of the Medieval Chess Finds from Poland – 50 years of Mystery
- Archaeology of Chess – Between East and West
- Terminology and Image of Chess in Medieval Written Sources
- Around the Game
- Reminiscences
Read more … Chess piece finds in Sandomierz and a conference volume
bernd ellinghoven (1953 - 2023)
Our friend bernd ellinghoven passed away on November 13, 2023. Bernd was a well-known expert in problem and fairy chess. He was also editor and publisher of the magazine feenschach for over 30 years.
Thomas Brand, creator of the site Rund um die Retroanalyse, has published an obituary on his website: bernd ellinghoven
New Member: Ricardo Guerra
Our new member, Ricardo Guerra from Ponte Vedra Beach (US), is introduced in the members area (you must be logged in to read).
Invitation to this year's General Assembly in Budapest (Hungary)
Dear members of the society!
At General Assembly on 2 September 2023 in Belfort, the Chair of the FIDE Historical Commission, Willy Iclicki, has kindly indicated the possiblity to meet in 2024 in the margins of the next Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Responding positively to the idea, the Board proposes the following draft program for 13.-15. September 2024 in Budapest.
Read more ... (You must be logged in to read)
Egbert Meissenburg (26.6.1937 – 29.12.2023)
by Siegfried Schönle [Original article in German is here. Translation by DeepL]
" ...who is interested in that?" This was the meaning of the deceased's quickly formulated and dismissive comment when the author wanted to ask Egbert Meissenburg a few questions about him on the phone in around 2006, but then another personal meeting over coffee and cake in Seevetal ensued.
It will be difficult to summarise a life of 86 years that has now come to an end in just a few lines, and it will certainly not be possible to describe almost 60 years of chess in this obituary.
New Member: Luis Fernández Siles
Our new member, Luis Fernández Siles from Spain, introduces himself in the members area (you must be logged in to read).
New Member: Alain Barnier
Our new member, Alain Barnier from France, introduces himself in the members area (you must be logged in to read).
New Member: Roger Lorenz
Our new member, Roger Lorenz from Bornheim (Germany), introduces himself in the members area (you must be logged in to read).
Matthias Aumüller - Das Schachspiel in der europäischen Literatur [Chess in European Literature]
by Siegfried Schönle [Original article in German is here. Translation by DeepL]
Das Schach hat wie die Liebe, wie die Musik die Fähigkeit, den Menschen glücklich zu machen.
[Chess, like love, like music, has the ability to make people happy.]
Source: Dr. Tarrasch, Das Schachspiel. Systematisches Lehrbuch für Anfänger und Geübte, Berlin, 1st ed. 1931 : Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, Preface p. 4.
or
Für das Schach ist wie für die Liebe ein Partner unentbehrlich.
[For chess, as for love, a partner is indispensable.]
Source: Stefan Zweig (writer); https://www.schachbund.de/zitatensammlung.html
Whether the reader of Matthias Aumüller's treatise Das Schachspiel in der europäischen Literatur will be "happy" or happier remains to be seen. But he certainly learns a wealth of knowledge and background - Europe-wide - to the texts presented, which are "primarily ... about love and its connection to chess" (p.9).
The book, which is highly recommended here, contains detailed reflections on five great chess poems
- Fenollar, de Castellvi, Vinyoles - Scachs d’ Amor (nach 1470)
- Vida - Scacchia ludus (1527)
- Kochanowsky – Szachy (ca 1564)
- Marino – L‘ Adone (1623)
- Jones – Caissa (1763/1772)
Collector's corner: Two different editions of a chess magazine issue
Here is the support for the last presentation at the CH&LS general meeting in Belfort on Saturday 2 September.
Henri Serruys (Belgium) presented the very special January 1888 issue of the BCM (British Chess Magazine).
Henri pointed out a curious feature of the January 1888 issue of BCM.
In fact, this issue of BCM was printed twice with slightly different layouts, by two different printers.
Read more … Collector's corner: Two different editions of a chess magazine issue