100 years of the French Chess Federation
On 20 March a Zoom online conference for interested chess historians will take place on the occasion of "100 years of the French Chess Federation". It is a joint initiative of the CH&LS members Prof. Dr. Frank Hoffmeister (Bruxelles) and Herbert Bastian (Saarbrücken) together with Jean Olivier Leconte (Paris). Partners of the event are the French Chess Federation (FFE) and the German Chess Federation (DSB).
Originally, the conference was to take place locally in Paris, at the same time as a general meeting of the CH&LS. This was prevented by the Corona pandemic. Now all members of the CH&LS are invited to attend the interesting lectures by leading chess historians. Registration is free of charge by sending an email to one of the organisers (see the programme below). About a week before the conference, participants will then receive the access code by email. The Zoom programme is available free of charge on the internet (Zoom software download page) and must be installed on the participant's computer beforehand.
100 years French Chess Association:
The significance of France for the development of chess in other European countries
I. Introduction
On 19 March 1921, the French Chess Association was founded. The Conference wishes to contribute to the celebration of its 100th birthday by exploring the significance of France as a chess nation for the development of chess in other European countries. To this effect, renown chess historians from France, Germany, England, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic are invited to present their research on the topic.
II. Time and Venue
In view of the COVID 19 Pandemic, the Conference itself will be held online via ZOOM on Saturday, 20 March 2020. Speakers will give their speeches before their screen at home, supported by a Power-Point Presentation of around 20 minutes. All participants can follow the conference at the screen at home, by dialing into the specific Zoom-Link. Each presentation will be followed by a session with Questions and Answers with the participants.
III. Program
Saturday 20 March 2021
- 9.00 Welcome by a representative of the French Chess Association (Yves Marek, President ad interim)
- 9.15 The Chapais Manuscript: Origin, Author and Significance for Chess Theory (Herbert Bastian)
- 10.00 Deschappelles – Mythes et Réalités (Pierre Baudrier)
- 10.30 Coffee break
- 11.00 L’organisation des échecs en France avant la création de la Fédération nationale en 1921 (Jean-Olivier Leconte)
- 11.45 Kieseritzky, Harrwitz, Rosenthal - the first foreign chess professionals in France (Frank Hoffmeister, confirmed)
- 12.30 Sleeping amidst their visions: Polish chessplayers - students, emigrants, refugees and professionals in France in the second half of the XIX century (Tomasz Lissowski)
- Lunch Break
- 14.00 Chess Connections between Spain and France (José A. Garzón)
- 14.45 The Role of Philidor and his successors for British Chess (Richard Eales)
- 15.30 Alexander Petroff - The northern Philidor (Vlastimil Fiala)
- 16.15 Coffee break
- 16.30 Alekhine en France (Dennis Teyssou)
- 17.15 Les premières 25 années de la Fédération française (1921-1946) (Georges Bertola)
- 18.00 Conclusions and Future Research (Jean-Olivier Leconte, Herbert Bastian, Frank Hoffmeister)
IV. Participation
Participation is open to the public free of charge. Anyone who wishes to register can send an e-mail to either Herbert Bastian (herbertbastian@freenet.de), Frank Hoffmeister (69.frank.hoffmeister@gmail.com) or Jean-Olivier Leconte (lecafedelaregence@free.fr).