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Chessville
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The Anatomy of Chess Überlegungen zur Herkunft des Schachspiels
Historically, investigations into the origins of chess have looked at ancient texts and other archeological evidence. However, in the introduction, the authors warn against relying exclusively on such approaches: "...textual references to chess tell us with certainty only that chess was known at the date of the writing. A further measure of uncertainty is added by the fact that the date of a text's writing is often unclear. In addition, cults of personality and national pride play a large role in such literature, while questions about the concrete process and causes of chess origins fall back into obscurity once we disregard the well-known legends that have grown around the game. Archeological finds also carry considerable risk as to their proper interpretation, since they can never be unambiguously identified as chess discoveries...An ancient collection of figurines is often assumed to be a set of chessmen before this claim can be justified." Instead, the authors argue, we should look also to the game's relationship to other early games, looking for "structural interrelations and patterns" and other organic clues to the games development, which they assert "emerged from other games which preceded it and which were transformed into chess through a long process of evolution and adaptation. Neither are the authors alone in pursuing this line of inquiry. In addition to their own contributions, the editorial team has reprinted important and difficult to obtain papers by Hans Holländer, Yuri Averbakh, Pavle Bidev and others. Indeed, this book, even in it's 97-page brevity, is but a collection of nine essays presenting the "structural approach" to origins research, the author's views thereby receiving a solid grounding in the theoretical context of this line of investigation. An epilogue from Egbert Meissenburg, whom the authors credit for serving as the catalyst for this book, rounds out the contents. A word about the book's language, or rather languages. It is mostly written in English, but there two essays are written in German. The Introduction appears in both languages. One German-language essay is translated in full, the other is summarized. The Epilogue appears only in German. I can only guess about the efficacy of the translation, but given the high level of scholarship in this book, I would be very surprised to learn of any serious errors in this regard. Among the other ancient games explored for possible relationships with chess include Xiangqi, Changgi, Shōgi, Poleis, and others. Identifying the defining characteristics of chess, for comparison to these other ancient games, is the focus of Peter Banaschak's essay, Towards a Definition for Games of the Chess Type. He includes such characteristics as a board game; between two players; on a board with a rectangular pattern; with both parties having an equal set of pieces which are hierarchically and identifiably marked by name, design, power of move, and importance for the game; and so on. These are emblematic of the type of organic connection the researchers seek. Are there any structural similarities, especially of the type which might have evolved into the modern version of chess? In Pawns and Pieces: Towards the Prehistory of Chess, by Myron Samsin, the author provides some interesting glimpses of such similarities, including this example from the game Poleis, which was known as early as the Fifth Century BC:
In Poleis, shown above on the left, an enemy piece is captured by surrounding it as shown, and then removing it from the board. Noting that the modern pawn capture, illustrated above on the right, "has been characteristic of the Pawn from its very first detailed descriptions by the Arabs", Samsin speculates that "there must be some reason for this structural coincidence, one that explains the very odd capture of the Pawn. The most logical explanation would be that the modern Pawn is a direct descendant of the Poleis piece." In addition to the essays included in the book, the authors also provide an assortment of other resources used in their research, an essential element in any historical work, but especially in one of this nature. This is a well-written, scholarly effort to delve ever more deeply into the misty past of the Royal Game, and should be of interest to anyone with an interest in chess history. Others will find it useful for presenting a fascinating "new" approach to historical research into the origins and evolutions of games. Check out one of the
author's
website for more information, links to other resources, and for
information on ordering your own copy of this excellent treatise contact
Gerhard Josten. You may also read
the
introduction, a 41 Kb pdf file.
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