ON CHESS
VII - Chess Writers and Players
THE knowledge of the game of chess has been extensively diffused for many centuries past, as may be seen by the numerous manuscripts and printed treatises which have appeared on the subject. The latter have been written in, or translated into, nearly all the European languages, and several of the Oriental ones; and it may perhaps prove interesting to such of our readers as have not met with any notice of these works, to take a cursory glance at them, and at the players and modes of play they celebrate.
As early as the commencement of the ninth century, the game of chess was in such high repute in the East, that Al Amîn, Khalif of Bagdad, is said to have commanded the different provinces of his empire to send to his court all such persons as were the most expert at chess, to whom he allowed pensions, and passed the most considerable part of his time among them. On one occasion, when he was playing at chess with his freed-man Kuthar, without the least apprehension of impending danger, Al Mamûn's forces pushed the siege of Bagdad with so much vigour, that the city was upon the point of being carried by assault. On being warned of his danger, Al Amîn cried out " Let me alone! for I see check-mate against Kuthar." This anecdote is quoted by Dr. Hyde from an Arabic history of the Saracens. At this period (about the year 808), chess was not unknown to the monarchs of the West. Charlemagne is represented, in the curious and ancient French romance called Guerin de Montglave, as being exceedingly fond of the game. This romance was alluded to in our History of the Origin of Chess, and the anecdote there referred to is as follows: " I bet," said the emperor to the hero of the tale, "that you would not play your expectations against me at chess, unless I were to propose some very high stake." "Done," replied Guerin, "I will play, provided only you bet against me your kingdom ol France." "Very good, let us see," said Charlemagne, who fancied himself to be strong at chess. They play forthwith, Charlemagne loses his kingdom, but laughs; he matter off as a joke. Guerin, however, is not disposed to view it in this light, and swears by St. Martin and all the Saints of Aquitaine that he must receive some compensation. The emperor then gives him permission to conquer Montglave (Lyon) from the Saracens, and surrenders to Guerin all his right in that city.
Other romances of that period contain notices of the game of chess, and it is in fabulous histories that we get the first mention among western authors of this celebrated amusement. There is nothing to induce the supposition that at this time, the European players had attained any great degree of skill at chess; but we find mention made of a player at Tripoli, in Syria, who in the year 970 was famed for going through the game blind-fold. This man, Jusuph Tchelebi by name, was accustomed to use very large chess-men, and to play not by naming the moves, but by feeling the men, and placing them in the squares or removing them from the board as occasion required. At the period we are now speaking of, the chess-table seems often to have been the scene of fierce dispute, and violent anger. Two or three fatal affrays are represented by the French romancers to have taken place, in consequence of the termination of a game of chess, and though we are prepared for highly-coloured pictures in works of this description, there is no doubt but that some measure of truth is to be found in such recitals, and that they had their foundation in the customs of the times. In a book published at Stockholm in the Icelandic language, King Canute, so celebrated for his wisdom, is described as resenting very deeply a provocation received at chess. The passage runs thus:
As King Canute and Earl Ulf were playing at chess, the king made a false move, in consequence of which the earl took one of his knights; but the king; would not allow this, and replacing the piece, insisted on his playing differently. The earl waxed angry, overturned the chess-board, and was going away, when the king called after him, saying "Ulf, thou coward, dost thou flee?" The earl returned to the door, and said, "You would haxe taken a longer flight in the river Helga, had I not run to your assistance when the Swedes beat you like a dog; you did not then call me Ulf the coward." The earl then retired, and the next morning the king ordered him to be killed.
Of the fondness of the Danes for chess and dice we have an instance in the fact that when Bishop Etheric came to Canute the Great on important business, and entered the royal presence at midnight, he found the king and his courtiers busily engaged at these games, even at an hour which in those early times must have been considered a most unseasonable one for the purposes of amusement.
In an old book, called the Anatomy of Melancholy, where chess is recommended as "a good and wittie exercise of the minde for some kinde of men; but too troublesome, too full of anxiety," and "all but as bad as study" to others, it is given as an illustration of its tendency to promote a testy choleric feeling in him that loseth the mate, that "William the Conqueror in his younger years while playing at chess with the prince of France, lost a mate, and was so provoked thereat, that he knocked the chess-board about his adversary's pate, which was a cause afterwards of much enmity between them.
"The chess contest seems to have been afterwards carried on in much the same spirit between their sons, for we find that towards the close of William's reign (1087),
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he appointed his two sons, Robert and Henry, joint governors of Normandy, and these going together to visit the French king were entertained with a variety of sports. Henry played with the Dauphin (Louis le Gros), at chess, and won a considerable sum of money of him, which so much irritated Louis that he threw the chess-men at Henry's head, using at the same time offensive language towards him. Henry retaliated with blows; and the quarrel, it is said, reached such a height, that but for the interference of the Prince Robert it might have terminated fatally. John of Salisbury relates that in a battle between the French and English in 1117, an English knight seizing the bridle of Louis le Gros, and crying out, "The king's taken." Louis struck him to the ground with his sword, saying "Ne scais tu pas qu'aux échecs on ne prend pas le roy?" " Dost thou not know that at chess the king is never taken?"
We now approach the period when the first regular treatise on chess made its appearance. This was the work of Jacobus de Caesollis, or Cesolis, presumed to have been written before the year 1200. Verci says that the original work was written either in Latin or in French, and that the Latin manuscript is still preserved in the University of Padua. Two manuscript copies of this work are preserved in the British Museum. The first is entitled Liber moralis de Ludor Scaccor, and it is a quarto of fifty leaves of parchment, twenty-nine lines on a page. The first page has a miniature border, in gold and colours, representing flowers, a peacock, and other birds, with two angels. The first letter, which is a Gothic M of about an inch square, is ornamented with a king playing at chess with a monk. The colours are vivid and the drawing is good; eleven more capitals are embellished with flourishes in gold, and the writing is neat and well-preserved. The other copy is written on paper, and un-ornamented. The work of Cesolis was translated into English by William Caxton, in 1474, but previous to that time there had appeared a curious manuscript of which we must first take account. It was called A Morality on Chess, and was ascribed to Pope Innocent III., but seems to have been written by an English monk named Innocent, about the year 1400. As it is not without its merits, and boldly points out the abuses which creep into the highest offices, we give it at full length; observing, however, that the description of the moves of the king and queen does not agree with that in the modern game, while the bishop's move is restricted to three squares, as in the "courier" game, which we shall have to notice hereafter.
This whole world is nearly like a chess-board, of which the points are alternately white and black, figuring the double state of life and death, grace and sin.
The families of this chess-board are like the men of this world; they all come out of one bag, and are placed in different stations in life. They have different appellations: one is called king, another queen, the third rook, the fourth knight, the fifth alphin (bishop), the sixth, pawn.
The condition of the game is, that one piece takes another; and when the game is finished, they are all deposited together, like man in the same place. Neither is there any difference between the king and the poor pawn: for it often happens that when the pieces are thrown promiscuously into the bag, the king lies at the bottom; as some of the great will find themselves after their transit from this world to the next.
In this game the king goes into all the circumjacent places and takes everything in a direct line, which is a sign that the king must never omit doing justice to all uprightly, for in whatever manner a king acts it is reputed just, and what pleases the sovereign has the force of law.
The queen, whom we call Fers, goes and takes in an oblique line; because women being of an avaricious nature, take whatever they can; and often, being without merit or grace, are euilty of rapine and injustice.
The rook is a judge who perambulates the whole land in a straight Hue, and should not take anything in an oblique manner, by bribery or corruption, nor spare any one; else they verify the saying of Amos, "Ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock."
But the knight in taking, goes one point directly, and then takes an oblique circuit, in sign that knights and lords of the land may justly take the rents due to them, and their just fines from those who have forfeited them, according to the exigence of the case. Their third point being oblique applies to Knights and lords when they unjustly exact.
The poor pawn goes directly forward in his simplicity; but whenever he will take he does so obliquely. Thus man, while he is poor and contented, keeps within compass and lives honestly; but in search of temporal honours he fawns, cringes, and forswears himself, and thus goes obliquely till he gains a superior degree on the chess-board of the world, when the pawn attains the utmost in his power, he changes to Fers, and in like manner humble poverty becomes rich and insolent.
The alphins are the various prelates of the church, pope, archbishop, and their subordinate bishops, who rise to their sees not so much by divine insipiration as by royal power, interest, entreaties, and ready money. These alphins move and take obliquely three points, for the minds of too many prelates are perverted by love, hatred, or bribery, not to reprehend the guilty or bark against the vicious, but rather to absolve them from their sins: so that those who should have extirpated vice are, in consequence of their own covetousness, become promoters of vice and advocates of the devil.
In this chess game the devil says "check" whenever he insults and strikes one with his dart of sin; and if he that is thus struck cannot immediately deliver himself, the devil resuming the move says to him "mate," carryng his soul along with him to prison, from which neither love nor money can deliver him, for from hell there is no redemption. And as huntsmen have various hounds for taking various beasts, so the devil and the world have different vices, which differently entangle mankind, for all that is in this world is lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or proud living."
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Arqueología del Ajedrez 
