Chess History and Reminiscences | Page 2

time Simpson's was the principal public arena for first class
chess practice and development: the St. George's Chess Club was
domiciled in Cavendish Square at back of the Polytechnic. The London
Chess Club (the oldest) met at the George and Vulture on Cornhill,
when Morphy came in 1858, and Steinitz in 1862, these time honoured
clubs were located at King St., St. James, and at Purssell's, Cornhill
respectively.
Other clubs for the practice and cultivation of the game were about
thirteen in number, representing not five percent of those now existing;
the oldest seem to have been Manchester, Edinburgh, and Dublin,
closely followed by Bristol, Liverpool, Wakefield, Leeds and
Newcastle.
Annual County Meetings commenced with that held at Leeds in 1841.
The earliest perfectly open Tournaments were two on a small scale at
Simpson's in 1848 and 1849, and the first World's International in the
Exhibition year 1851, at the St. George's Chess Club, Polytechnic
Building, Cavendish Square. In each of these Tournaments the writer
participated.
Three chess columns existed when I first visited Simpson's in 1846,
viz., Bells Life managed by Mr. George Walker from 1834 to 1873.
The Illustrated London News from 15th February 1845 to 1878, in
charge of Howard Staunton, and the Pictorial Times which lasted from
February 1845 to June 1848. The first column started had appeared in
the Lancet 1823, but it continued not quite one year.
The Chess Player's Chronicle issued in 1841 (Staunton), was then the
only regular magazine devoted to chess, but a fly leaf had been
published weekly about the year 1840, in rather a curious form of
which the following is found noted:

About the year 1840 the Garrick Chess Divan was opened by Mr.
Huttman at No. 4 Little Russell St., Covent Garden. One of the
attractions of this little saloon was the publication every week of a leaf
containing a good chess problem, below it all the gossip of the chess
world in small type. The leaf was at first sold for sixpence, including
two of the finest Havannah Cigars, or a fine Havannah and a delicious
cup of coffee, but was afterwards reduced to a penny without the cigars.
The problem leaf succeeding well, a leaf containing games was next
produced, and finally the two were merged in a publication of four
pages entitled the Palamede.
The Gentleman's Magazine 1824, 1828, British Miscellany 1839, Bath
and Cheltenham Gazette 1840, and Saturday Magazine 1840, 1845, had
contained contributions in chess, but of regular columns there were
only the three before mentioned, now there are about one hundred and
fifty, mostly of larger dimensions.
Mr. George Walker's 1000 games published in 1844, gives no game of
earlier date than 1780, viz., one of Philidor's of whose skill he gives 62
specimens, and there are 57 games by correspondence played between
1824 and 1844.
The list of chess works of consideration up to Philidor's time, number
about thirty, but there were several editions of Jacobus de Cessolus
(1275 to 1290) including translations by J. Ferron and Jean De Vigny,
from which last named Caxton's book of 1474 was derived.
Lucena, Vicenz, Damiano, and Jacob Mennell appeared before 1520,
Ruy Lopez in 1561, Polerio, Gianuzio, Greco, Salvio, Carrera,
Gustavus Selenus and the translation of Greco, followed in the interval
from 1561 to 1656.
I. Bertin 1735 and the six Italian works of the last century, were the
principal which followed with Philidor's manifold editions, up to
Sarratt the earliest of the nineteenth century writers.
Dr. A. Van der Linde, Berlin 1874, 1118 pages, 4098 names in Index,
and 540 diagrams includes notice of Cotton's complete gamester 1664,

and Seymour's complete gamester 1720, with editions of Hoyle's games
from 1740 to 1871, in fact about one-fourth of Linde's book is devoted
to the specification of books and magazines, mostly of the nineteenth
century, even down to the A.B.C. of Chess, by a lady.
Poems have been written on chess, of which the most esteemed have
been Aben Ezra 1175, (translated by Dr. Hyde) Conrad Von
Ammenhusen and Lydgate's "Love Battle" in the fourteenth century
Vida, Bishop of Alba 1525, Sir William Jones 1761, and Frithiofs Saga
by Esaias Tegner 1825.
Of articles which have appeared during the last fifteen years, the
Retrospects of Chess in the Times particularly that of the 25th June
1883, (the first on record) mark events of lasting interest in the practice
of the game, which would well merit reproduction. Professor Ruskin's
modest but instructive letters (28 in number 1884 to 1892), also contain
much of value concerning chess nomenclature, annotation, ethics and
policy combined with some estimable advice and suggestions for
promoting greater harmony in the chess world.
The able article in Bailey's 1885, on chess competitions and the
progress of the game, and that in the Fortnightly