Le blog de la Batgirl
* * * Please Note * * *
This blog, like most of what I write, focuses on the historical and cultural aspects of chess - with a few rants thrown in for good measure.
I don't accept friend requests; I don't play chess here; and I don't generally respond to notes, but I will respond to messages if they seem to have a purpose other than meaningless chat. I'm only mentioning this so everyone knows there's nothing personal in my lack of response to any of the above.
Submitted by
on Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:35pm.
Huddersfield College Magazine 1880
. . .Do you see that old fellow in the corner, who is rather sarcastic-looking, an old fellow with snow-white hair (if the few thin silvery locks which fringe his bald crown may be so called )? He... Read more »
Submitted by
on Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:43pm.
The Chess Playersby Moshe Rynecki1935
from Jewish Achievement by Mendel Silber1910 "The Modern View" Publishing Co. Saint Louis
from the Introduction: "These outlines of Jewish achievement were originally published in a special number o... Read more »
Submitted by
on Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:39am.
James Mortimer
from the BMC, May 1905
SOME CHESS PLAYERS I HAVE MET.
WE gladly embrace the opportunity to supplement the following interesting article by presenting our readers with a portrait of Mr. Mortimer, and some biogra... Read more »
Submitted by
on Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:38pm.
Deschapelles was one of the greatest games-players in history. There has been much written about him - usually a mix of conjecture, exaggerations, facts and fancies. Only a few specimens of his play survive so all we really have to go on in dete... Read more »
Submitted by
on Thu Jul 9, 2009 1:04pm.
This is actually a game fragment, published in the Chess Monthly in 1859 as "An End-Game by Morphy"
The circumstances of the game were published elsewhere in the periodical:... Read more »
Submitted by
on Wed Jul 8, 2009 10:24pm.
With good reason, I pride myself in my knowledge of Paul Morphy. Thanks to thousands of hours spent on the subject and to dialogues with many experts, I'm rarely surprised at anything I find anymore. However, in perusing the Chess Mon... Read more »
Submitted by
on Tue Jul 7, 2009 6:46pm.
from BMC 1892 pp.258-60From the New Orleans Times-Democrat, of May 1st, we take the following extract from an interesting article on the Morphy Family :—Paul Morphy, renowned in the annals of chess playing, and noted for the possession of a p... Read more »
Submitted by
on Mon Jul 6, 2009 5:53am.
The Black Death was a cataclysmic event that helped introduce a new age, the Renaissance. While Joseph Blackburne wasn't particularly cataclysmic, his life, indeed his chess-life, overlaid the entire era that defined the beginnings of mo... Read more »
Submitted by
on Fri Jul 3, 2009 7:06pm.
Step right up folks . . .
Take your time. Look at everything once, even twice, but remember there are others behind you who also want to see . . . and, if you behave yourself and pay attention, you'll get a glimpse of what old Blackburne migh... Read more »
Submitted by
on Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:03pm.
What was Germany like during WWII ? What was chess like within the confines of the Reich? What do we know? How much of that can we trust?
No matter how deep I try to dig or how much elbow grease I apply, I can barely scratch the surface. ... Read more »