H. E. Bird (1830–1908)

This was an e-book offered for free on Project Gutenberg which specializes in restoration and digitization of out-of-copyright material. H.E. Bird is a famous chess player with an opening named for him, and a historian of chess origins. He attempts to unearth the ancient origins of the game of chess, beginning with what is known from India, Persia (Iraq) and China. He follows the changes in the game into the final modifications in the mid 15th century and then looks briefly at the rise of interest in chess in England and elsewhere. There are only a half dozen games given in the work and it is not an instructional, but rather an historical look at some of the earliest games notated.

There is some duplication of information, and some run-on sentences as would be expected from English text written in 1893 which seems to be the latest reference to chess in the book. Remarkably, it is two years before the amazing tournament of 1895 in Hastings that remains a classic to this day.

For any fan of chess interested in its obscure and speculated history, this is a worthy read.… (plus d'informations)