The Poem Scachs d’amor (1475). First Text of Modern Chess.
The Poem Scachs d’amor (1475). First Text of Modern Chess.

Author: Govert Westerveld

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-07-26

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1326374915

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The Obres e Trobes (the first book printed in Spain in 1474 in Valencia) is an art competition held on March 25 of that year. There are many poets who have poems and couplets in this art competition, and we find three poets among them, writers of scachs d'amor: Francesc Castellvi, Bernard Fenollar and Narcis de Vinyoles. The Obres e Trobes is considered to be the first literary work printed in Spain of which the only known copy in the world is preserved in the University Library of Valencia. It consists of 60 leaves without foliation and signature and is written in Roman letters on paper with hand and star watermark. The three poets, as we see, already knew each other. Seeing the relationship they had with King Ferdinand and knowing his passion for the game of chess, there may be another thing they thought about around 1475. It was time to change the figure of the queen and bishop on the chessboard and inform the King by means of their poem in the form of a manuscript."

A Companion to the Queenship of Isabel la Católica
A Companion to the Queenship of Isabel la Católica

Author: Hilaire Kallendorf

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2022-11-14

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 9004521526

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The queenship of the first European Renaissance queen regnant never ceases to fascinate. As fascists to feminists fight over Isabel’s legacy, we ask which recyclings of her image are legitimate or appropriate. Or has this figure taken on a life of her own?

The Training of Isabella I of Castile as the Virgin Mary by Churchman Martin de Cordoba in 1468
The Training of Isabella I of Castile as the Virgin Mary by Churchman Martin de Cordoba in 1468

Author: Govert Westerveld

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-08-26

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1326403648

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Today most chess historians agree that the weak chess queen, named "dame" in France as from the XIV century, changed to a powerful chess queen in Spain in 1475. Around this year we also see a change of the weak bishop to a strong bishop, according to the chess poem Scachs d'amor. In order to strengthen our hypothesis of Isabella I of Castile (Isabel la Católica) we have written a book about the new bishop and a book about Scachs d'amor in English. Concentrating now on Virgin Mary in relationship with Isabella I of Castile we observe that the Augustinian monastic Martin de Córdoba wrote in 1468 the work El Jardin de las donzellas. It was directed to Princess Isabel I of Castile with the intention to contribute to her education as future Queen. Cordoba was the first writer who draws equivalencies between Isabella I of Castile and Virgin Mary, which became one of her standard portrayals. Shorty thereafter we see the appearance of a new powerful chess queen.

The Spanish Origin of the Checkers and Modern Chess Game. Volume III.
The Spanish Origin of the Checkers and Modern Chess Game. Volume III.

Author: Govert Westerveld

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-10-18

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1326452436

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Since 1987 we have defended in articles that the Spanish queen Isabella I of Castile (Isabel la Catolica) was the new chess queen (dama) on the chessboard. Other publications were in 1990, 1994, 1997, and 2004. And of course, Marilyn Yalom studied our book during her visit to the National Library in The Hague (Holland) before she wrote Birth of the Chess Queen in 2004. In her book one cannot see that in 1987, 1990, and 1994 we already published material about Isabel la Catolica (Isabel I of Castile) being the new powerful dama or chess queen on the chessboard. In other words we can state here that we have been studying Spanish history and its chess literature for over 30 years. Since 2003 we have also known the development of the new bishop in chess."

Woldouby's Biography, Extraordinary Senegalese checkers player during his stay in France 1910 – 1911.
Woldouby's Biography, Extraordinary Senegalese checkers player during his stay in France 1910 – 1911.

Author: Govert Westerveld

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2015-11-09

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1326472917

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Every checkers player knows about Woldouby's famous position. This 21 year-old Senegalese drew a lot of attention in Paris in 1910 when he won against all challengers in his store located in the Senegalese village of the Exposition of Jardin d'Acclimatation zoologique. No one understood how this player could win all the games that fast. After Amadou Kandie Woldouby was the second African who participated in a checkers tournament in Paris since he became the city champion in 1911. In 1911 he left France and no one knew his whereabouts since then. In this biography we show that Weiss' golpe (shot) actually was Woldouby's golpe, since he won against Isidore Weiss with it. On the other hand we want to show that Woldouby returned to Senegal in 1911 to take the place of a checkers runner-up in 1913. His biography deserves a worthy place in the history of checkers, as he was the prominent predecessor of the famous Senegalese checkers player Baba Sy.

A World of Chess
A World of Chess

Author: Jean-Louis Cazaux

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2017-10-17

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 0786494271

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With more than 400 illustrations, and detailed maps, this immense and deeply researched account of the history of chess covers not only the modern international game, derived from Persian and Arab roots, but a broad spectrum of variants going back 1500 years, some of which are still played in various parts of the world. The evolution of strategic board games, especially in India, China and Japan, is discussed in detail. Many more recent chess variants (board sizes, new pieces, 3-D, etc.) are fully covered. Instructions for play are provided, with historical context, for every game presented.

Playthings in Early Modernity
Playthings in Early Modernity

Author: Allison Levy

Publisher: Medieval Institute Publications

Published: 2017-02-22

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1580442617

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An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory, Playthings in Early Modernity emphasizes the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. Thus, the titular "plaything" is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavor.

Birth of the Chess Queen
Birth of the Chess Queen

Author: Marilyn Yalom

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-05-13

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 0061913421

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“Marilyn Yalom has written the rare book that illuminates something that always has been dimly perceived but never articulated, in this case that that the power of the chess queen reflects the evolution of female power in the western world.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer Everyone knows that the queen is the most dominant piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her. It wasn't until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king's fierce warrior and protector. Birth of the Chess Queen examines the five centuries between the chess queen's timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.