France’s Contribution to the Development of Chess in Europe

McFarland is reselling this book by special arrangement with German publisher Exzelsior Verlag.

On 20 March 2021, an 8-hour online conference was held in honour of the Fédération française des échecs (FFE), which had celebrated its 100th founding anniversary the day before. The revised lectures of the renowned chess historians from Spain, France, England, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany are now available in book form. Bound in fine linen, 304 generously illustrated pages illuminate the rich history of European and especially French chess from the end of the 15th to the middle of the 20th century. Herbert Bastian (Saarbrücken), Prof. Dr. Frank Hoffmeister (Brussels) and Jean-Olivier Leconte (Paris), experienced chess historians, are responsible for the editing.

Seven of the twelve lectures are written in English, five in French (English-language contributions contain a summary in French and vice versa). Some of the reflections deal with old manuscripts (MS Paris/DeLucia, Göttingen manuscript, MS Allemand) as well as with Chapais’ work rediscovered in 1990. Other contributions focus on the work of formative personalities such as Philidor, Deschapelles, Mouret, Kieseritzky, Harrwitz, Petroff, Rosenthal, Gromer and Alekhine. Two others deal with the formation of the FFE and its first 25 years. The articles are up to date and provide numerous new insights. The work, which fulfils scientific criteria, thus offers a well-founded introduction to recent chess history and provides numerous points of reference for those interested in chess history. It is published by Exzelsior Verlag Berlin, which recently proved its high standard with the Lasker trilogy.

*This item is not eligible for promotional or wholesale discounts.

Herbert Bastian (Saarbrücken), Frank Hoffmeister (Brussels) and Jean-Olivier Leconte (Paris), experienced chess historians, are responsible for the editing.  A European Union official and professor of international economic law, Frank Hoffmeister is also the author of Chess Theory from Stamma to Steinitz, 1735–1894.

Edited by Herbert Bastian, Frank Hoffmeister and Jean-Olivier Leconte

Format: library binding (7″ x 10″)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: photos, indexes, bibliography
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 9783982386409
eISBN: n/a
Publisher: Exzelsior Verlag GmbH

Greetings from Arkady Dvorkovich
Greetings from Zurab Azmaiparachvili
Greetings from Ullrich Krause
Allocution de M. Yves Marek, Président ad interim de la Fédération Francaise des Échecs

Partie I: L’évolution des échecs en France

1 The Chapais Manuscript – Origin, author and significance for chess theory
(Bastian)

2 Alexandre Louis Honoré Lebreton-Deschapelles : mythes et réalités
(Baudrier/Leconte)

3 Jacques-François Mouret – the sad end of the foremost director of the chess automaton
(Van Habberney)

4 Kieseritzky, Harrwitz et Rosenthal Les premiers joueurs professionnels étrangers en France
(Hoffmeister)

5 Sleeping amidst their visions … Polish chess players in France in the second half of 19th century
(Lissowski)

6 Les échecs en France avant la Fédération Française des Échecs
(Leconte)

7 Les 25 premières années de la Fédération Française des Échecs 1921–1946
(Bertola)

8 A letter, a child prodigy and an impoverished millionaire
(Schulz)

9 Denis Teyssou Alekhine et la France

Partie II: La contribution de la France au développement des échecs dans le monde

10 Chess Connections between Spain and France in Early Modern Chess Documents
(Garzón)

11 Philidor and British Chess 1750 – 1850
(Eales)

12 Alexander Dmitrievich Petroff : The Northern Philidor in Europe 1863
(Fiala)

Crédits photos
Index des noms de personnes
Index des sujets
Bibliographie/Bibliography