The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-07-30
GREAT GAMES OF CHESS.
Caliph Who Played While His Enemy
Assaulted His City-A Civil War Which
Owed Its Origin to a Game of Chess.

III lHO AlSSOly VI tHO CdI dCcHS, IL Il
said that when Al Amin, the caliph OF
Bagdad, was besieged in his city by his
hereditary enemy, Al Murum, he was
engaged in game of chess with his
freedman and attendant, Kuthan. The
enemy was advancing in tremendous
force upon the city gates. Terror
stricken, the courtiers rushed in to warn
the caliph Of his danger. but he would
pay no attention to them. LET me
alone" he said, II see checkmate
against Kuthan." This ruler was so
devoted to chess that he had his king.
dom searched for all the good players,
and had them brought to his palace,
where. whatever their rank. he made
them friends, and heaped gifts upon
them. Among these was the slave
Kuthan, who became the caliph's favor
ite antagonist in the game. The case
of Al Amin furnishes by no means
singular instance of the absorption OF
interest possible in this fascinating
game. King John was at chess
when the deputation at Rouen came
to tell him that Philip Augustus
had besieged the. city. but he
refused to give them an audience
until the game was done. Charles 1.
was engaged in playing chess when the
news was brought to him that the Scots
were going to sell him into the hands
of the English, and manifested no in
terest whatever in the intelligence until
his game was finished. So, too, John
Frederic. Elector of Saxony, when i'm.
prisoned in 1547, was beguiling the time
by playing chess with a fellow-captive
at the moment when a messenger came
to tell him that the Emperor had SEN
fenced him to be beheaded before Whit
tenberg. He BETRAYED no agitation at
the news, but proceeded with the game.
and expressed the heartiest satisfaction
at the close over the fact that he had
beaten his opponent. The Hindoos say
that chess was the invention of an as
tronOmer who flOurished several thou
sand years ago. and who was possessed
of supernatural knowledge and acute
ness. The Greeks claim that it was the
invention of Palamedes to begaile the
tedium of the siege of Troy. The Arab
legend is that it was devised for the in
struction of young despot by his tutor,
n learned Rrahmin, TO teach the youth
how king was dependent upon his-sub-
jects for his safety. Oriental chess is
of two kinds, Chinese and Indian chess.
The Chinese game is played generally
in eastern Asia; but in India and the
adjacent islands, and, with some slight
notifications, all over the civilized
world, Indian chess is played. The
bishop is the elephant in India. the cas-
tie the boat, and the queen the min
lister; otherwise the pieces are identi-
cal with those known to us. There is a
chess school in India with its salaried
professors, and success in the game is
held in very high regard. Monesh
Ghutuck, it was said, could play fab
ulous number of games when lying on
the ground with his eyes closed The
complications of the game called the
Indian problem are known all over the
Occident as among the most difficult
ever devised. The Chinese chess
board has siXty-fOur squares and a
broad strip called the River Ho across
the middle. The castle is known to
them as the war-chariot, the bishop as
the elephant. the knight as the horse.
and for the king and queen they have a
general and two officers. They have
but five soldiers or pawns, and two can
non, the latter being able to move over
the heads of the others. The general,
cannon and chariot can not pass the
river. The Persians call chess TimOur's
game. because of the favor in which
it was held by Timerlane, the
great Tartar ruler who lived in
the fifteenth century. This king found
the game so easy that he introduced
additional men and moves to cOmpli-
cate it. This was the origin of what is
known as great chess in Persia, in con-
from little chess, the !
game. This is played on
lOard with 40 squares and fifty-six
men. A Persian emperor is said to
have called one of his sons Sehahrohk |
because at the moment he received the
of the infants birth he was |
playing chess, and had just given check
with his rolfk (castle) to his adverSary's |
king (sehah.) Kings and potentates
have usually delighted in chess. Char
emange delieSlted in the game. So did |
King Canute or (Knut) the Dane. Ivan !
the Terrible, of Russia. died in 1884 of |
an apoplectic fit, caused by rage at a
checkmate received from a subject. |
Queen Elizabeth was very fond of chess. |
So was Napoleon |. He opened his |
games badly. his biographer assures us,
,,,E hnr IN 10
made some very brilliant moves. At |
St. Helena he played daily, going over
On the board the battles that he had |
fought, and more than once declared |
hat he ought to have won at Waterloo.
Louis MI. of France was so fond of /
chess that he played it in his carriage.
Casimir H., King of Poland. in the
5welfth century, prohibited the playing
If chess in his dominions. A similar
aw was enacted by the Turkish Caliph
Hakim, IN the year 1925, punishing
with the bestinado all who disregarlled |
t. LorriS IX. of France (St. Louis)
forbade the p.ying OF chess at court
lnder the penalty of fine. and Ed
ward ". of England had law enacted
strictly prohibiting chess throughout |
the kingdom. James l. Setested the
game. The Knights Templar abhOrred
chess. and so did st. Bernard. and very
many other church dignitaries, but this
was probably for the same reason that
Montaigne gave, that he hated chess
because it fascinated him so.
4 civil war liz France owed its origin \
10 game of chess. Regnault, a
nephew OF Charlemagne, and Berthe
lot. a kn GIT of the court, had quarrel
while at the game. Berthelot struck
his opponent in his anger, whereupon
Reg1,ault lifted the chess-board, which.
IS the storv goes. was Of solid gold, and