Evening star., 1937-04-04

BY PAUL ]. MILLER, JR.,
Americas Authority on Social Chess.
Chess in Jewish Literature.


T CNGFELLOW'S wonderful leg
end of "HiaWatha," that has
etched the boyhood and girl
hood of youth, has charm
and fascination that places it among
the immortal myths of early Amer
lean life, The rhythm and it's swing
ing cadence, the story and its excel
lent narration, the sonorous language
and the simplicity Of style entrances
the reader and enchants the eager
and inquiring mind.
"The Song Of Chess" is TO be
compared with 'Hiawatha" in
style and movement. But the
legend of L0ngfellOw's fertile
and brilliant mind came many,
many years after chess was de-
picted in song and story.
THE Song of Chess" according to
the Jewish writer, Hyde, who prints
in the second volume of his DE Ludis
Orientalibus" G694), three Hebrew
works on chess, with excellent Latin
translations, was originally called
"Carmina Rythmica de Ludo Schah-
mat" The authorship has been at
trlbuted to R. Abraham Abben-E Ezra,
also called Ibn Ezra, who lived in the
twelfth century, dying in 1167.
The Hebrew text is to be found in
Steinschneider's "Schach bel den
Juden," PIP. 43-45 Also, a German
rendition occurs in this work, PIP. l2-
Is. Nina Davis, now Mrs. Salomon,
offers us an excellent English trans
lation in Songs of Exile" PIP. 129-
l3l, issued by the Jewish Publication
Society OF America, Philadelphia, Pa,
1901. 1t follows:
The Song of Chess
I Will sing a song of battle
Planned in days long past and over
Men OF ski!l and science set it
On a plain of eight divisions,
And designed in squares all cheauered.
Two camps face each one the other,
Ana the kings stand by for battle
and 'tWixt these two is the fighting.
Bent on war the face of each is
Ever moving or encamping,
9et no swords are drawn in warfare.
FOR a war of thoughts their war is
They are known by signs and tokens
sealed ana written on their bodies;
And man who sees them, thinketh
Edomites and Ethioplans
Are these two that fight together
And the Ethiopian forces
OVerspread the field of battle
AND the EdomlteS pursue them.
First In battle the foot-soldier
Comes TO fight upon the highway
Ever marching straight before him.
But to capture moving sideways
Straylng not from off his pathway.
Neither do his steps go backward;
He may leap at the beginning.
Anywhere within three cheQuers
Should he take his steps in battle
Far unto the eighth row,
Then Queen TO all appearances
He becomes and nights as she does.
And the Queen directs her moving
As she Will TO any quarter.
Backs the Elephant or advances,
As the Green's way, so is his way,
But Ger him she hath advantage
He STANDS only in the third renk.
SUEt the Horse is in the battle,
Moving on crooked pathway;
Ways OF his are ever crooked
Mid the SQUARES, three form his limit.
STRAIGHT the Wind moves DER the warpath
In The fields across or lengthWlSe;
Ways OF crOokedneSS he seeks not
But straight paths without perverseness.
Giving aid unto his subjects;
In his actions he is cautious
whether fighting or encamping.
If his foe come to dismay him
From his place he fees IN terror
Or the Wind can give him refuge.
Sometimes he must fee before him;
Multitudes at times support him;