Chess is a poem written by Jan Kochanowski, first published in 1564 or 1565. Inspired by Marco Girolamo Vida's Scacchia Ludus, it is a narrative poetry work that describes a game of chess between two men, Fiedor and Borzuj, who fight for the right to marry Anna, princess of Denmark. The poem anthropomorphises the pieces, presenting the game as a battle between two armies, in a style reminiscent of battle scenes in the works of Homer and Virgil. In 1912, Alexander Wagner reconstructed the game described in the poem, while Yuri Averbakh found that it has three possible endings in 1967. Background During his visit to the Italian lands in 1558–59, Jan Kochanowski encountered Scacchia Ludus, a poem by Marco Girolamo Vida, which describes a game of chess played on Mount Olympus between Apollo and Mercury. It is possible that Kochanowski also met Vida himself. Inspired by Scacchia Ludus, Kochanowski decided to create his own poem with a chess game as the main topic. Until the second half of the 19th century, Chess was often thought to be only a paraphrase of Vida's poem, rather than an independent work. In his 1856 essay Chess in Poland, historian Maurycy Dzieduszycki proved that Kochanowski's poem, while inspired by Scacchia Ludus, is dependent on it only to a small extent and should be considered a fully separate work of art.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Chess is so characteristic a product of the legacy of Islam that it deserves more than a passing mention. Modern European chess is the direct descendant of an ancient Indian game, adopted by the Persians, handed on by them to the Muslim world, and finally borrowed from Islam by Christian Europe.”
— Sir Thomas Arnold, The Legacy of Islam (1931), p. 32: citing H. J. R. Murray, A History of Chess (Oxford, 1913)
“You know I'm finished with the old chess because it's all just a lot of book and memorization you know.”
— Bobby Fischer, Icelandic radio interview (27 January 2002)
“On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in a checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite.”
— Emanuel Lasker, Lasker's Manual of Chess (1960), p. ix
“I am more strongly confirmed than ever in the belief that the time devoted to chess is literally frittered away. It is, to be sure, a most exhilarating sport, but it is only a sport; and it is not to be wondered at that such as have been passionately addicted to the charming pastime should one day ask themselves whether sober reason does not advise its utter dereliction.”
— Paul Morphy, Letter to Daniel Fiske (4 February 1863)
“They say my chess games should be more interesting. I could be more interesting — and also lose.”
— Tigran Petrosian, as quoted in David Sirlin, Playing to Win (2005), p. 89
“Shall we play Bezique? Or Nightjack? I’ve cards, or chess if you prefer, but I’ve always found chess to be a bit too much like real life to provide much enjoyment as a game.”
— Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, For a Little While (originally published at Tor.com, July 27, 2011)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Chess is a poem written by Jan Kochanowski, first published in 1564 or 1565. Inspired by Marco Girolamo Vida's Scacchia Ludus, it is a narrative poetry work that describes a game of chess between two men, Fiedor and Borzuj, who fight for the right to marry Anna, princess of Denmark. The poem anthropomorphises the pieces, presenting the game as a battle between two armies, in a style reminiscent of battle scenes in the works of Homer and Virgil.

Overview

Chess is a poem written by Jan Kochanowski, first published in 1564 or 1565. Inspired by Marco Girolamo Vida's Scacchia Ludus, it is a narrative poetry work that describes a game of chess between two men, Fiedor and Borzuj, who fight for the right to marry Anna, princess of Denmark. The poem anthropomorphises the pieces, presenting the game as a battle between two armies, in a style reminiscent of battle scenes in the works of Homer and Virgil. In 1912, Alexander Wagner reconstructed the game described in the poem, while Yuri Averbakh found that it has three possible endings in 1967. Background During his visit to the Italian lands in 1558–59, Jan Kochanowski encountered Scacchia Ludus, a poem by Marco Girolamo Vida, which describes a game of chess played on Mount Olympus between Apollo and Mercury. It is possible that Kochanowski also met Vida himself. Inspired by Scacchia Ludus, Kochanowski decided to create his own poem with a chess game as the main topic. Until the second half of the 19th century, Chess was often thought to be only a paraphrase of Vida's poem, rather than an independent work. In his 1856 essay Chess in Poland, historian Maurycy Dzieduszycki proved that Kochanowski's poem, while inspired by Scacchia Ludus, is dependent on it only to a small extent and should be considered a fully separate work of art.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Not who you're looking for? Others named Chess: strategy board game · incidental music by Leevi Madetoja · 2006 Malayalam film · chess application for OS X, developed by Apple Inc.

Notable quotes

“Chess is so characteristic a product of the legacy of Islam that it deserves more than a passing mention. Modern European chess is the direct descendant of an ancient Indian game, adopted by the Persians, handed on by them to the Muslim world, and finally borrowed from Islam by Christian Europe.”
— Sir Thomas Arnold, The Legacy of Islam (1931), p. 32: citing H. J. R. Murray, A History of Chess (Oxford, 1913)
“You know I'm finished with the old chess because it's all just a lot of book and memorization you know.”
— Bobby Fischer, Icelandic radio interview (27 January 2002)
“On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in a checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite.”
— Emanuel Lasker, Lasker's Manual of Chess (1960), p. ix
“I am more strongly confirmed than ever in the belief that the time devoted to chess is literally frittered away. It is, to be sure, a most exhilarating sport, but it is only a sport; and it is not to be wondered at that such as have been passionately addicted to the charming pastime should one day ask themselves whether sober reason does not advise its utter dereliction.”
— Paul Morphy, Letter to Daniel Fiske (4 February 1863)
“They say my chess games should be more interesting. I could be more interesting — and also lose.”
— Tigran Petrosian, as quoted in David Sirlin, Playing to Win (2005), p. 89
“Shall we play Bezique? Or Nightjack? I’ve cards, or chess if you prefer, but I’ve always found chess to be a bit too much like real life to provide much enjoyment as a game.”
— Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, For a Little While (originally published at Tor.com, July 27, 2011)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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