“The weekly Dispatch,” June 24th, 1888.

By the sudden death of Dr. Zukertort, last Wednesday morning, the royal game of chess loses one of its most interesting and brilliant exponents.  This distinguished master was only forty-six, and he has been cut off right in the middle of an interesting tournament at the British Chess Club, in which he stood the best chance of winning the first prize.  Amongst his last conversations was his arranging to play Blackburne on Saturday, the 23rd, and Bird on Monday, the 25th.  The extreme painfulness of Zukertort’s death to his friends cannot be estimated by the general public.  Famous cricketers and famous actors are applauded by those they entertain or amuse.  The chess master receives no applause; over the board, however, he enters into conversation with amateurs, and is rewarded by friendships that far outweigh the wildest ephemeral outbursts of approval.  The friendships so formed by Zukertort have now been snapped, and his removal has caused, in the words of the old player Bird, “a severe blank.”  Bird himself is an interesting character.  He is by far the oldest chess master, does the chess correspondence for the Times, and is as well known by his chess books as by his play.  The game between him and Zukertort in the tournament now in progress was looked forward to with intense interest, for he and Zukertort were the leading scorers, and the fight for the first prize would have centred in this contest.  A good feature in Bird’s character is his disposition to make acquaintances with working men.  He has taught many of them his “charming game,” and has frequently been told afterwards that it has been the means of saving them a few shillings every week.  This is easily understood, for a man that plays chess is not likely to play “penny nap” nor to drink much four-ale.  Such at any rate, is Mr. Bird’s theory; and he is just now endeavouring to promote a scheme for the popularising of chess amongst the industrial classes.

CHESS NOTES AND REFERENCES

THEORIES AS TO THE INVENTION OF CHESS

The honour of the invention of chess has been claimed, we are told, by seven countries, China, India, Egypt, Greece, Assyria, Persia and Arabia.

Capt.  Kennedy, in one of his chess sketches observes, and Mr. Staunton, in his Chess Player’s Chronicle repeats the statement, thus:  “That this is as many countries as aforetime there were cities in Greece, each of which, it is said, having peacefully allowed Homer to starve during his life-time, started up after he died in a fierce contention for the glory of having given him birth.

My old friends, Capt.  Kennedy and Mr. Staunton, no doubt, used the words “starved” figuratively, for neglected by his country, for myself, I really do not know whether Homer really was neglected by his country or not.

------

TRADITIONS AS TO THE ORIGIN