Lot Essay
PROVENANCE: Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa (bookplate).
A Spanish priest from Estremadura, Ruy Lopez was not generally regarded as a great analyst by later critics, yet he was the foremost player in Spain for nearly 20 years, playing before Philip II (1556-98) who presented him with a golden chain, from which was suspended a rook. His book was written rapidly after a visit to Rome had brought him into contact with Italian players and the work of Damiano.
The first part of the book deals with the origins and utility of chess, with many quotations from Cessolis (Reyna's Spanish translation of which had appeared as recently as 1549), and includes general advice to players and a code of laws for the game. This is followed by a miscellaneous collection of openings wider in range than those of any of his predecessors, then a severe criticism of Damiano's "Analysis of games without odds" and finally a similar criticism of his "Games at odds". Murray states that he "belongs essentially to the school of chess which we are accustomed to associate with the name of Philidor. In his analysis, and especially in the games in his second book, we may trace the genesis of that theory of Pawn-play which Philidor reduced to a system two centuries later." It was also Lopez who gave the slang word "gambit" (originally an Italian wrestling term) an international currency (cf Murray 813-17). The opening which Ruy Lopez was the first to analyse and to which he gave his name was still the most current in the recent world championship match between Kasparov and Karpov.
Illustrated.
A Spanish priest from Estremadura, Ruy Lopez was not generally regarded as a great analyst by later critics, yet he was the foremost player in Spain for nearly 20 years, playing before Philip II (1556-98) who presented him with a golden chain, from which was suspended a rook. His book was written rapidly after a visit to Rome had brought him into contact with Italian players and the work of Damiano.
The first part of the book deals with the origins and utility of chess, with many quotations from Cessolis (Reyna's Spanish translation of which had appeared as recently as 1549), and includes general advice to players and a code of laws for the game. This is followed by a miscellaneous collection of openings wider in range than those of any of his predecessors, then a severe criticism of Damiano's "Analysis of games without odds" and finally a similar criticism of his "Games at odds". Murray states that he "belongs essentially to the school of chess which we are accustomed to associate with the name of Philidor. In his analysis, and especially in the games in his second book, we may trace the genesis of that theory of Pawn-play which Philidor reduced to a system two centuries later." It was also Lopez who gave the slang word "gambit" (originally an Italian wrestling term) an international currency (cf Murray 813-17). The opening which Ruy Lopez was the first to analyse and to which he gave his name was still the most current in the recent world championship match between Kasparov and Karpov.
Illustrated.