Chess Being Played In Homes, Schools In Open Air

[John Foley]

This is a splendid newsreel from Pathe from a century ago which shows chess thriving amongst school children.
Any suggestions which country in which this was filmed?
I notice that in castling, the King was moved before the Rook.
Newsreel video

[Christopher Kreuzer]

This is a splendid newsreel from Pathe from a century ago which shows chess thriving amongst school children.
Any suggestions which country in which this was filmed?
I notice that in castling, the King was moved before the Rook.
Newsreel video

I think you meant to say "the Rook was moved before the King" (that's what happened in the clip, in the game that involved a queen sacrifice ending in mate). As to what country, it might have been more than one. I liked the clip where you see two farm workers walking past with long tools over their shoulders - possible hay pitchforks? Very rural Edwardian. But right at the end, the old woman and old man have a more European feel to them.

[John Foley]

Yes, the Rook was moved before the King.
Eastern Europe I would guess but not Russia as they are not using Russian pieces.
I like the way the chessboards have handles to make them portable.

[John Clarke]

Something about the look of the place and the people suggests "Germany" to me. This would have been filmed while the German Empire still held sway over large parts of what is now Poland, and could account for any Eastern European feel.

There's a St George set in use in the early part of the clip, which also indicates Germany. The design wasn't exclusive to England. According to the Chess Museum site - here - it was also manufactured in Germany and France.

The game filmed in close-up and finishing around the 3-minute mark - obviously staged for the camera - is Anderssen-Schallopp, originally played in Berlin in 1864. Recognised it straight away, from having seen it years ago in Bott & Morrison's The Chess Apprentice.