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Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:45 pm
by Mike Truran
Enthusiasm may be starting to wane on this one. What's the answer?

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:55 pm
by Hans Renette
John Racker Medley - third prize winner at London 1849.

His picture: http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/192773926? ... =211007060

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 2:00 pm
by Christopher Kreuzer
With George Webb Medley the more famous brother:

http://www.chessgames.com/player/george ... edley.html

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 2:25 pm
by John Townsend
The solution suggests that J.R. Medley was "the first English player of some notion to spend an important part of his life in Australia", but wasn't that Watts, who emigrated circa 1848?

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 9:03 pm
by Tim Harding
OK, here's a new trivia puzzle. (Not open to readers of my Blackburne book, which supplies the answer.)

Who set a world record for simultaneous blindfold play using a different language to communicate with each opponent?

Bonus points for where, when, how many games, and which languages.

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:17 pm
by John McKenna
Johann Hermann Zukertort?

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:11 am
by Tim Harding
John McKenna wrote:Johann Hermann Zukertort?
Not him

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:49 am
by Mike Truran
Henry Thomas Buckle?

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 11:40 am
by MJMcCready
I haven't read your book Tim but I recall that was Kieseritzky (sic) ?

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:58 pm
by Brian Towers
According to http://www.chessmaniac.com/blindfold-chess/
In 1851, Kieseritzky played 4 opponents blindfold simultaneously during an exhibition in Paris. He called out his moves for each game in a different language: French, German, English, and Italian.

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:25 pm
by MJMcCready
aha

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:19 pm
by Tim Harding
Brian Towers wrote:According to http://www.chessmaniac.com/blindfold-chess/
In 1851, Kieseritzky played 4 opponents blindfold simultaneously during an exhibition in Paris. He called out his moves for each game in a different language: French, German, English, and Italian.
Correct - though some of the "facts" about Paulsen and Blackburne in that web article are NOT correct (as I show in my Blackburne book).

I set this little puzzle because the fact about the four languages is not to be found in Hearst and Knott's history of blindfold chess.

Paulsen never completed a blindfold display against twelve opponents (I am not the first to challenge that claim).

Blackburne did, but not on either of the occasions stated in that web article (which follows Hearst and Knott in that respect), As I show, he did complete a display against twelve opponents in 1863 which was a new world record until Zukertort's 1876 exhibition.

To give the full account of Kieseritzky's feat from my book:

Philidor’s record of three simultaneous blindfold games was broken on 27 April 1851 when Kieseritzky played four games at Paris. A remarkable feature of that performance was that, in order to clearly distinguish the games in his mind, Kieseritzky called out his moves in four different languages, depending on the opponent. Against Witcomb he spoke in French, against De Sivers in German, against Joseph Campbell (the Irish player and problem composer) in English, and against Potier in Italian. Kieseritzky lost to De Sivers but won the other three games.

I found the report in the French magazine La Régence, III (May 1851) pages 135 and 149–154.

I am not aware of any blindfold exhibitions that Buckle may have given.

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:27 pm
by MJMcCready
Ok, so if I may ask another question of my own which Richard James kindly helped with greatly, which individual who played (at least once) for the strong Middlesex side of the 1920s beat both Capablanca and Fischer in simuls? I should add he also drew with Alekhine in one too.

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:54 pm
by Brian Towers
Tim Harding wrote:A remarkable feature of that performance was that, in order to clearly distinguish the games in his mind, Kieseritzky called out his moves in four different languages, depending on the opponent.
Damn good job he's not around today to try that! Arbiters would soon put a stop to that kind of filthy trick!
Chess Arbiters' Association wrote:Also illegal is the habit of using algebraic in a foreign language e.g. German. This is only allowed if that is the normal language of the player (See Appendix C.3) or the language of the area where the event is held.
OK, I know. Blindfold and simultaneous are both not covered by the FIDE laws.
I just couldn't resist the temptation to highlight a nonsensical attempt to posthumously condemn Tony Miles' habit of recording using Cyrillic.
Note also:
Stewart Reuben on Confusing FIDE Laws wrote:C.6 For indicating the 8 files, each player may use the first 8 small letters of his alphabet.
For example a Greek player might use: α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η, θ.
But it stirs up an unnecessary hornet's nest. A Russian player might decide he prefers to use the Greek letters.
So what? It's a multicultural, polyglot world. Watcha gonna do?

Re: Chess history trivia

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:51 pm
by Richard James
MJMcCready wrote:Ok, so if I may ask another question of my own which Richard James kindly helped with greatly, which individual who played (at least once) for the strong Middlesex side of the 1920s beat both Capablanca and Fischer in simuls? I should add he also drew with Alekhine in one too.
The win against Fischer was a tournament game, not a simul. Not sure whether or not that will help anyone.