Mad Queen's Chess

Mad Queen's Chess
Author: Joe Sweeney
Publisher: Writer AKA Publishing LLC
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2010-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0984084134

An inspector from New Scotland Yard's is assigned to Kolkata to assist the local police in solving a number of cases oddly connected by a common theme: the game of chess. Members of an underground society, identified only as chess pieces, are subtly influencing powerful members of the British nobility, often using the Checking Piece Courier Service to carry obscure messages. Who are these "chessman" and what is their objective?

Birth of the Chess Queen

Birth of the Chess Queen
Author: Marilyn Yalom
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2009-05-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0061913421

“Marilyn Yalom has written the rare book that illuminates something that always has been dimly perceived but never articulated, in this case that that the power of the chess queen reflects the evolution of female power in the western world.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer Everyone knows that the queen is the most dominant piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her. It wasn't until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king's fierce warrior and protector. Birth of the Chess Queen examines the five centuries between the chess queen's timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.

Chess Queens

Chess Queens
Author: Jennifer Shahade
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2022-03-03
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1399701401

'Like The Queen's Gambit, this isn't really about chess, but power' Sunday Times What does it take to make it to the top of your game? As a chess champion, Jennifer Shahade has travelled the world playing major tournaments. At the top, she finds rivalry and friendship; sexism and feminism; ecstatic highs and excruciating losses. Chess Queens invites us behind the scenes of this ultra male-dominated sport. We meet today's elite, as well as the pioneering female players in history who fought against the odds to get to the top. An essential guide for all aspiring chess queens, Jennifer's story reveals what it takes to break through the glass ceiling. 'Jennifer Shahade is a brilliant, insightful thinker who never fails to entertain and engage' Maria Konnikova 'An astoundingly intimate, thoughtful and inspirational book by a person who has seen it all from the inside' Angela Saini

Chess in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age

Chess in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age
Author: Daniel E. O'Sullivan
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2012-07-30
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3110288818

The game of chess was wildly popular in the Middle Ages, so much so that it became an important thought paradigm for thinkers and writers who utilized its vocabulary and imagery for commentaries on war, politics, love, and the social order. In this collection of essays, scholars investigate chess texts from numerous traditions – English, French, German, Latin, Persian, Spanish, Swedish, and Catalan – and argue that knowledge of chess is essential to understanding medieval culture. Such knowledge, however, cannot rely on the modern game, for today’s rules were not developed until the late fifteenth century. Only through familiarity with earlier incarnations of the game can one fully appreciate the full import of chess to medieval society. The careful scholarship contained in this volume provides not only insight into the significance of chess in medieval European culture but also opens up avenues of inquiry for future work in this rich field.

It's All a Game

It's All a Game
Author: Tristan Donovan
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2017-05-30
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1250082722

Renowned games expert Tristan Donovan opens the box on the incredible history and psychology of board games. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan reveals why board games have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations.

Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them

Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them
Author: Nancy Marie Brown
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1466879130

“A fascinating tale of discovery and mystery.” —The Minneapolis Star Tribune In the early 1800's, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. The Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Harry played Wizard's Chess with them in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Housed at the British Museum, they are among its most visited and beloved objects. Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where? Nancy Marie Brown's Ivory Vikings explores these mysteries by connecting medieval Icelandic sagas with modern archaeology, art history, forensics, and the history of board games. In the process, Ivory Vikings presents a vivid history of the 400 years when the Vikings ruled the North Atlantic, and the sea-road connected countries and islands we think of as far apart and culturally distinct: Norway and Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, and Greenland and North America. The story of the Lewis chessmen brings from the shadows an extraordinarily talented woman artist of the twelfth century: Margret the Adroit of Iceland.

Saints vs. Scoundrels

Saints vs. Scoundrels
Author: Dr. Benjamin Wiker
Publisher: EWTN Publishing, Inc.
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2017-12-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1682780287

In Saints vs. Scoundrels Dr. Benjamin Wiker invites you to interact not just with the ideas that have shaped history, but with the people who created and spread those ideas. In this collection of lively and imaginative conversations between the great truth-tellers and the great error-peddlers of history, you will come to appreciate the personalities behind the “Great Conversation” that has shaped western civilization. Jean-Jacques Rousseau vs. St. Augustine. Machiavelli vs. St. Francis. Ayn Rand vs. Flannery O’Connor. These people may have never met in real life, but the ideas they represent and the movements they started have interacted throughout history and shaped our present. And so how fascinating would it be if they had ever shared a living room? This is the question Dr. Wiker answers with deep research and dynamic storytelling. Enjoy this unique opportunity to join the conversation!

Marshall's Best Games of Chess

Marshall's Best Games of Chess
Author: Frank J. Marshall
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1473359392

Originally entitled "My Fifty Years of Chess", this volume presents an account of the career of Frank J. Marshall, who was a United States Chess Champion between 1909-1936. With autobiographical information and detailed, move-by-move accounts of some of his more notable games, "Marshall's Best Games of Chess" is not to be missed by chess enthusiasts and professional players looking for inspiration and insight. Contents include: "My Chess Career", "The Early Years", "Winning my Spurs", "The Year of Years", "Commuting to Europe", "Championship Years", "Championship Years (continued)", "Retirement Years", "My Best Games", "Winning My Spurs", "The Year of Years (1904-1905)", "Commuting to Europe", "Championship Years (1910-1914)", etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

Game of Queens

Game of Queens
Author: Sarah Gristwood
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2016-11-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0465096794

"Sarah Gristwood has written a masterpiece that effortlessly and enthrallingly interweaves the amazing stories of women who ruled in Europe during the Renaissance period." -- Alison Weir Sixteenth-century Europe saw an explosion of female rule. From Isabella of Castile, and her granddaughter Mary Tudor, to Catherine de Medici, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth Tudor, these women wielded enormous power over their territories, shaping the course of European history for over a century. Across boundaries and generations, these royal women were mothers and daughters, mentors and protées, allies and enemies. For the first time, Europe saw a sisterhood of queens who would not be equaled until modern times. A fascinating group biography and a thrilling political epic, Game of Queens explores the lives of some of the most beloved (and reviled) queens in history.