862 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



49. Chessboard.! Morocco. Mneteenth century. 



The alternate squares are made of eight-pointed stars carved in relief 

 and painted red with a conventional tiower in yellow. The depressed 

 squares are painted yellow. 



50. Chess. England. Board and men.^ 



The time of the introduction of chess into Europe has not been 

 definitely fixed upon, but is believed to be in or before the Eleventh 

 century. The source of the European game is Arabic, which is evident 



Fig. 168. 



ENGLISH CHESSMEN. 



Time of Caxton. 



After Hyde. 



from the words " check " and " mate," which are from Shah, mat, the 

 Shall or King is dead. Nothing is really known as to how chess was 

 introduced into western and central Europe.^ 



'Cat. No. 15498, Mus. Arch., Univ. Peun. Purchased by the writer in Gibraltar, 

 Spain, 1893. 



A similar board was procured by Dr. Talcott Williams in Morocco in 1897. He 

 informed the writer that he was unable to obtain the native men, foreign chessmen 

 being used. 



2 Cat. No. 7091, Mus. Arch., Univ. Penn. 



3 In reply to a letter of inquiry, in reference to the best modern works in English 

 and German on the practice and history of chess, Mr. John G. White, of Cleveland, 

 Ohio, has kindly furnished the writer with the following particulars: 



The best books in English as to the practical part of the game I think to be : 



E. Freeborough, Chess Openings, Ancient and Modern, 3d ed., 1896, supple- 

 mented by — 



E. Freeborough, Chess Endings, London, 1891. 



W. Cook, Synopsis of Chess Openings; with American inventions in Chess Open- 

 ings and fresh analysis since 1882, by J. W. Miller, Cincinnati, 1884. 



In German : 



Bilguer Handbuch, 7th ed., Leipzig, 1891. 



O. Cordel, Fuhrer durch de Schachthcore, Berlin, 1888. 



Dr. Eugen V. Schmidt, Systematische Anordnung der Schacheroffnungen, Leipzig, 

 1895. 



As to the historic study of the game, there is nothing in the English language 

 worthy of mention. Forbes' History is antiquated. He did not even make good use 

 of the material known to him. 



In German : 



Dr. A. Van der Linde, Geschichte und Literatur des Schachspiels, two vols., Berlin, 

 1874; Qnellenstudien, Berlin, 1881; Erstes .Tiihrtausend, Berlin, 1881. 



Stimulated by these books, a number of articles by German scholars have appeared, 



