wrote:
On May 31, 11:09 pm, samsloan wrote:
I am in the process of reprinting "Manual of the Game of Chess by P.R.
von Bilguer", 1880 Edition, better known by its German title, Handbuch
des Schachspiels von P. R. von Bilguer.

The 1880 edition (6th in a series of 8, I believe) was actually
edited by Constantin Scwede.

This book is extremely rare. I happened to come across a copy in good
condition. I have been unable to find another one, and I have searched
everywhere.

This book is the equivalent of Modern Chess Openings, but for the 19th
Century. Like Modern Chess Openings, it is packed with long columns
and lines of analysis.

All editions of the Handbuch had considerably more than openings:
rules, general principles, endgames, history etc. The 6th edition
features a historical section derived from van der Linde.

It is in German but that should not prove a
problem because, like Chess Informant, it is multi-lingual. All you
need to do is remember that D = Queen, S = Knight, T = Rook and L =
Bishop.

If it is like the 1843 edition I have, the book will prove _very_
hard to read for non-Germans. The bare chess moves are not difficult
to make out, but the notes, besides being in German, are in a sort of
Gothic font which is almost indecipherable for anyone not accustomed
to it.

The fact that it is 128 years old is the main reason I am reprinting
it.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say you're trying to make an easy
buck, Sam?

It contains opening traps and tricks which are no longer played
and are no longer to be found in any openings book.

The book is 6 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches and 720 pages. Every page is jam-
packed with chess analysis. I did not even know that so much analysis
had been done back in 1880.

There is a great deal you do not know, Sam.

Paul Rudolf von Bilguer (1815-1840) was considered to be one of the
strongest chess players in the world,

Bilguer's real strength is rather hard to judge, since few of his
games have survived. A recent article by Jeremy Spinrad discussed him:

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/spinrad21.pdf

but he died at an early age. The
work continued without him and new editions kept coming out 90 years
after his death.

You're saying the last edition came out in 1930? Not true. The 8th
and last edition, edited by Schlechter, came out around 1921. Hans
Kmoch published a Nachtrag, or supplement, to the Handbuch in 1930,
but it is incorrect to call this a "new edition."

I see that an online book titled "A Synopsis of Chess Openings, A
Tabular Analysis" by William Cook was published in English in 1884. The
author notes that the "Handbuch des Schachspiels" 1874 ed. was one of
his sources. This book is freely available via Google books online.
--

"Do that which is right..."

Rev. J.D. Walker