Subject: An old chess story

On 17 February 2004 (Jeremy Spinrad) wrote in
Message-id:

I found the following entry in an old Austrian newspaper. Not that I believe
everything I read, but I wonder if there is a story in it somewhere. Any
guesses
as to who/what it might be referring to? I don't know the professions of all
the
major chessplayers at the time, which might be useful in ferreting out the
truth
behind this. Anyone know how much 3500 Thaler would translate to in, say,
pounds?

Humorist, February 16, 1842: Vor einiger Zeit spielten zwei Englander eine
Partie
Schach um 3500 Thaler. Der Mann, der sie gewann, war - ein
Schuhwichs-Fabrikant.

Jerry Spinrad



Finding out who the chess-playing Englishman was who a manufacturer of shoe
polish (Schuhwichs-Fabrikant) in the early 1800s is like looking for a needle
in a haystack.

Good luck!

George Mirijanian