The First Chess Book

The First Chess Book

Books in chess have always been a vital part of progress for a chess-player.  Chess-players who have had any success usually can attribute it to some chess book that they have read. Books on the game of chess have been a vital part of a players arsenal of weapons.

It is therefore useful to know of the books that have gone before. A knowledge of the history of chess-books can build a strong foundation on which the player a player can advance and improve.

The history of chess can be broken down to the history of books. The great players were all influenced by certain books and the vast majority of them have written a book or 2 or 10.

I feel that it is only fitting to start our explorations with the very first chess book ever printed and the second book ever printed in English.

The name of the book is Game and Playe of the Chesse by William Caxton. First published in 1474.

William Caxton

It is a good time to mention that this will be available in Chess for Children’s PDF library. We offer this as a free service to our members.

There are a few things to know about this book on chess:

1. It was not about chess: It used chess as a metaphor to describe to describe how a powerful person should act.
2. It was not the first book written about chess: It was the first printed about chess.
3. It was not written by William Caxton: It was based on a series of sermons by a Dominican friar named Jacobus de Cessolis.
4. The book was the first which used woodcuts: These woodcuts were used to illustrate various moral lessons.
5. The book is not easy to read: This book was written in Old English before the rules of spelling and grammar were established.

The Game and Playe of the the Chess was at the time of publishing was very popular rivaling the bible according to some historians.

If you would like to download your own copy of The Game and Playe of the Chesse download it here.