Chess Personalities

We've had some pretty wild people in the Chess world over the last 300 years, whose your favorite and why?

Can I go back about 450 years? 

One of my favorite chess personalities was born around 1542, and, like Morphy, had a short life, dying from poison at 45. He is "Il Puttino," Leonardo di Bona.  Some people translate Il Puttino as "the Boy," but I feel a more accurate meaning would be "the Kid."  Leonardo's association with the great Paolo Boi and the future great Giulio Cesare Polerio , his humiliation at the hands of Ruy Lopez of Zafra, only to exhonerate himself in a most spectacular fashion years later, wandering the world, tragically losing his lover, but always pushing himself to excel, are stuff of legends. 

I'd never heard of him! I'm afraid my little chess history knowledge starts with Philidor, and all of these fascinating folks before him are largely in the dark to me. Sounds like an exciting life this guy had! 

Do you have any material on Ruy Lopez? I've always been curious about the man behind the opening. 

Here is something I wrote about Ruy Lopez about 10 years ago:

Some have written that Ruy Lopez went to Spain to obtain a chess book for Philip II and, after happening up on Damiano's book, considered it lacking and decided to write his own. Other's have written that Ruy Lopez went to Rome on ecclesiastical business and still others believes that he went to Rome for the coronation of Pope Pius IV, (who had been pontificated in 1559, the year previous). The chess writer Alessandro Salvio tells us that Ruy Lopez went to Rome in 1572 to attend the pontification of Pope Gregory XIII and while there, defeated many of Rome's best players. Of course, this was long after he had written his famous book, "Libro de la Invencion Liberal y Arte del Juego del Axedrez," in 1561. So, it seems likely that Ruy Lopez went to Rome, for whatever reason, in 1560 and possibly again in 1572 - where, according to Salvio he beat Leonardo, playing for 50 scudi/game.

He published his book in 1561 in Alcala de Henares. Since it takes longer than a year to travel to Rome and back from southern Spain, plus to write and publish an analytical book, it seems unlikely that Ruy Lopez only just discovered Damiano's work on his trip in 1560, but that, having access to the great Spanish libraries, he already knew what chess literature was available. It's said that he made a fortune on the book he wrote. It's very possible, but, while it does seem inconsistent with the nature of his occupation, it's not so inconsistent with the playing for stakes.

While in Rome in 1560, Ruy Lopez met with and defeated Giovanni Leonardo di Bona from the town of Cutro in Calabria, who was considered the strongest of the Italian players. Either he beat him at two games at this time, or one in 1560 and again in 1572, but it seems the consensus that Ruy Lopez had beaten Il Puttino at two games total.  Someone wrote that Ruy Lopez managed a blindfold game in 1560.
Ruy Lopez died around 1580 at the age of 50.

Little more is written about Ruy Lopez until 1575 when Leonardo di Cutri and Paolo Boi, along with Giulio Cesare Polerio, visited the court of Philip II in Madrid and a match was set up pitting Ruy Lopez and Leonardo di Bona.

In his book, "Il Puttino, altramente detto, il cavaliero errante, sopra il gioco de' scacchi,"  Salvio wrote that Leonardo lost his first two games, and when King Philip was leaving, thinking this wasn't going to be much of a competition, Leonardo begged him to stay and told that him he lost those 2 games on purpose to better display his skill by positioning himself where he had no option but to win the next 3 games (and presumably the match) and, that if he didn't win all three, he'd forfeit his life. Philip II had offered 1,000 scudi bonus to the winner of three consecutive games. He won all three games in a fitting revenge for what he considered a humiliating defeat at Ruy Lopez's hands years before. Philip II was so taken by Leonardo's courage and panache that he not only gave him the money, but also a golden salamader encrusted with jewels, a sable coat and exempted the town of Cutro from taxes for 20 years.

Paolo Boi had also traveled to Madrid at this same time and showed up for the match. Giulio Cesare Polerio, Leonardo's protégée and follower was there too, though it's doubtful that he played. Since Alfonso Ceron, a player from Granada and reputably the second best player in Spain, was also at the court, some offhand games took place. Presumably, Boi and Leonardo established their complete dominance over Ruy Lopez and Ceron. The Italians dominated chess from that point until the appearance of Francois-Andre Danican Philidor in the middle of the 18th century.

I'd written a bit on Reuben Fine, a chess player I don't particularly like, but admire greatly:

Reuben Fine: Speed Demon
Reuben Fine on Morphy in "Chess Review," 1943
Reuben Fine's psychoanalysis of Paul Morphy  from  "Psychology of the Chess Player"

I came across another article (below) by Reuben Fine in "Notes" in 1944 called "Chess and Music."