Impact of Genius

Really attractive style. I read about it a while ago
Thank you for the valuable information

Hello S.B., thank you for this interesting post. I like it because history of chess is very deeply fascinating. I wish you Happy New Year 2022 to you and your family!

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Variety of opinions is a good thing.

Thanks.

Thank you.  I hope you have a great new year.

The Handbuch des Schachspiels was in German. It was updated periodically, even into the 20th century.  English translations of various editions do exist. As the hallmark and beginning of the scientific study of openings, its place in history is invaluable. But the modern ECOs, computer databases and analysis turned it into a relic, more to be appreciated than used. 

Have a wonderful New Year, mon ami.

Actually, “punching bag” is correct in American English. 

Just shaking my head at a couple of these comments.

It occurred me I'd never heard the term 'punchbag' before.  Isn't language a marvelous thing?
Yes, I tediously typed it all out be hand and apologize for any typos I made in the process and missed while editing. 

I think I may agree about Fauber's style being somewhat Germanic but I find German very appealing and romantic.   

I'm more up to snuff with the Pendragons, about which I know something at least than the Plantagenets about which I know almost nothing. 

apropos of nothing:

I do know I don't like this recent change in the quoting feature.  Rather than change the one thing about it they should have changed (and which I'd suggested via the proper channels at least a dozen times over the years with absolutely no response, and one time to @erik personally, after which he said it would be done) i.e , having a word limit in quotes (and automatic truncation) to eliminate unnecessarily long quotes by people too lazy to do it themselves and especially in long, nested quotes that make forums unreadable,   they change the one thing that was actually helpful - a visual separation  between comments and quotes.   One more inane, unasked for 'improvement.' 

Thanks BG, Happy New Year 🙂

Thanks.  I hope the new year is kind to you.

Perhaps. But that's part of its appeal, I think.  I've heard it described as guttural, but even if it is, it also has a lilt to it.  

I don't speak anything but English (or American?) so my experience with language is largely visual or listening to the cadence.  we have a lot of Spanish-speakers where I live and listening to the Spanish-speakers converse, even though I don't understand a word, is like listening to music.  

Maybe I just like a mystery.

Hello

Oh................

Happy New Year, batgirl! Thanks for the very interesting post. I knew very little about the Pleiades. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Qe2 Bd6, as von der Lasa played against Staunton, looks odd. However, Sam Shankland recommends it in his recently released Chessable course on the Berlin. Von der Lasa beat him to the punch by 168 years!

Von der Lasa also showed his excellent judgment when, facing 1.d4 f5 2.h3 Nf6 3.g4, he found the best response, 3...d5!, and went on to win against another member of the Pleiades in https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1266146. ChessBase Online shows that Black scores over 60% with 3...d5! 140 years later, 3.g4 came to be called the Korchnoi Gambit! https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1082507 It took a little while for players to rediscover that 3...d5! was correct. It seems that von der Lasa was far ahead of his time.

Thanks for the interesting bit of chess history!  Those are some fun games.  (I was, however, perplexed by Fauber's annotation to von der Lasa's 13th move in the 1838 game with von Bilguer.)

The third game was been played at Brussels (Belgium) during a match between Staunton and von Heydebrand und der Lasa. Von Lasa won it : +5 =4 -4

Many people over time have ranked v.d. Lasa as possibly the strongest player of his time.  Whether or not that's accurate, I have no idea. but he was certainly one of the most respected analysts of his day. even Anderssen kowtowed to him.