Excellent as usual!
History and Old Lace
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Great post!
*plays chess on a napkin with miniature pieces*
That's some table of contents. Each chapter could be a book in itself, and to try to cover them in 20 or 30 pages is asking a bit too much.
Really nice shot of the napkin; I've never seen that before.
Thanks, BG.
Nice 
Great post
Nov 3, 2021
0
#9
Great post! I have this book. Maybe I should actually read it? So many books, so little time.
blueemu wrote:
Another excellent Batgirl article.
Batgirl is my idol!
Nov 3, 2021
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#13
dashkee94 wrote:
That's some table of contents. Each chapter could be a book in itself, and to try to cover them in 20 or 30 pages is asking a bit too much.
It's pretty light reading, but with things you don't see everyday.
Nov 3, 2021
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#14
FrederickRhine wrote:
Great post! I have this book. Maybe I should actually read it?
Good idea.
Prioritize!
Nov 3, 2021
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#15
Pan_troglodites wrote:
blueemu wrote:
Another excellent Batgirl article.
Batgirl is my idol!
O dear.
Nov 3, 2021
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#16
DefenderPug2 wrote:
*plays chess on a napkin with miniature pieces*
Like this set (from the same book)?
Nov 3, 2021
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#17
kamalakanta wrote:
Another illustrious person I had never heard of. Thanks!
Books on Chess History was few and far between, so only a handful of names (authors) stand out. Jerzy Giżycki, however, is somewhat obscure to most people I think.
Nov 3, 2021
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#18
batgirl wrote:
Jerzy Giżycki, however, is somewhat obscure to most people I think.
The spelling of his name is certainly obscure.
Looks like a cat walked across the keyboard.
While looking through some books I came across this incredible image of a lace napkin:
a closer look
(Click either image for full size)
The book in which I stumbled upon this image was "History of Chess" by Jerzy Giżycki (1977 revised version). Believing this image deserving to be shared, I was pushed down the usual path of exploration.
In 1972, with the contribution of Baruch Harold Wood (probably best known as the owner/editor of the superlative chess periodical CHESS) Jerzy Giżycki published an English language version of his acclaimed Polish chess book (originally published in 1960 under the title: "Z szachami przez wieki i kraje"- "Chess Through the Ages and Countries") called simply "History of Chess."
Who was Jerzy Giżycki?
Upon his death in 2009, his son, an award winning cinematographer, film critic and film historian, wrote an essay called, "Partia szachów z Ojcem : Jerzy Giżycki (1919-2009)" or "A Chess Game with My Father." In this short essay (which I read via Google Translator, leaving me uncertain about many things) Marcin Giżycki expressed the difficulty in writing about his father on a personal level, i.e. beyond the basic biographical data, some of which he admittedly only learned after his father's death, and presented an imaginary chess game between him and his father. He does mention, "We will play in his apartment, where I grew up myself, surrounded by chess-themed pictures and books about the history of cinema, on his favorite chessboard, figures that I remember from my childhood, when he taught me the royal game." [Google Trans.] Later he mentions, "the annoying folders with materials for chess books. Each folder has a title: Chess Machines, Satire Chess, Cinema Chess, etc." which became his famous book on chess.
Jerzy Giżycki
Jerzy Giżycki was a film critic and chess aficionado. He had founded and edited several film periodicals such as "Film" in 1946, "Kino" in 1966 and "Kamera" also in the 1960s. He was also a chess collector and, though seemingly not a tournament player, an ardent player of the game.
"A History of Chess" wasn't his only book. He co-authored "Szachy od A do Z" (vol.1 in 1986; vol. 2 in 1987) with Władysław Litmanowicz, a career military man, who after retirement from the army became a journalist and edited "Szachy" magazine. He was also a prominent chess functionary in the Polish Chess Federation and a player who participated in several Polish championships and Olympiads. "Szachy od A do Z" ("Chess From A to Z") is a 1650 page compendium in 2 volumes (it took 11 years to finish) that seems to be in many ways an expansion of Giżycki's earlier work. Unfortunately, it was never published in other languages. I've never seen any copies.
When asked which book one might read to get an overview of chess history, Giżycki's "History of Chess" isn't one I ever recommend. For an overview, I think there are much better books. But if one is looking for a book with unusual pictures and compartmentalized topics not usually addressed, this is the right book. Here is the Table of Contents ("Chess in Britain" was written in full by B.H. Wood):