Forgotten Talents: Chessplayers Lost in the Labyrinth of Life - Softcover

Cordero Fernandez, Javier

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1949859878 ISBN 13: 9781949859874

Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc., 2024

Synopsis

Lost in the Labyrinth of Life

Throughout the history of chess, elite players have been studied, celebrated and adored. But there also been players, while perhaps not regarded as world-class competitors, who had a precious gift, but who did not know (or could not find) the way to success. They were lost in the labyrinth of difficulties that life always places before every human being.

In the end, for various reasons, history forgot this select group of masters. For some, their careers were very bright (as in the cases of von Kolisch, Neumann and Charousek) but also extremely short, limiting their renown and depriving them of deserved laurels. For others, chess turned out to be excessively demanding for which their minds were unprepared. Finally, for a truly unfortunate few, tragedy – always an unwelcome guest – took over their lives and then took life itself from them.

An exceptionally researched historical work, these pages contain the stories of 23 players with a very unique way of understanding chess (sometimes ahead of their time) and who prioritized the artistic side of the game over the results: an approach that was not properly appreciated in their time.

Now, for the first time, Spanish author and chess historian Javier Cordero puts these Forgotten Talents in the limelight. Archival photos and almost 200 selected games nicely supplement the biographies of these star-crossed players who became Lost in the Labyrinth of Life.

About this title

About the Author

Spanish chess historian Javier Cordero graduated from the Faculty of Science from the University of Valladolid with a degree in physics. A tournament organizer and arbiter, he has a website dedicated to the history of chess in Spain (www.historiadelajedrezespanol.es). This is his first book for Russell Enterprises.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5
Tormented Soul
Cecil De Vere

Cecil Valentine De Vere was born into misfortune, a circumstance which affected the course of his life, and which strongly influenced his personality. He showed enough natural skill at the chessboard to invite comparisons to Paul Morphy; yet this great talent was matched by an equally great lack of interest in the drudgery of preparation, which ultimately braked his meteoric rise.

De Vere’s background is unclear. His birth certificate states he was born February 14, 1846, but the document lists neither his place of birth nor his father’s name. As a child he was known as Valentine Brown, and this is the name shown for him in early reports of his activities. Considering that his mother was named Katherine Mathews, the “Brown” name would seem to show a deliberate attempt to cover up his origins – but, from whom? The key to the mystery lies in the fact that Cecil never knew his father, a secret which he tried to keep hidden but which gave rise to no little suspicion in conservative British society. De Vere’s biographers, Owen Hindle and Bob Jones meticulously studied his parents’ backgrounds and concluded (though not definitively) that Cecil Valentine was the son of a nobleman named De Vere and his servant, whose birth went unacknowledged to avoid scandal. This would leave an indelible mark on both mother and son, who had to live under the skeptical eye of society.

They lived in London where Cecil Valentine discovered chess at the age of 12. Soon displaying an astounding knack for the game, he began studying with the talented player Frank Burden, also a skilled competitor at billiards, whist, and backgammon. Later on, he took lessons from Samuel Boden, one of the best-regarded 19th-century British masters. Cecil’s rise was dizzyingly fast, and two years later he was introduced to the chess scene at Simpson's Grand Divan, where the leading players in London would gather alongside celebrities such as Charles Dickens. This was a singular establishment. For one shilling, customers could buy a cigar plus coffee and the right to play in the chess room, a luxurious hall lined with beautiful sculptures and mirrors and boasting tall windows and a high ceiling – and one where a deathly silence reigned. There was a large library, and dozens of chess magazines in a variety of languages were available. Players could recline on divans, chain-smoking as they played. The Immortal Game (see Chapter 1) took place here...

Edition details

• Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc.
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1949859878
• ISBN 13: 9781949859874
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288