Chess Lyrics: A Collection of Chess Problems

Arthur Ford Mackenzie (1861-1905)

Published by J. H. Graham, New York, 1905

About this Item

xciv+476 pages with frontispiece, portrait plate and diagrams. Thick octavo (8 1/2" x 5 1/2") bound in original publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to spine and cover. Edited by Alain C White. (Betts: 33-55) First edition of White's first Christmas book. In his introductory essay, "Some thoughts on problem Matters," the author first gives an account of his own career in problem composition, with examples of his work; he goes on to deal with aspects of problem construction, including such subjects as purity, complexity of two-movers compared with three-movers, duals, adjudication, coincidences, resemblances, originality, etc. there follow 282 of his composition, with solutions and notes by various composers. Composer of Scottish descent, schoolteacher in Jamaica. Composed orthodox Two- and Three-movers. In 1880-1 he first competed in an international tournament for chess problems; he won third prize in the Burnley Express problem tournament. Over the years he won some 200 prizes for chess problems, and quickly established a reputation as one of the most outstanding composers of chess problems in the world. In 1887 he published a book, Chess: Its Poetry and Its Prose, under the patronage of distinguished men, such as the Bishop of Jamaica, and the Governor, and the British politicians Lord Randolph Churchill and Sir Robert Peel. The book dealt with the basics of chess and with the art of the chess problem. He lost his sight in early 1896, and after a period of despair he found that he still could compose. Then he begun to move away from the conventional style of his time. Mackenzie said this about composing blind: "I have lately come to think that problem composition is peculiarly a mental work, and that employment of board and men is in many ways a nuisance. . Certainly the three-movers I composed since losing my sight are infinitely superior, as a whole, to those composed before." Condition: Recased with new end papers and pasted-downs else a very good copy. Seller Inventory # JBC060

Bibliographic Details

Title: Chess Lyrics: A Collection of Chess Problems

Publisher: J. H. Graham, New York

Publication Date: 1905

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition