ca. 50 photos, and line drawings, more than 160 chess games, appendices, notes, bibliography, indexes

This book portrays British chess life in the nineteenth century through biographical studies of ten players who shaped the modern game. From Captain Evans, inventor of the famous gambit, to Isidor Gunsberg, England's first challenger for the world championship, personal narratives are blended with game annotations to reassess players' achievements and character. The author has combined deep reading in primary sources with genealogical research to reveal new facts and correct previous misunderstandings. Major chapters on Howard Staunton and William Steinitz, in particular, highlight the tensions between Englishmen and immigrants, amateurs and professionals. The contrasting long careers of Henry Bird and Joseph Blackburne provide a thread of continuity. The lives of several other important figures in Victorian chess are also presented. More than 160 chess games (with position diagrams), several annotated in detail, 50 photographs and line drawings, appendices include career records for all ten, notes, bibliography and indexes.

About the Author

Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki, and is a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. A well-known writer on many aspects of chess, he was editor of Chess Mail magazine from 1996 to 2005. Since 1996 he has contributed the monthly articles in "The Kibitzer" series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Content:
001 Preface and Acknowledgments

007 Abbreviations and Annotation Symbols

009 1. William Davies Evans (1790-1872)

035 2. Howard Staunton (1810-1874)

073 3. John Jacob Lowenthal (1810?-1876)

108 4. Henry Edward Bird (1829-1908)

134 5. Arthur Bolland Skipworth (1830-1898)

160 6. William Steinitz (1836-1900)

204 7. Joseph Henry Blackburne (1841-1924)

230 8. Johannes Hermann Zukertort (1842-1888)

260 9. Amos Burn (1848-1925)

278 10. Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (1854-1930)

315 Appendix I. Career Records

322 Appendix II. Games by Captain Evans

332 Appendix III. Evans Family Financial Appeals

338 Appendix IV. Staunton’s Contract with Routledge

340 Appendix V. Lowenthal’s Will

341 Appendix VI. The Career of Mephisto

349 Chapter Notes

383 Select Bibliography

387 Index of Images

387 Index of Opponents

388 Index of Openings (by Name)

389 Index of Openings (by ECO Code)

390 General Index