Philippe Stamma | Two volumes

Philippe Stamma

Two volumes, comprising:

(i) The noble game of chess, or a new and easy method to learn to play well in a short time, together with a curious account of its antiquity, derivation of its terms, &c.; [bound with:] Rules at the game of Chess. London; York: J. Brindley; W. Blanchard and Son, 1745; 1808

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, (150 x 90 mm) one folding plate of a chessboard, modern calf gilt, red speckled edges, marbled endpapers, title page slightly browned, washed, endleaves renewed

(ii) Essai sur le jeu des échecs. Paris: P. Emery, 1737

FIRST EDITION, 12mo (148 x 89 mm), 2 folding full-page diagrams, 3pp. errata at end, occasional annotations in an early-modern hand, 2-line manuscript inscription in Arabic to p. 146, eighteenth-century calf, spine gilt with raised bands in six compartments, red and green gilt-lettered calf labels in second and third; significant dust staining to title page, verso of A1 with erased inscription, outer margin of B5 cut away, endleaves renewed, extremities slightly rubbed

The first French and the first English editions of Stamma's Essai sur le jeu des échecs: his first book, upon which much of his reputation is built. Focusing on the endgame, the Essai contains one hundred different variations of the Middle Eastern concept, and is credited with reviving Europe's interest in its study. The work also introduced algebraic chess notation, which would eventually replace descriptive chess notation in becoming the standard method for recording chess moves. Though Stamma used different letters to those used today, his method was nevertheless almost fully developed in his Essai. The English version of the book adds a further 74 opening variations.

Philip Stamma was originally from Aleppo. He settled first in France but found greater success as a professional chess player in England, where he lived from the later 1730s until, it is thought, at least the 1760s.

LITERATURE:

VDL Geschichte p. 382; Schachlitteratur 3034; KB 427 (relevant for both works)