all these advantages, Stamma won only two games, of which one was a drawn game. In 1770, a Chess-club was formed at the Salopian Coffee-house, Charing-cross; and in 1774, a new one next door to the Thatched-house, in St. James Street, where it is still continued. 1 In 1783, a chess-club was established at Paris, in the new buildings of the Duke of Orleans, near the Palais Royal, under the protection of Monsieur, the King's brother, who was himself a member of it. The first book on Chess was, as has been before noticed, written by Jacobus De Cœsollis, in or about the year 1200. Verci says, that the original work was written. either in Latin or in French; that the Latin manuscript is still preserved in the library of the seminary in Padua; and that the first Italian edition was printed at Florence, in 1493, in quarto, and the second at Venice, in 1534, in octavo. The next was a translation of the above, printed by Caxton, in 1474. This trans lation was made from a French one by Jehan De Vignay, a Monk Hospitalar, and is a small folio of 144 pages. The only book on Chess of any age in the Spanish language was printed in 1561, and is a quarto of 300 pages; the author Ruy Lopez De Sigura. In 1617, Carrera published a quarto of 600 pages; containing an historical account of Chess and chess-players; a description of the pieces, and a number of games. In this book he gives some anecdotes of the celebrated player Paolo Boi. Salvio published his Il Puttino, containing an historical account of Chess and players, with upwards of sixty games, in 1634. Giachino Greco, known by the name of the Calabrois, or the Calabrian, published a book on Chess, which was translated into French, and printed at Paris in 1774. An English translation of it was published in London, in 24mo. in 1750. Philip Stamma, a native of Aleppo, and interpreter of the Oriental languages at the English Court, published The Noble Game of Chess at London, in 1745. He seems to have been the first who specified the games by letters and figures. It appeared in French in 1737, at Paris. Philidor published his " Analyse du Feu des Echecs, 12mo. in London, in 1749 ; again in an octavo of 300 pages, in 1777, one in French and another in English: and again one handsomely printed, in 2 vols. in 1790. He first gave notes, explaining the nature of the moves; which rendered his books more valuable than any that preceded; and his method has been copied in every succeeding publication. Indeed it seems to have been thought, that a book on Chess must necessarily be connected with the name of PHILIDOR; and accordingly we find his Analysis generally added, and the whole publication bearing his name. - In 1763, a most formidable Chess book was published at Bologna, called Osservazioni Teorico-pratiche sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi. Da Giambatista Lolli, Modonese. It is a folio of 623 pages, containing games and endings. The Latin poem on Chess by Marcus Hieronymus Vida, Bishop of Alba, was written in 1540. It has been frequently translated into French, Spanish, Italian, and English; and the late Sir William Jones founded his elegant poem Caïssa on it. In 1787 was published, "Chess;" a work professing to collect every thing relating to the subject: and in 1789 a second volume. There have been innumerable other publications on Chess, in most languages, but the above are the most worthy of note. 62 ETYMOLOGICAL CHAP. V. DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME, PIECES, &c. AND EXPLANATION CHESS. THE game of Chess, according to Sir William Jones, has been immemorially known in Hindostan, by the name of Chaturanga, or the four members of an army, viz. elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers. By a corruption of the pure Shanscrit word, it was changed by the old Persians into Chatrang; but the Arabs, who soon after took possession of their country, having neither the initial nor the final letter of that word in their alphabet further altered it into Shatranj, which found its way into modern Persia, and at length into the dialects of India, where the true derivation of the name is known only to the learned; and thus has a very significant word in the sacred lan |