Göttingen manuscript

The Göttingen Manuscript is a treatise on the game of chess from the early modern period , written in Latin . It was probably made between 1500 and 1505. The date is uncertain. The manuscript has a relatively small format of 14 × 10 cm. The font is usually assigned to the French language area. The Lorraine court in Nancy is considered a possible place of origin. The similarity with the work of the Spaniard Luis Ramirez de Lucena , Repeticion: de amores: E arte. De axedres con cl. Iuegos. de partido. , Salamanca 1497, suggests a copy or authorship of the same. In 1752 the physician Friedrich Boerner transferred the manuscript to the Lower Saxony State and University Library in Göttingen . It is there under the signature “Philos. 85 "kept.

Reception history

The salutation “dominatio” in the first line suggests that the Göttingen manuscript was made for a prince, whose identity is hotly speculated about. The work remained unfinished, however, because both the space left out for a coat of arms on the first page and three pre-lined, empty pages at the end of the booklet, two of which are provided with an empty diagram, were not used. The writing 'JB Hautin' at the front of the book could refer to the name of a former owner before the manuscript passed into the possession of Friedrich Boerner from Wolfenbüttel, who donated it to the Göttingen University Library in September 1752 with a dedication (front of the book) where it is kept to this day. In 1999 the work was first published under the title “About the 500-year-old Göttingen manuscript Philos.85” in the commemorative publication “75 Years of Lower Saxony Chess Association”, Hanover 1999.

meaning

The Göttingen manuscript is, in addition to the aforementioned work by Lucena, Francesc Vicents Libre dels Jochs partits dels Schachs en nombre da 100 ordenat e compost , Valencia 1495, and the Catalan chess poem Scachs d'amor , written by the chess and literary circle around Bernat Fenollar , Francí de Castellví and Narcís Vinyoles between 1470 and 1490, one of the oldest documents in modern chess, which is based on the new pace of checkers and bishops . The castling is still two to three moves in the form of so-called king jump performed.

content

The Göttingen manuscript contains 12 game beginnings, some of which are still played today, as well as 30 chess compositions . Typical opening traps are also presented. The description of the moves is rather cumbersome, as the algebraic notation used today was not yet known. Here is an example from the first page, translated by H. Schomaeker:

“First rule / Your Highness plays the king's pawn on four points counted from the position of the king. And if the opponent plays the same, you play the king jumper on three points counted from the position of the king bishop. And if he protects the pawn with the king's bishop's pawn, they take his pawn with the knight. And if he takes with the pawn, give him check with the queen on four points calculated from the position of his king's rook. And if he covers up with the knight pawn, you take his king pawn and check the rook. And if he does not cover himself and plays on the second point of his position ... " .

The 12 beginnings of the game in the Göttingen manuscript

Certain variants of the following openings are shown in the manuscript, here with modern names:

1. Damiano's defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6)
2. Philidor defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6), example advantageous for White
3. Italian game , Giuoco Piano (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5)
4. Russian Defense (1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6)
5. Bishop game (1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 c6)
6. Spanish game , classical defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5)
7. Ponziani opening (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3)
8. Philidor defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6), example advantageous for Black
9. Queen's Gambit accepted (1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4)
10. London system (1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Bf5)
11. Bird opening (1. f4)
12. English opening (1. c4)

Example of an opening trap from the second game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 5. Qd1 – a4 +

1. e4	e5
2. Nf3	d6
3. c3	Nf6
4. h3	Nxe4
5. Qa4 +	with winning figures

Three examples of chess compositions

White moves:

Göttingen 5

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Mate in 2

Goettingen 20

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Mate with pawn in 6 moves

Goettingen 24

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Checkmate with 2 pawns in 7 moves

Solutions:

No. 5

1.Qb7 2.Qd5 #

No. 20

1. Bd1 + 2. Qd7 + 3. Qd3 4. axb3 + 5. bxc4 + 6. c5 #

No. 24

1. Kd7 2. Ne5 3. Nc4 4. Sa5 5. Bd4 6. a7 + or b7 + 7. b7 # or a7 #

literature

• Ricardo Calvo: Valencia Spain: The Cradle of European Chess (PDF; 166 kB), 1998 (English)
• FC Görschen: Origins and origins of the new chess (The Göttingen manuscript). In: Schach-Echo , 33rd year 1975, pp. 74–76, 91–92, 105–108.
• M. Georg Grabitz: The Göttinger Manuscript (15th century) , on: Schach-goettingen.de (accessed May 29, 2019).
• M. Carmen Romeo: - A mystery after 500 years ( Memento of February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), (English), on: Goddesschess.com.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Romeo, Lucena - A mystery after 500 years ( Memento of February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
2. ↑ ^{a b} Grabitz, The Göttinger Manuscript (15th century) .