THE CHESS TOURNAMENT: A Collection of the Games Played at this Celebrated Assemblage.
London: Henry G. Bohn, 1852. First edition. Staunton's account of the planning and execution of the first ever international chess tournament, which he proposed and organized only to be knocked out in the second round by the eventual winner, German player Adolf Anderssen (for a number of years prior Staunton had been regarded the world's strongest player). Staunton is credited with popularizing the design of the chess pieces that are still standard to this day and for nearly 30 years wrote an influential weekly chess column for The Illustrated London News. This copy with the ownership signature of American chess master Albert Sidney Pinkus, "A.S. Pinkus,” dated “1944," which was when his analysis of the Two Knights Defense was being published in the magazine Chess Review. 8vo red cloth boards extensively decorated in blind; gilt-stamped chess board on front; gilt titling on front and spine; 91-page introduction (pp. [ix] – “lxci” [sic]); 377 pp., plus 14 pages of publisher’s ads (7 at front, 7 at back); extensively illustrated with diagrams and charts covering every move made during the tournament. Good only with loss at spine ends, cloth thinning and beginning to tear along rear spine gutter, and some staining to fore edges. Still, better than usually seen. Scarce.
Item #52578
Price: $250.00