THE ANATOMY OF CHESS is a small volume (booklet) of largely academic articles/papers about the origins of chess, the subtitle meaning literally “Reflections on the Origins of Chess.” Two of the articles and an important Afterward are in German, 6 of the articles are in English, and the Introduction is presented in both languages. This collection is actually volume 8 of a set called the “Tuebinger Beitraege zum Thema Schach” or, roughly, “Articles from Tuebingen on Chess Themes.” One might also call these papers or essays. Other volumes (that I have not seen) have contributions, for example, about the history of chess problems, chess psychology, a master tournament, and exotic subjects such as the political influences on chess during the Third Reich! One is devoted to the positional play of the top-level master Eliskases, who defeated Capablanca in 1937 and Fischer in 1960!

The editors and contributors discovered their common interest and came together over the Internet. The fundamental issue came about because the study of the origins of chess has been based upon ancient texts and archeological evidence, but these sources are hardly complete and in any case flawed as mechanisms of fundamental explanation. Several of the contributors follow a traditional path of finding geographical and cultural origins of the game (the ancient Kushans, for example, in a region of Central Asia). If I am interpreting correctly, however, most of the contributors to this volume (or authors of articles that the editors have found) are combining knowledge of ancient cultures with a theoretic-structural approach to the subject. For example, instead of interpreting chess linearly as an evolution of war games, they connect chess' development with a variety of human endeavors (such as cards and dice, or mental activities that are further afield). The contributors reject the idea of an “inventor” of chess or a single root game (e.g., a board game). They try to derive their conclusions from looking at the structure of the game itself and integrating that with historical discoveries, which incidentally include “origins” of the game in China as well as the commonly stated beginning in India. One approach is to use the unique characteristics of chess to uncover similarities with ancient games. In some sense chess may be looked at as a “game type” rather than a type of game, the modern form being an amalgamation of activities and thought that may not relate to “our” chess in a narrow and linear sense.

Or so I read it! In fact, I'm not sure that I understand much of what is being presented; some of the articles are extremely specialized and feature academic jargon that I'm not familiar with. And of course each article proposes its own interpretation, some seemingly at odds. One clearly needs to take one's time with the articles – I've of necessity skimmed through the work. At any rate, this volume is for those interested in the way that chess came about, in particular for someone who wants to take this issue seriously rather than just locate a time or place where the game began. Incidentally, Yuri Averbach – a name recognizable to most of us – has an academic article included in the book

The booklet is available at Promos-Verlag; Postfach 7265; D-72785 Pfullingen; Germany. The TeleFax is 0049-7172-790135, price 12.8 Euro plus shipping. Details www.mynetcologne.de/~nc-jostenge/teamwork.htm . There you also find reviews, including one by Taylor Kingston.