The History of Chess. H. J. R. Murray
which was written by Aḥmad b. Aḥmad al-Muhtār al-Ḥanafī al-Miṣrī at Balat, Stambul, in 983/1575. It contains nothing but problems, one to the page, with solutions.
15. S = MS. Bodleian Iib., Oxford, Arab. Pocock 16.
A small parchment MS., completed 979/1579, containing three treatises by Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Jamāladdīn b. Sukaikir ad-Dimashqī, preacher of the mosque al-‘Ādilīya at Halab (Aleppo, in Syria) (D. 987/1579). The first two treatises are theological; the third, which extends from f. 22 a to f. 39 b, treats of chess under the title Nafḥāt kimā’īm al-ward fī tafḍīl ash-shaṭranj ‘alā’n-nard (‘The fragrance of the rose: on the superiority of chess over nard’). The MS. was once in the possession of Dr. Hyde, who made large use of it for his Mandragorias.
The MS. discusses the lawfulness of chess-playing, summarizing for the purpose aṣ-Ṣūlī’s collection of traditions, but while giving the usual legends as to the invention of chess—in his day there were people who thought that aṣ-Ṣūlī had invented chess—b. Sukaikir adds some interesting particulars as to notable feats at chess, some of which had taken place in his presence. He only gives 10 problems, omitting the solutions, but indicating the number of moves to be taken. He gives a number of impromptu verses on chess.
16. Y = MS. Brit. Mus., Add. 16856.
A Persian MS. of 62 leaves, 10 ins. by 6, written in a neat nestalik hand, with ‘Unwān and gold-ruled borders, dated 1021/1612, from the library of Col. Wm. Yule. It is a Persian translation by Muḥammad b. Ḥusām ad-Daula of the Arabic work K. al-munjiḥ fī ‘ilm ash-shaṭranj (‘A book to lead to success in the knowledge of chess’) by Muḥammad b. ‘Omar Kajīnā, a work stated in the preface to be the most useful treatise on chess. As there was, however, only one copy of it in the land, and that an incorrect one, it appeared desirable to make an abridged version of it in Persian, and the author performed that task at the order of a sovereign whose titles and epithets are given at length, but whose proper name does not appear.8
It is divided into fourteen chapters, but the copy, although showing no sign of loss since it left the writer’s hand, is not complete; only three lines of chapter ix are given, and the termination of chapter xi and the whole of chapters xii and xiii are missing.
The chapters deal, i, with stories of early Muslim players; ii, with the question of the lawfulness of chess-playing; iii, with the advantages of chess; iv, with the invention of chess; v, with technicalities of the game; vi, with the etiquette of play; vii, with maxims for players; viii, with the Endgame decisions; ix, with the ta‘bīyāt; x, with conditional problems; xi, with problems in general; and xiv, with blindfold chess.
With this work I complete the list of the Oriental MSS. of the older chess which I have made the basis of my chapters on the practical game and the Muslim manṣūbāt. In the case of BM, H, Man., RAS, S, and Y, I have been able to refer to the original MSS. themselves. For the opportunity of consulting the other MSS. I am indebted to the generosity of Mr. J. G. White. He has placed at my service his photographic copies of AH, V, Z, RAS, Q, and R, and modern transcripts of AH, C, BM, AE, V, and F.
I now give a tabular summary of the contents of these MSS.
CONTENTS OF THE MSS. DESCRIBED ABOVE.
[The reference to AE is to the pagination of Mr. White’s copy.]
In addition to these MSS. I have, for the purposes of the problem, made use of a number of other MSS. which are based upon Muslim chess works. These are—
17. Alf. = the Spanish MS. known as the Alfonso MS.
(This MS., written in 1283, is described below in connexion with the European game, in the early history of which it is an important authority. Since, however, 89 of its 103 problems are of unmistakable Muslim origin, I have included them in my collection in Chapter XV. The derived games of this MS. will also be found in Chapter XVI.)
18. Oxf. = MS. Bodleian Lib., Oxford, Pers. e. 10.
A modern Persian MS. of 112 leaves, 7
The work is modern and central-Indian, and must accordingly be used with caution. It is largely based on earlier books, and much of the problem material is old: it is mainly in this connexion that I have used the MS.
It consists of an introduction and six chapters called ma‘rakāt or ‘arenas for combat’. M. i, f. 7 b, contains 99 problems of Rūmī, i.e. Turkish (or old) chess. M. ii, f. 58 b, contains 60 problems of Feringhī, i.e. European chess. M. iii, f. 88 b, 8 problems ending in burd, therefore probably Indian chess. M. iv, f. 92 b, 4 drawn games. M. v, f. 94 b, 12 problems of decimal chess. M. vi, f. 102 a, contains the Complete chess (12 × 12), with explanatory text, a Knight’s tour, and the key to the notation. This last is interesting, as it is a form of the algebraical notation that I have adopted in this work.
19. Ber. = MS. Royal Lib., Berlin, Landberg, No. 806.
A Turkish MS. of about 150 leaves, 205 by 133 mm., of which only 2 b–34 a and 51 b–97 b are filled. It was written about 1210/1795 and is in two hands, the one filling the earlier part with 128 chess problems, the other the later part with 182 dāma (Turkish draughts) problems. There are no solutions, but the number of moves is usually stated, and occasionally there are hints to the solution. The chess problems are nearly all of modern chess, and many are repeated. Their interest is, as a result, in connexion with the Turkish chess of the present day.
20. RW = MS. in possession of Mr. Rimington Wilson.
A small collection of 29 problems with a Knight’s tour, translated by Mr. George Swinton for George Walker from a modern Persian (? Indian) original. It is of little value, but was the source of a couple of papers by George Walker in the CPC., 1844, 180; and 1845, 240.
In addition to the above MSS. I have been able to consult a number of smaller treatises dealing with particular aspects of chess, generally the question of the lawfulness of chess-playing for strict Muslims, or the legend of the discovery of the game by Ṣiṣṣa b. Dāhir, and the calculation of his reward—the sum of the doubling of the squares.
Of the former9 are:
MS. Berlin, Wetzstein, II, 1739, ff. 57 b–68 a, the An-nāṣīha lil-ḥurr wal-‘abd bijtināb ash-shaṭranj wan-nard of ‘Abdarraḥmān b. Khalīl al-Qābūnī al-Adhra’ī Zainaddīn (D. 869/1464).
MS. Berlin, Sprenger, 850, f. 93 b, an extract from the Al-ḥāwī of the Qāḍī Abū’l-Ḥasan ‘Alī b. Muḥammad b. Habīb al-Māwardī (D. 450/1058).
Of the latter are:
MS. Bodl. Oxford, Arab. 182.
MS. Berlin, Wetzstein, II, 1149, f. 69 b (copied c. 1150/1737).
MS. Berlin, Wetzstein, II, 1127, f. 78 a (copied 996/1588).
MS. Berlin, Orient Qu., 583, f. 24 b (copied 1077/1667).
MS. Gotha, Arab. 919, Pertsch; three short treatises.
I have also seen:
MS. Khusrū Pasha, 758, Eyyub; a Turkish tract with title Risāla fi’sh-shaṭranj.
MS. Bāyazīd, Walī-addīn, 1796, Constantinople; the Persian Risāla fī dar asrār saṭranj of Sheikh ‘Alā’addaula; which treats of the parallel between chess and war.