Chess in 1805
by Bill Wall

In 1805, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel (1772-1838), a Bavarian musician, bought the half-forgotten automaton chess player, The Turk, from Wolfgang von Kempelen'son for 10,000 francs. He then took it from Vienna to Paris and sold it to Eugene Beauharnais at a large profit.

In 1805, Jacob Sarratt (1772-1819) was reputedly the best player in England until his death in 1819.

On July 9, 1805, Jozsef Szen (pronounced SANE) was born in Pesth, Hungary (Pesth merged with Buda in 1873 to become Budapest). He was a chess master and founded the Budapest Chess Club.

In September 1805, the first original American chess book, The Elements of Chess, was published in Boston by William Pelham (1759-1827) and edited by William Blagrove. Blagrove was the nephew of Pelham. The book recommended that the chess pieces be renamed. The king would be called Governor. The queen would be called General. The king's rook would be called First Colonel. The king's bishop would be called First Major. The king's knight would be called First Captain. The queen's rook would be called Second Colonel. The queen's bishop would be called Second Major. The queen's knight would be called Second Captain. The pawns would be called Pioneers.



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