The Berlin Pleiades was a group of seven masters of German

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

in the 19th century. They are named after the star constellation the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance of ...

. The members of the Berlin Pleiades were: *

Paul Rudolf von Bilguer Paul Rudolf (or Rudolph) von Bilguer (21 September 1815 – 16 September 1840) was a German chess master and chess theoretician from Ludwigslust in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Bilguer, who was a lieutenant in the Prussian army, ...

, Army Lieutenant and author of the ''

Handbuch des Schachspiels ''Handbuch des Schachspiels'' (''Handbook of Chess'', often simply called the ''Handbuch'') is a chess book, first published in 1843 by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was a comprehensive reference book on the game, and one of the most imp ...

'', the most influential chess book for 90 years; * Dr.

Ludwig Bledow Dr Ludwig Erdmann Bledow (27 July 1795, Berlin – 6 August 1846, Berlin) was a German chess master and chess organizer (co-founder of the Berlin Pleiades). In 1846 he founded the first German chess magazine, ''Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgese ...

, teacher of mathematics and the Pleiades co-founder; *

Wilhelm Hanstein Wilhelm Hanstein (3 August 1811 in Berlin – 14 October 1850 in Magdeburg) was a German chess player and writer. Hanstein was one of the Berlin Pleiades. He helped found ''Berliner Schachzeitung'', later to become ''Deutsche Schachzeitung''. H ...

, civil servant; *

Bernhard Horwitz Bernhard Horwitz (1807 in Neustrelitz – 1885 in London) was a German and British chess master, chess writer and chess composer. Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art. From 1837 to 1843, he was part ...

, painter; * Baron

Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa Tassilo, Baron von Heydebrand und der Lasa (known in English as Baron von der Lasa, 17 October 1818, Berlin – 27 July 1899, Storchnest near Lissa, Greater Poland, then German Empire) was a German chess master, chess historian and theoret ...

, later became a Prussian diplomat and chess historian; *

Carl Mayet Carl (Karl) Mayet (11 August 1810, Berlin – 18 May 1868, Stettin, now Szczecin) was a German chess master. He was one of the most original of the Berlin Pleiades (the seven stars of German chess). In 1839, Mayet defeated Jozsef Szen in a match ...

, barrister and judge; * Carl Schorn, painter. File:Bilguer.jpg, Paul von Bilguer File:Bledow.jpg, Ludwig Bledow File:WilhelmHanstein.jpg, Wilhelm Hanstein File:Bernhard Horwitz (ca. 1860).jpg, Bernhard Horwitz File:Tassilo_von_Heydebrand_und_der_Lasa.jpg, Von der Lasa File:Carl Mayet.jpg, Carl Mayet File:Karl Schorn.jpg, Carl Schorn

References

* Chess in Germany * Chess organizations History of chess 19th century in Berlin {{Germany-chess-bio-stub