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, was sent to Berlin on a course, where he met the six gifted German players with whom he formed a group that became known as the '
Berlin Pleiades'. He resigned his commission and devoted his time to chess. He was considered to be the most brilliant of the 'Pleiades' and was a good
blindfold player.
[ (ISBN is for the second edition)]
To the modern chess world he is known above all as the co-author of the ''
Handbuch des Schachspiels''. He died at age 24, probably of
tuberculosis, before finishing the ''Handbuch'', but the work was completed by his friend
Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa, who gave primary credit to Bilguer. The ''Handbuch'' was for many years considered the definitive reference work on the game of chess, and on
openings in particular. It was a precursor to later standard opening reference works such as ''
Modern Chess Openings'' and ''
Encyclopedia of Chess Openings''.
References
External links
*
Theory book on the Two Knights Game (1839) of BilguerJeremy Spinrad, ''New Stories about Old Chess Players - Bilguer'', chesscafe.com, 2007
1815 births
1840 deaths
People from Ludwigslust
People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
German chess players
German chess writers
German male non-fiction writers
19th-century chess players
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis deaths in Germany
{{Germany-chess-bio-stub