''Chess or the King's Game'' () is a book on

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

. It was published in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in 1616 under the name of ''Gustavus Selenus'' ("Gustavus" being an anagram of "Augustus" and "Selenus" referring to the Greek moon goddess

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

, linked to the Latin origin of the name "Lüneburg"), the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Duke Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1579–1666). As a young prince, Augustus probably had learned of the game during his voyages to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and purchased numerous chess books from the Augsburg merchant and art collector

Philipp Hainhofer Philipp Hainhofer (21 July 1578 – 1647) was a merchant, banker, diplomat and art collector in Augsburg. He is remembered, among other things, for the curiosity cabinets (''Kunstschränke'') which he created with the assistance of a large num ...

. The first textbook on chess in the German language, the work is mainly based on the '' Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del axedrez'' written in 1561 by the Spanish priest

Ruy López de Segura Rodrigo "Ruy" López de Segura ( – c. 1580) was a Spanish chess player, author, and Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catho ...

, but also contains extensive philosophical and historical considerations (e.g. on the "chess village" of Ströbeck). In addition to chess instruction, the book contained interesting illustrations of contemporary German chess pieces by Jacob van der Heyden et al. The usage for chessmen at the time tended to favor slender designs with nested floral crowns. The book was so successful that pieces of this pattern became known as the " Selenus chess sets”. Over time, pieces became taller, thinner, and more elaborate. Their apparent floral nature lead some to name them "Garden chess sets" or "Tulip chess sets". Selenus pattern sets were commonly made in Germany and Central Europe until about 1914 when they were completely eclipsed by the more playable and stable

Staunton chess set The Staunton chess set is the standard style of chess piece, chess pieces, recommended for use in competition since 2022 by FIDE, the international chess governing body. The English journalist Nathaniel Cooke is credited with the design on the ...

pattern, which was introduced in 1849 by manufacturer

Jaques of London Jaques of London, formerly known as ''John Jaques of London'' and ''Jaques and Son of London'' is a long-established family company that manufactures sports and game equipment. History Dating itself from 1795 when Thomas Jaques, a farmer's son ...

References

{{Reflist Chess books 1616 books 17th century in chess Chess in Germany

See also

References