Chess: The History of a Game

by Richard Geoffrey Eales

Not since Murray in 1913 has there been a seriously researched history of chess which is also readable. Eales concentrates on what can be identified through archaeological and written evidence. The key text for lovers of chess history.

Genres: Chess, History

260 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 1984

Reviews

[James Stripes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Eales offers a clear and well-reasoned synopsis of the state of knowledge concerning the history of chess at the time he wrote the book (early 1980s). The book is documented well with bibliographic essays for each chapter. Eales narrates the development of chess with an emphasis on how we know what we know, and what is not known (although research since the publication of the book has pushed back against some of our ignorance). General readers looking for uncritical stories that can lull them into a false sense of expertise should look elsewhere. But anyone looking for the historiography of chess should read this book.

[Michael Albalah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely predictable and boring, basically a text book, but happy someone did the history