Chess Scotland Noticeboard

Geoff Chandler

Genuine competition with a mega Morphy prize.

Plus plan to make our players 'look the part'.

http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandlerarticle.php?ChandID=375

Martin Robinson · Rook Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 45 Location: Edinburgh

Geoff - that competition is an absolute disgrace. Morphy is handling the black pieces! Wouldn't it be more appropriate, and much more of a challenge, to come up with moves that have been played in games against Morphy (which Morphy lost)?

Geoff Chandler · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:23 pm Post subject:

I thought about that Martin but Black going first would restrict my readers
to just a handful of games to choose their moves from.

So I went with the tradition of White going first.

Think of this way. Morphy is setting up the Black pieces first and
will add the White pieces later to construct a mate in two.

Robert Lothian · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:51 pm Post subject: The truth!

Geoff

You have misread the picture. Morphy is setting up a problem in Hnefatafl. The pieces that look like pawns are actually Hunns. Only one corner of the board is visible, so it is not clear that the larger Hnefatafl board is being used. Despite this, I will follow your chess notation for convenience. The problem is completed by adding attacking pieces on the squares c5, d7, e6, e8, f5, g6,g8 and h7. The key move is c5-d5! removing both defenders at a stroke and leaving the King in Zugzwang. After any K move, an attacker mates on f7.

All of the attacker's moves were played by Morphy during his 1858 Hnefatafl match with Staunton. (Morphy had proposed chess, but, as the challenged, Staunton had choice of weapons). Staunton was a great Viking Tafl enthusiast and had an unrivalled collection of pieces from various games. After his death, due to a combination of genuine ignorance and wilful fraud, these were widely mistaken for chess pieces. Indeed, to this day, one can buy sets of these 'Staunton chess pieces'.
_________________
Robert Lothian is actually Dr Bob

Alan Bell · Queen Joined: 01 Mar 2007 Posts: 89

An impressive piece of research Bob. I have been told that the famous actor Donald Crisp was an expert in Hnefatafl, reputedly seeing off Humphrey Bogart over a long series of games; I wondered if you were able to confirm this.

Robert Lothian · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:58 pm Post subject: Joy of Wikipedia

Indeed, I believe his interest began when he starred in 'The Viking' in 1928.
Very Happy

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Robert Lothian is actually Dr Bob

Alan Bell · Queen Joined: 01 Mar 2007 Posts: 89

A fine film in which he played the role of Leif Erikson, prior to that character's subsequent fame in The High Chapparal. I may be able to get a VHS copy of this film but I would need somebody who could convert it to digital.

GN · King Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 415