Birth Of The Chess Queen

A History

Everyone knows that the queen is the most dominant piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her. It wasn't until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king's fierce warrior and protector.Birth of the Chess Queen examines the five centuries between the chess queen's timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.

4 editions

Paperback, 304 pages

English language

Published July 31, 2004 by Pandora Pr.

ISBN:: 978-0-86358-444-2
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Subjects

Chess
History of specific subjects
Women's studies
Games
Games/Puzzles
Chess - General

Reviews

dozens reviewed Birth Of The Chess Queen by Marilyn Yalom

Review of 'Birth Of The Chess Queen' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This book alternately irked and entertained me. There were interesting stories about the evolution of some regional "dialects" of the game, and I enjoyed the recounting of some folk lore in the game was a vehicle for romance and seduction.

The times in which the author droned on about role of the actual living, breathing queen, though, bored me almost to tears. In fact, it seems at times that there is more information about queens and powerful ladies in this book than there is about the game.

But then again, and I didn't know this before starting to read, but this is by the author of A History Of The Wife and A History Of The Breast, so a bit of feminism is to be expected after all.