Home > Work > Birth of the Chess Queen: A History

Birth of the Chess Queen: A History QUOTES

Birth of the Chess Queen: A History QUOTES

1 " The Renaissance (like Greek democracy or the fledgling American states) was a construct that applied mainly to privileged men. "

― Marilyn Yalom , Birth of the Chess Queen: A History

2 " As Petrus Alfonsi, the converted physician authored a book called the Disciplina Clericalis, which was essentially a collection of Arabic tales translated into Latin. These tales introduced a mode of Oriental storytelling and wisdom literature into Christendom that would become extremely popular. In the section called “The Mule and the Fox,” concerning the true nature of nobility, Alfonsi listed seven accomplishments expected of a knight. “The skills that one must be acquainted with are as follows: Riding, swimming, archery, boxing, hawking, chess, and verse writing.”6 So, by the beginning of the twelfth century, chess had become a mandatory skill for Spain’s elite warriors. "

― Marilyn Yalom , Birth of the Chess Queen: A History

3 " The prohibition on promoting a pawn to a queen while the original queen was still on the board was an attempt to preserve the uniqueness of the king’s wife, his only permissible conjugal mate according to Christian doctrine. The Arabic game did not have to face that problem because a Muslim ruler could theoretically have as many viziers as he wanted. The idea of multiple queens on the chessboard proved so anxiety-making for Europeans that it remained a subject of contention for centuries to come. "

― Marilyn Yalom , Birth of the Chess Queen: A History