Luis Ramírez de Lucena
| Luis Ramírez de Lucena | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Luis Ramírez de Lucena |
| Country |  Spain |
| Born | c. 1465 |
| Died | c. 1530 |
Luis Ramírez de Lucena (c. 1465 – c. 1530) was a Jewish converted to Roman Catholicism and leading Spanish chess player.
Contents |
Book [edit]
Lucena wrote the oldest existing printed book on chess, Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess (Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con 101 Juegos de Partido), published in Salamanca in 1497. The book contains analysis of eleven chess openings but contains many elementary errors that led chess historian Harold Murray to suggest that it was prepared in a hurry (Murray 2012:786). The book was written when the rules of chess were taking their modern form (see origins of modern chess), and some of the 150 positions in the book are of the old game and some of the new. Fewer than a dozen copies of the book exist.
Chess positions [edit]
The Lucena position is named after him, even though it does not appear in his book. (It was first published in 1634 by Alessandro Salvio.) The smothered mate (later named Philidor's legacy) is in the book.[1]
References [edit]
- Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
- Murray, H.J.R. (2012) [1913], A History of Chess, Skyhorse, ISBN 978-1-62087-062-4)
External links [edit]
- Romeo, M.C. "Lucena - A mystery after 500 years".[dead link] (Romeo is Director of History Chess Commission of Spanish Federation of Chess, FEDA.)
- Lucena's book online
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