CHESMAYNE

monalisa

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Mona Lisa jigsaw puzzle - 1,500 pieces. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is transformed into a high-quality 1,500 piece jigsaw puzzle.Manufactured in Spain by Educa. Measures 33.5 x 23.6 inches. Includes metallized label with the artist’s “signature”.

The game of chess, a scene originally painted on a marriage chest. Attributed to Girolamo da Cremona or Liberale da Verona. Sienna approx 1475-1480. New York. The Metropolitain Museum of Art.

01 A skill or knack, a method of doing a thing especially if it is difficult - studied action - artificiality in behaviour. “The beauty of nature exceeds all art” - G. Bredero. ‘Liberal arts’, the ‘7 liberal arts’ and ‘artes liberales’. Trivium: grammar, rhetoric and logic (dialectic). Quadrivium: music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Sometimes portrayed as a wheel resting on an encyclopedia (the circle of knowledge). Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy along with the Trivium constitute the Seven Liberal Arts. 20+ paintings are titled ‘Checkmate’.

These drawings are from book 1. in the bibliography. [Main Graphics Page] http://www.cowderoy.com/graphics/jpg/saz29.jpg

“Art is meant to disturb, science reassures”.

02 Artful: crafty, cunning, tricky (tricky-dicky). Skillful in adapting means to ends - ingenious.

03 Artist: one who exhibits art in his/her work, or makes an art of his/her employment. An artist has to have lived!

“You can calculate the worth of a wo/man by the number of h/hes enemies, and the importance of a work of art by the harm that is spoken of it”.

Thomas Gainsborough

“The artist must be in his work as God is in creation, invisible and all-powerful; one must sense him/her everywhere but never see him/her”.

“Why life? We live to execute a properly conceived life plan whereby each human being becomes an artistic genius. The Light’s knowledge and love are the paint and the inspiration that we, God’s little brushes, apply to earth’s giant canvas, allowing each of us to add our few, unique brush strokes to God’s Grand Painting of Life.” Michael Kelley.

04 Artist, Artisan are persons having superior skill or ability, or capable of a superior kind of workmanship. An artist is a person engaged in some type of fine art. An artisan is engaged in a manual enterprise.

"The Art Lesson", Cecchi

05 Artiste: an artist especially an actor, dancer, or other public performer - thespian.

06 Artistic: aesthetically excellent or admirable - stormy, emotional, and capricious, as temperament or behaviour popularly ascribed to artists. Chess has been used by many artists in courtly, family and group portraitures and amongst these have been Lucas van Leyden, Henri Matisse and John Singer Sargent. Chess themes have also been used in abstract art, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, mosaics, tapestries and book-plates ie, Titian’s masterpiece ‘Rest on the Flight into Egypt’, a 16^th century painting, measuring 25” x 18” and set in an elaborate frame showing Mary cradling the baby Jesus during a rest as they flee into Egypt from KI Herod’s law, with Joseph looking on (value estimated to be around five million pounds). Craft or skill. Workers in wood/carpenter (Scotland: wright), trade of Joseph and Jesus.

Lucas van Leyden was a pioneer of the Netherlandish genre tradition, as witness his ‘Chess Players’ [Staatliche Museen, Berlin] which actually represents a variant game called ‘Courier’ - and his Card Players [Wilton House, Wiltshire], while his celebrated ‘Last Judgement’ triptych [Lakenhal Museum, Leiden, 1526-7] shows the heights to which he could rise as a religious painter. It eloquently displays his vivid imaginative powers, his marvelous skill as a colourist and his deft and fluid brushwork.
Source: http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/bio/l/lucas/biograph.html

07 Artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give.

08 Artists who have included chess in their work: Daumier, Bill Jacklin, Paul Klee, Kandinsky, Juan Gris, Max Ernst, Escher, Barry Martin and Lorraine Gill (whose exhibition in February 1997 featured chess and mind sports). All include chess motifs in their works. Marcel Duchamp painted pictures of chess players.

‘Art’ depicts the human quest for self-knowledge (knowledge of the gods) and the attempt to portray or magically control the forces that rule life. Bas-reliefs of the victories of Assyrian KIs express an urgent desire to render their local glory immortal. In Greece and Rome sculptors like Phidias moulded stone into god-shapes in which men saw themselves. For a millennium all art was controlled by the Church. Not until the Renaissance did Giotto, Masagna, Dante, Boccaccio and Aristo again dare to express the old pagan themes. Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and others drew on Classical myth and Breughel and Vermeer began to celebrate everyday life and material wealth. Caravaggio, Bernini and other baroque masters drew on it. From Dante, Chaucer and Shakespeare to Blake, Joyce and Yeats - from medieval troubadours to Berlioz and Wagner - all are one in that myth inspires them. Without myth no artist works. The art of myth is owned by nobody, but is expressed by all with heart. Education and refinement are the decoration of the soul, making a gross mind into a spiritual work of art, the highest intellectual achievement.

“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern”.

Saraswati (India): goddess of the arts - literature, poetry, song, music and belles lettres (the finer or more elegant forms of literature regarded as the finest art). She is seen in paintings smiling happily, dressed in her gold-embroidered sari, holding a book, symbol of scholarship and writing, in one hand, and the vina, a stringed instrument in the other. She rides a swan, symbolizing that she is in control of her passions, which is a condition for the success of any artistic or literary endeavour. She is the goddess of speech and eloquence (polished language) and shown sitting on a lotus signifying meditation, lucidity of mind and clarity of expression or in the company of the peacock, the Indian royal bird so admired for its beauty. Her swan floats on a pond as smooth as a telescope mirror, reflecting her and signifying the serenity of mind necessary for clarity of language. She is sometimes shown with vina and hymnbook, rosary and lotus or carrying the vidya (emblem of knowledge) and a vessel of ambrosia and wears the moon in her crown. In Japan she is known as Benten.

“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness”.

Beauty of Chess: “A good chess move is the expression of creativity. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?”

Ray tracing by Thierry Blin

Click on the picture for a larger view?

The picture shows the position as it was before a late kingside rook brought my opponent down.	A position from the book “The Flanders Panel” where the intrique turns on a retrograde analysis which reveals who killed the knight.
Mate in five.	The checkmate of the king by his own troops opens new perspectives
	Marc will resign additional explanation from Thierry (in French)
These pictures are the work of Thierry Blin who has kindly allowed me to post them here. Please contact me if you wish to use them. [Main Graphics Page]

Giovanni Cantina  

Above: Title: Partita surreale a scacchi, 1993. http://www.artegica.too.it/

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Above - Author: Liberale da Verona. Title: I giocatori di scacchi, circa 1475.

New York – Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Above: Author: Ginlio Campi. Title: La partite a scacchi. Corca 1500. Torino – Museo civico.

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Above – Author: Casimir I. Markous.

Title: Still life with chessboard – 1912.

Paris – Modern Art National Museum.

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GO TO THE SECTION'S INDEX Picturial works

Title: Whirl. Ritorna alla Home Page

Title: Omaggio a Catania Scacchi. Ritorna alla Home Page

Welcome to the ChessDrama Gallery. ‘ChessDrama’ is the name of an on-going series of limited-edition digital art prints created by British graphic artist Michael Frank, which draw their inspiration from the beauty and magic of the Staunton and Lewis chess pieces. The ‘ChessDrama’ Gallery contains images of the ten prints created to date, plus short paragraphs about their design and printing. It provides the dates and locations of current and future exhibitions. It gives the artist’s email address for you to forward your comments, and explains the procedure should you wish to buy a print. Finally, it spells out the artist’s claim to the copyright of his work. To enter the Gallery, click here...

This site is designed to be viewed at 800 x 600 screen resolution.

Art and Chess by Bill Wall

Chess has been a popular subject of paintings and sculpture. Marcel Duchamp is perhaps the most well-known chess player and artist. He was a French chess master and used chess themes in many of his paintings. Henry Grob was an International Master and portrait painter.

Here is a list of known chess artists or artists who play chess.

Agnel, H.R.; How a World Was Won (1848)
Agnel, H.R.; The Midnight Challenge (1848)
Agnel, H.R.; The Monkey and the Gascon Chess Knight (1848)
Anderson, Stanley (1884-1966); In Check: Scene At A London Eating-House (1932)
Anguissola, Sofonisba (1531-1625); Artist’s Sisters Playing Chess (1555)
Baldini, Johnny
Baumeister, Wili
Bertiglia, A
Bok, Samuel; The Game (1990)
Bok, Samuel; Red Queen (1990)
Bok, Samuel; The Desert Game (1990)
Bok, Samuel; Italian Interlude (1990)
Bok, Samuel; Round Table (1990)
Bok, Samuel; The Leaders (1990)
Bok, Samuel; Knights (1990)
Bok, Samuel; Being There (1990)
Bok, Samuel; Figures (1990)
Bok, Samuel; As Time Passes (1990)
Bordone, Paris (1500-1570); The Chess Players
Bouilly, Louis (1716-1845); The Chess Game
Braque, Georges (1882-1963)
Claunch, Gerald
Clauson, Randy
Cook, Cory; Time Trouble 
Cremona, Girolamo de (1467-1473); The Chess Players 
Critchlow, M.B.; Checkmate (1947)
Cruikshank, George (1792-1878); A Game of Chess (1835)
Dadd, Richard; The Child’s Problem
Dali, Salvador
Daniels, William (1813-1880); Chess Players
Daumier, Honore
Delacroix, Eugene
DeVilbiss; Morphy vs. Lowenthal
Dore, Gustav
Doyle, John; A Game At Chess: Lord Grey Playing William IV (1832)
Dring, William; Off Watch (1943)
Duchamp, Marcel (1887-1968); The Chess-Players (1910)
Duchamp, Marcel; Portrait of Chess Players (1911)
Duchamp, Marcel; King and Queen surrounded by Swift Nudes (1912)
Eakins, Thomas (1844-1916); The Chess Players (1876)
Ernst, Max
Esmein, Jeanne; Hommage a Marcel Duchamp (1986)
Evans, Ingrid; Knight Moves 
Fisher, S. Melton (1860-1939); Chess Players
Friday, Will; The Wizard King, The Royal Knight, Ruthless Dragon
Fry, W.T.; Les Echecs Amoureux (15th Century)
Furniss, Harry; The Knights and Kings of Chess (1885) Punch
Gerome, Jean (1824-1904); The Chess Players (1867)
Gils, Clifford; Picasso Knight
Giorgio, Francesco di
Gris, Juan; The Chessboard (1917)
Grob, Henry
Hasenclever,J.; The Checkmate! (1880)
Hughes, Patrick
Humphrey, G.; A Check (1825)
Illustrated London News; Chess Celebrities (1855)
Induno G; La Partita a Scacchi
Kelly, Maureen; Knight on the Rim
Klee, Paul; Great Chess Game (1937)
Kostabi, Mark; The Final Sacrifice (1993)
Leyden, Lucas van (1494-1533); The Game of Chess (1508)
Loo, van
Ludovico, Carracci; I Giocatori di Scacchi
Mackay, W; Howard Staunton (1883)
Magritte, Rene
Mander, Karel van
Marlet; The Staunton - Saint-Amant Match (1843)
Martin, Barry
Martins de Barros, Andre; Mat (1985)
Matisse, Henri
McCall, Brian
McIntosh, Mimi; Passed Pawn, Doubled on the Seventh, Knight Out
McIntosh, Mimi; Fool’s Mate
Meissonier, Jean-Louis-Ernest; The Chess-Players (1863)
Meitner, Eric
Middleton, Thomas; A Game At Chess (1624)
Mopp, Maximilian
Mussini, Luigi (1813-1888); A Chess match at the Court of Spain
Osborne Co,; Old Heads Are Best (1900)
Pegram, Fred; Fool’s Mate! (1896)
Poyser, Victoria; The Bishop and the Queen 
Prokopljevic, Jovan; The Little Man
Ray, Man
Rembrandt
Retzsch, Moritz; Man vs Mephistopheles
Rosatti; Olio su tela
Rosenbaum, A.; Group of Chess Players (1880)
Rothwell, E.B.; Pawn Pun
Rothwell, E.B.; Drawn Game
Rothwell, E.B.; Game of the Century
Rothwell, E.B.; White's Greens
Rothwell, E.B.; Black's Blues
Rothwell, E.B.; Checkmate
Rothwell, E.B.; King Pin
Rothwell, E.B.; B-Q3
Rothwell, E.B.; The Roockery
Rowlandson, Thomas (1756-1827); The Chess Players
Sargent, John Singer; Chess Game
Sickert, Walter
Spitzer, Jim
Sporting Magazine; Philidor Playing Blindfold at Parsloe’s (1794)
Stephenson, J; Paul Morphy 
Tanguay, Yves
Tanning, Dorothea; A Game of Chess (1947)
Taulbut, John; Hastings (1979) 
Taylor, Martin
Tisch, Lawrence
Unknown; An Evening of Chess (18th Century) 
Vasarely, Victor
Venturini, Steve
Vicky
Villon, Jacques; Table d’Echecs
Vlaminck, Maurice
Williams, Dave
Witalis, Ernie
 

Connections between Music and Chess

by John Greschak
john@greschak.com
July 4, 1999

Musical Compositions Related to Chess: An Annotated Bibliography
Musical Terms that are used in Chess
Other Connections between Music and Chess

Musical Compositions Related to Chess

This is a list of pieces of music that are related in some way to the game of chess. There is no doubt that many of the pieces listed here bear only a distant (or unknown) relationship to chess. For example, it is likely that in some cases the only connection is that the word chess was used in the title of the piece. All known relationships are described in the annotations.

The following resources were used to compile this list:

• AltaVista (search string: +chess +music +composer).
• WorldCat (keywords: chess and music).
• The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (1996). Specifically, the articles: “Theatre and Chess” and “Music and Chess”.
• International Index to Music Periodicals (keyword: chess).

Absil, Jean. Chess Game, Suite for Piano, op. 96.

A recording of this piano piece is available on the album titled L’Oeuvre pour piano (Alpha DB 57). A copy of this recording is available at the Mannes College of Music Library (call number: LP-03191).

Anderson, Jon, and Chris Squire 1971. I’ve Seen All Good People.

This is a song which is on the album titled The Yes Album by the band called Yes that consisted of Jon Anderson (vocals), Chris Squire (bass and vocals), Tony Kaye (keyboards), Bill Bruford (drums), and Steve Howe (guitars and vocals). The song has two sections titled Your Move and All Good People. The lyrics of Your Move are related to chess. The lyrics of this song may be found at http://yesworld.com/lyrics/the_yes_album.

Andersson, Benny, Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice 1984. Chess.

Chess is a musical written by Benny Andersson (music), Björn Ulvaeus (music), and Tim Rice (lyrics). The game of chess serves as a symbol of the cold war between the USA and the Soviet Union. Tim Rice’s idea for the musical was inspired by the World Championship match of 1972 between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Information on this work may be found at

http://hem2.passagen.se/musicals/chess.html and

http://www.chess.ibm.com/reference/html/i.3.g.html.

Bliss, Sir Arthur, and Ninette de Valois 1937. Checkmate.

This work is a 50-minute ballet in one scene that was composed by Sir Arthur Bliss and choreographed by Ninette de Valois. It was performed at the Paris World Exhibition. The moves of the pieces influence the form of the dancing. A biography of Sir Arthur Bliss may be found at

http://www.schirmer.com/composers/bliss/bio.html.

Cage, John 1943. Chess Pieces.

In the John Cage Music Manuscript Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts there is a folder of 13 pages of handwritten music (plus one cover page) by John Cage that contains a work titled Chess Pieces (call number: JPB 95-3 Folder 109). This work (which might be for piano) appears to be of the form: aabbddeefga agfeeddbbaa. Note that the form of the second half of the piece is a mirror image of the first half. Eleven 12-bar sections have been written. Perhaps these eleven sections are to be used as the eleven sections of the first half of the piece. Mirror images are also used for smaller structures. For example, the 12 bars of the first two “a” sections are grouped as 3 bars, followed by 4 bars, followed by 5 bars (i.e. 12=3+4+5). The 12 bars of the first “b” section are grouped as 5 bars, followed by 4 bars, followed by 3 bars (i.e. 12=5+4+3).

This piece may be unfinished. It is unclear whether or not Cage intended to write eleven more sections for the second half of the piece or if the eleven sections that have been written are to be played in reverse order for the second half.

It is not known how this piece is related to chess. There are many open questions:

• Why is the structure of the piece based upon mirror images? Do these mirror images represent the mirror image of the arrangement of white and black pieces at the beginning of a game?
• Why are there 6 different section types (i.e. a, b, d, e, f, and g)? Is there a one-to-one correspondence between the section types and the 6 chessman types (e.g. a = pawn, b = rook, etc.)? Or, should the form be written as a2b2d2e2f1g1a1? This representation of the form suggests that the form may have been derived from algebraic notation of a particular game.
• Why are there 11 sections in each half of the piece?
• Why do all sections consist of 12 bars?
• How were the pitches selected for this piece?

Cage, John 1968. Reunion.

This piece was performed in 1968 at Ryerson Polytechnic in Toronto. Lowell Cross constructed a chess board equipped with photoreceptors that served as a gating mechanism to transmit or cut off sound produced by other musicians and to control lights. John Cage and Marcel Duchamp played a game of chess. Other participants included Teeny Duchamp, David Tudor, Gordon Mumma, and David Behrman. The book Marcel Duchamp and John Cage by Shigeko Kubota (1970) contains photographs and a recording of this performance.

Chopinet 1990. Ana.

This piece is a ballet (choreographed by Chopinet) that is based on Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. It has a specially created game of 73 moves as its text. Source: The article “Theatre and Chess” from The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (1996).

Clément, Murielle Lucie 1996. Sketches of Chess.

This work is a short opera for 2 sopranos and a chessboard. The libretto is based upon a chess game between Ljubomir Ljubojevic and Garry Kasparov in 1987 at the Swift Blitz tournament in Brussels. Ljubojevic defeated Kasparov in this game and tied Kasparov for first place in the tournament. An audio version of the opera along with the moves of the game may be found at

http://www.dds.nl/~schaak/sketchesofchess.htm.

Cohen, Marcia 1971. Chess Set: for Percussion and Electronic Tape.

The score and a recording of this work are available at the University of Central Arkansas Library (call numbers: M175.C65 C45 Score and M175.C65 C45 Tape).

Cruft, Adrian 1986. Chess Pieces (for Trumpet and Piano). London: Joad Press.

This 10-minute work is composed of 5 short pieces: Knights (1-1/4 min.), Rooks (Castles) (1-3/4 min.), Pawns (1-1/2 min.), Bishops (2-1/2 min.) and Queens & Kings (3 min.). The journal British Music contains and article edited by Jack Denford in which Cruft talks about his music (see volume 11, 1989 and volume 12, 1990).

Eberwein 1819. Das Schachturnier (Le tournoi aux échecs).

This work is an opera. It may be incomplete. Source: The article “Music and Chess” from The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (1996).

Hanson, Sten 1979-85. John Carter Songbook.

The John Carter Songbook is a collection of examples of Martian music by the Swedish composer Sten Hanson. The fourth piece in the set is titled “The Chessmen of Mars”. This is a musical model of a Martian chess game called jetan which is played on a board that contains 100 squares and 20 chessmen per side. A sound is associated with each man and a pitch is assigned to each row of squares. Panning is used to distribute the squares of the chessboard. A translation (by William Brunson) of Sten Hanson’s description of the John Carter Songbook from Phono Suecia nr 30 (1988) is available at

http://www.mic.stim.se/engelsk/2/johncarter.html.

Kapr, Jan 1972. Chess Sonata for Two Pianos, or piano and magnetic tape with the part of 2^nd piano.

This 18-minute piece is intended for two pianos or one piano accompanied by a tape recording of the 2^nd piano part. A biography and list of works of the Czech composer Jan Kapr may be found at

http://www.vol.cz/SDMUSIC/CZMIC/comp/kapr.htm.

Lacerda, Osvaldo 1971. Cromos: para Piano. Sao Paulo: Irmaos Vitale.

This work consists of four booklets of short pieces for piano. The third booklet contains a piece titled Jogando xadrez (Playing the game of chess). A copy of the score and a recording are available at the Indiana University Library (score: temporary control number: ACK8572) (recording: call number: LAMC TP.B8 .L1317 K1.2).

Lewis, John. The Chess Game.

This piece is based upon J. S. Bach’s Goldberg variations. It is performed on harpsichord or piano, alone or together, in original form or in jazz interpretations. The work has been recorded by John Lewis (piano) and Mirjana Lewis (harpsichord) (see: The Chess Game Phillips 832015 and The Chess Game Pt.2 Phillips 832588).

MacLean, Dougie 1994. Marching Mystery. Dunkeld Records.

The song “Marching Mystery” on this album of songs by the Scottish songwriter Dougie MacLean was inspired by a set of ancient chess pieces found on the West coast of the Isle of Lewis. This is mentioned in an article about MacLean (by Lahri Bond) that appeared in the October/November 1995 issue (No. 60) of the magazine Dirty Linen which may be found at

http://www.dirtynelson.com/linen/feature/60dougie.html.

Martinu, Bohuslav. Échecs au roi.

Source: The article “Music and Chess” from The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (1996).

Noel-Johnson, Reginald Charles 1953. Sinbad the Sailor on Ice.

This work is a ballet on ice composed by Reginald Charles Noel-Johnson. The ballet includes a living chess performance of a famous friendly game between Paul Morphy and the Duke of Brunswick. Source: The article “Theatre and Chess” from The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (1996).

Parmerud, Åke 1993. Jeux Imaginaires.

Jeux Imaginaires is a musical piece that is based upon the 22^nd game of the 1992 World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. The rhythm of the drums in the middle section was derived from the pondering times of the first 19 moves of the game. The composer writes: “I like to think of musical components (sound objects, phrases, structures etc.) as pieces (of chess) with different charge and strength that may be placed in a variety of relationships, and where the object of composing is that of finding solid constructions of relations throughout the whole musical time.”. A translation (by William Brunson) of Åke Parmerud’s description of Jeux Imaginaires from Phono Suecia nr 72 (1994) is available at

http://www.mic.stim.se/engelsk/2/jeuximaginaires.html.

Reif, Paul 1965. Philidor’s defense: a musical chess game.

A recording of this 13-minute piece for chamber orchestra is available on the album titled Two Contemporary Composers (Serenus Recorded Editions, 1967 - SRE 1018).

Rieti, Vittorio 1945. Chess Serenade: suite for two pianos. New York: Associated Music.

The score for this piece is available at the Cleveland Institute of Music Library (call number: M214.R447C).

Rorem, Ned 1973. Day Music: for Violin and Piano. New York: Boosey & Hawkes.

This work consists of 8 pieces: Wedges and Doubles, Pearls, Extreme Leisure (or the Gallows Revisited), Bats, Billet Doux, Another Ground, Yellows, and A Game of Chess Four Centuries Ago. A biography of Ned Rorem may be found at

http://www.camellia.org/bmv/bios/ned_rorem.html.

Sabouroff, P. P. Love Symphony.

The scherzo movement of this piece is labeled Simultaneous games of chess. The piece was performed at Monte Carlo in 1925. Source:

Harley, B. 1931. “Music and Chess.” Music and Letters 12(3): 276-281.

Simon, Ladislav 1971. Sachova Dama (Chess Queen), Blues for jazz orchestra.

This is an 8-minute blues piece for jazz orchestra. A biography and list of works of the Czech composer Ladislav Simon may be found at

http://www.sdmusic.cz/czmic/comp/simon.htm.

Solare, Juan María 1986. Ajedrez I y II (Chess I and II) for voice and piano.

This piece is based upon a two-part poem by the Argentinean Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) titled Ajedrez from the collection “El Otro, El Mismo” (The Self and the Other). A biography and list of works of the composer Juan María Solare may be found at

http://www.arcananet.org/composers/JuanMariaSolare/index.html. And

http://www.dohr.de/autor/solare.htm. The original Spanish version of the poem is available at http://redfrog.norconnect.no/~poems/poems/03769.html. An

English translation of the poem may be found at

http://redfrog.norconnect.no/~poems/poems/03771.html (translator: Flemming Sørensen).

Solare, Juan María 1992. Ben Oni for Flute, Clarinet and Violoncello.

The name of this 4-1/2 minute work matches that of the chess book Ben-Oni oder die Vertheidigungen die Gambitzüge im Schach, by Aaron Reinganum which was published in 1825 (see also: Benoni Defence).

Solare, Juan María 1996. Diez Estudios Escénicos (Ten scenic Etudes) for two actors, one actress, diverse objects and instrumental sextet: violin, doublebass, horn, bass clarinet, vibraphone and piano.

This 20-minute work consists of 10 scenes. In the 5^th scene (1-1/4 min.) which is titled Chessgame, the two actors pretend to play chess without the use of props. They are accompanied by the violin and doublebass, the latter of which strains to play in unison with the violin.

Solare, Juan María 1999. Zugzwang (fifteen authentic miniatures about the strategy of chess) for quartet: violin (or flute), alto sax (or clarinet), double bass (or violoncello) and piano (or synthesizer).

This work consists of 15 extremely short pieces that have an average duration of 12.6 seconds. The structure of each piece mirrors that of a particular concept or position in chess (e.g. Isolated pawn, Time-trouble, and Fianchetto). The work is dedicated to the Grandmaster Lothar Schmid who served as chief arbiter for several World Championship matches (including Spassky-Fischer 1972, Karpov-Korchnoi 1978 and Kasparov-Karpov 1986).

The composer, Juan María Solare is also the author of several articles on various relationships between music and chess which have been published in the magazines Doce Notas, Letra Internacional, and Biblioteca de México.

Stravinsky, Igor 1913. Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring).

In the book, Nicholas Roerich: Messenger of Beauty (published by Inner Trad 1994), Jacqueline Decter recounts a story of how Roerich offered Stravinsky two possible scenarios for a new ballet: “A Game of Chess” or “The Great Sacrifice”. Stravinsky chose “The Great Sacrifice” for what was to become Le Sacre du Printemps. This chess-related quote from this book is available at http://www.stagebill.com/dance/features/featuresarchive/sacre.html.

Stuermer, Wolfgang von, Dietrich Eichmann, Christoph Grund, Uwe Kremp and Reimar Volker 1987/1989. Game and Earnest.

This is a 60-minute piece for two players performing at a chessboard controller for samplers and synthesizers (16 modules) with additional live musicians on piano, turntables/electronics, guitars and saxophones. The piece was performed on July 2, 1987 by the performance-duo consisting of Wolfgang von Stuermer and Dietrich Eichmann (under the name FIQ (Fraktion Illegaler Quomponisten)) with guests Christoph Grund, Uwe Kremp and Reimar Volker at the festival Belluard/Bollwerk in Fribourg, Switzerland. A revised version of the piece was produced by the SDR (South German Radio), in 1989.

? 1968. Pawn to King 5.

This work is a ballet (choreographed by John Chesworth). Chess is used to indicate conflict in a general sense. [By] John Percival, Peter Williams and Noël Goodwin.

?. Ballet des Échecs.

This piece is the first known ballet with a chess theme. It was performed for Louis XIV of France. Sources:

http://www.chess.ibm.com/reference/html/i.3.f.html and

http://misc.traveller.com/chess/trivia/b.html.

Musical Terms that are used in Chess

The Oxford Companion to Chess is a comprehensive encyclopedia of chess. It contains articles on history, terminology, chess players, and the relationship between chess and other subjects such as music, art, theatre, literature and philosophy. Many of the terms listed in this book are also musical terms. For example, in chess, a person who creates puzzles and problems to be solved is called a composer, and two different sequences of moves that lead from one given position to another are said to be related by transposition. Some other terms that are used in chess and music are: play, piece, notation, score, tempo, theme, variation, development, minimal composition, round, major and minor, position, second, retrograde, mirror, attack, anticipation, phase and echo.

Hooper, David, and Kenneth Whyld 1996. The Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Randel, Don Michael, ed. 1986. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Other Connections between Music and Chess

Boettcher, Wendy S., Sabrina S. Hahn, and Gordon L. Shaw 1994. “Mathematics and Music: A Search for Insight into Higher Brain Function.” Leonardo Music Journal 4: 53-58.

The authors discuss the relationships among higher brain functions relating to music, mathematics and chess. The abstract of this article may be found at http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/journal-issue-abstracts.tcl?issn=09611215&volume=4&issue=0.

Chicco, Adriano. 1987. “Uno ‘Scacchiero’ Musicale.” Scacchi e scienze applicate 5: 6-7.

This article discusses the chekker which may have been a 15^th-century musical chessboard. Each of the squares occupied by chessmen on one side had a virtue attributed to it while those of the opposite side had negative qualities. It is not known how this instrument generated sound, but it was a keyboard of some kind that may have been similar to a harpsichord. Source: The article “Chekker” from The Oxford Companion to Chess by David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld (1996).

Update History

The research for this page was completed on July 22, 1998. The page was updated on July 4, 1999 to include additional works by Juan María Solare. It was updated on January 11, 2000 to include the entry for the song I’ve Seen All Good People by Jon Anderson and Chris Squire as a result of information provided by Eric Saathoff.

Other Pages by John Greschak

• Music by John Greschak: Public domain MIDI, RealAudio and score (PDF) files of original chamber pieces from this contemporary composer.
• 
  
• Finale: IWBNI: Suggestions for improving the music notation software program Finale.

Music: By Instrument RealAudio Scores

Links What's New E-mail

Music by John Greschak

Public Domain

Chess in the Schools 1996 - Strong women chess players

The 1998 New York Open - The 1999 World Open

A page devoted to Afro-American Players

Samantha Fox [talking about the pop goddess Britney Spears] “As an artist you have a greater opportunity to work much longer, carry more responsibility and perform into your 50s when you write for yourself”. She added: “Ideally, I should have started after my second album but I was very young. Britney [Spears] should begin to create her own tracks and start to mature, otherwise after five years she’ll be looking for a new career”.

Fiction Literature and Chess by Bill Wall

1. Allen, Woody - Getting Even (Random House, 1971); The Gossage-Varabedian Papers

2. Anderson, Poul (1926-2001) - The Immortal Game (F&SF,1954)

3. Arrabal, Fernando - The Tower Struck by Lightning (Prix Nadal 1983)

4. Asimov, Isaac (1920-1992) - Pebble in the Sky (Doubleday, 1950)

5. Bard, Benedict - The Black Queen

6. Becket, Samuel (1906-1989) - Murphy (1938)

7. Berman, Ruth - A Board in the Other Direction (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1974)

8. Bierce, Ambrose (1842-1914) – Moxon’s Master (1893)

9. Bland, Mark - The Four Chessmen (Morris, 2001)

10. Bochak, John - The Gamemaster (1995)

11. Borges, Jorge Luis - The Game of Chess (Dreamtigers, 1974)

12. Boucher, Rita - Miss Gabriel’s Gambit (Avon, 1993)

13. Brunner, John - Squares of the City (1965)

14. Burroughs, Edgar Rice (1875-1950) - The Chessmen of Mars (Argosy, 1922)

15. Canetti, Elias (1905-1994) - Auto-da-Fe (1935)

16. Caris, John - Reality Inspector (1982)

17. Carrol, Lewis (1832-1898) - Through The Looking Glass (1872)

18. Chesbro, George – King’s Gambit (New English Library 1976)

19. Christie, Agatha - The Big Four (Collins, 1927)

20. Cockburn, Alexander - Idle Passion: Chess and the Dance of Death (Simon & Shuster, 1974)

21. Contoski, Victor - Von Goom’s Gambit (Chess Review, 1966)

22. Couperus, Louis - Het zwevende schaakbord (1922)

23. Courtenay, Bryce - The Power of One (Random House, 1989)

24. Delman, David - The Last Gambit (St. Martins 1991)

25. Devroe, Hans - Het schaakspel van Leuvren

26. Doyle, A. Conan – “The Musgrave Ritual” in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Strand, 1893)

27. Duerrenmatt, Friedrich - Der Schachspieler

28. Dunnett, Dorothy - Pawn in Frankincense (1969)

29. Farber, Erica - Kiss of the Mermaid (Random House, 1996)

30. Frazier, Robert - Rendezvous 2062 (Fantasy Book, 1982)

31. Garrow, Simon - The Amazing Adventure of Dan, the Pawn

32. Gerrold, David - Chess With A Dragon

33. Gilbert, Daniel - Kokomu

34. Glavinic, Thomas - Carl Haffner’s Love of the Draw (2000)

35. Gormley, Beatrice - The Magic Mean Machine

36. Hale, Lucretia - The Queen of the Red Chessmen

37. Hall, Adam - Hugo Bishop

38. Hall, Katy - My Secret Life

39. Hansen, Brooks - The Chess Garden (London, 1996)

40. Harness, Charles - The Chessplayers

41. Harper, Piers - Checkmate at Chess City

42. Hehl, Eileen - Playing Games

43. Hochberg, Burt - 64-Square Looking Glass

44. Huigen, Rene - De meter van Napoleon (1988)

45. Ipcar, Dahlov - The Warlock of Night

46. Jacobs, Linda - Checkmate Julie (1974)

47. Jackson, Anita - Deadly Game

48. Keckhut, John - The Dublin pawn

49. Keyes, Frances Parkinson - The Chess Players

50. Kraus, Robert - Mort the Sport

51. Krol, Gerrit - Een schaaknovelle

52. Kuttner, Henry - The Chess Civilization

53. Leiber, Fritz - A Pail of Air

54. Leiber, Fritz - Midnight by the Morphy Watch

55. Leiber, Fritz - ChangeWar Story

56. Leiber, Fritz - The 64-Square Madhouse

57. Leithauser - Hence

58. Levy, Elizabeth - The Computer That Said Steal Me

59. London, Jack - The Jacket

60. Martin, George - Unsound Variations

61. Maurensig, Paolo - Luneburg Variation

62. Meras, Icchokas - De glimlach van Busia

63. Middleton, Thomas - A Game at Chess

64. Murphy, Warren & Cohran, Molly - Grandmaster

65. Murphy, Warren & Cohran, Molly - Endgame

66. Nabokov, Vladimir - The Defense

67. Neville - The Eight (Ballentine, 1988)

68. Orwell, George - 1984

69. Padgett, Lewis - Chessboard Planet

70. Perez-Reverte - The Flanders Panel

71. Peyton, Richard - Sinister Gambits (Souvenir Press, 1991)

72. Poe, Edgar Allen

73. Robinson, Nancy - Countess Veronica

74. Roggeveen, Leonard - Werldkampioen 2003

75. Russ, Joanna - A Game of Vlet

76. Saberhagen, Fred - Pawn to Infinity (Ace, 1982)

77. Saberhagen, Fred - To Move and Win

78. Shepherd, William - The Chessmen

79. Shura, Mary Francis - The Josie Gambit

80. Simmons, Dan - Carrion Comfort

81. Smith - The Sicilian Dragon

82. Smullyan - Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes

83. Snodgrass, Melinda – Queen’s Gambit Declined

84. Stewart, Alfred - Reflections on the Looking-Glass

85. Stout, Rex - Gambit

86. Stryker, Dev - End Game

87. Sutcliff, Rosemary - Chess-dream in a Garden

88. Tan, Amy - The Joy Luck Club

89. Tepper, Sheri – King’s Blood Four

90. Tepper, Sheri - Necomancer Nine

91. Tepper, Sheri – Wizard’s Eleven

92. Tevis, Walter - The Queen’s Gambit

93. Timmer, Ernst - Het waterrad van Ribe

94. Truzzi, Marcello - Chess in Literature

95. Vernon, Roger Lee - The Chess Civilization

96. Vogt, Alfred - De schakers van nul-a

97. Waitzkin, Fred - Searching for Bobby Fischer

98. Waterman - Poetry of Chess

99. Watson, Ian - Queenmagic, Kingmagic

100. Whitney, Phyllis – Hunter’s Green

101. Wolf, Gene - The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton

102. Woro - Under the Black Sun

103. Yaffe – Alekhine’s Anguish

104. Zelazny, Roger - The Unicorn Variation

105. Zelman, Anita - The right moves

106. Zweig - The Royal Game

Art for Artists’ Sake