ENGLISH

Birth of the Chess Queen: A History

By Marilyn Yalom

Book information

Year
2005
ISBN
0060090650, 9780060090654, 0060090642, 9780060090647, 0863584446, 9780863584442, 1435292731, 9781435292734, 9780061913440
ASIN
B0007D9VM8,B002JSOWO6,B0029PBV9I
LCC
GV1451.5.Q43 Y35 2004
Open Library ID
OL20944056M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
815 kB (834150 bytes)
Pages
320\271
Topic
History
Time added
2011-06-04 13:46:07

Description

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.

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