Volume 9–2 (Low Res).pdf

8
where games were played as an
outdoor sport, with living people
standing in for chesspeople.
There isn't enough
space here to give
you even an inkling
of the wondrous variety of figures
that have marched across chessboards
through the centuries. But
14th century, from Southern Germany
the parade of knights across these
pages indicates some of the phases
in the evolution ofjust that one
piece. Among the versions that have
been collected, there are Knights in
full armor, without horses; Knights
on horseback, surrounded by
henchmen with bows and arrows;
Knights on stationary horses and
on rearing horses. And finally, the
Knights have been dislodged from
their mounts and only the horses
remain. It is curious that when
chess sets were standardized for
tournament play, in 1800, all the
pieces were reduced to abstract
symbols; only the Knight retained
the likeness of a horse.
14th century; from Southern Germany
A
ccording to Mr.
Frank Greygoose,
a British expert and
collector, whose book, Chessmen,
is a gold mine of fascinating facts,
there is one place in the world
where the game of chess might not
be recognized without a scorecard.
In the arctic, Eskimos (bless-their-