English Language Book Using Algebraic

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi,

Picked this up today for 50p. (published 1918, actually a first edition in good nick).
I left behind a couple of bright and glossy obviously unread Silmans (£2.00 each)



I had heard of this book, I'm sure Ed Lasker mentions it in his 'Chess Secrets....'
Was surprised to see it used algebraic notation. I thought English chess books using algebraic did not appear till the late 60's.



And in case you wondering how does a super cool dude dress when going around the junk shops.
(everything bar the socks and sandals came from a charity shop, including the man bag it all came to less than £6.00.)



Daughter says you should not wear socks with sandals - makes up these rules?

[MJMcCready]

I suppose it does beg the question regarding the first publication to use algebraic. I'm stumped on that one.

[Tim Harding]

I believe it has been pointed out previously on this forum that Phillip Stamma's "The Noble Game of Chess" (1745) used algebraic notation.

More difficult questions might be what was the first English-language chess book of the 20th century to use it, and whether any did in the 19th century. (There was at least one advocate for algebraic in a Sussex chess column circa 1880, but it didn't catch on.)

[Kevin Thurlow]

Didn't "Chess" experiment with algebraic early on? I still remember one of our veteran club members, born 1899, steadfastly using R-QKtsq into the 1970s

[Jonathan Bryant]

Didn't "Chess" experiment with algebraic early on? I still remember one of our veteran club members, born 1899, steadfastly using R-QKtsq into the 1970s

I don't know but they certainly trialled a system where they used both alegbraic and descriptive mixed together for each game at the same time. It doesn't seem to have lasted that long. Unsurprisingly.

[Matt Mackenzie]

That was IIRC in about 1978/79, I think Chess also had the odd one-off experiment with algebraic before that.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I think Chess also had the odd one-off experiment with algebraic before that"

Yes, round about 1947 - (I remembered why I thought that.)