The History of the Scotch Game/Gambit

Hi.

Thabtos asked me about this as I am now a life member of the
club that invented this opening.

Or am I?

Please read this:

http://www.edinburghchessclub.co.uk/ecchist2.htm

It is interesting to note that it was John Cochrane (a Scot playing for
London who suggested 3.d4).

Also in them days the rule about White going first was not yet in place.
So when Edinburgh had the Black piece and 'the move'. they actually
saw this.



That link does mention the move that London tried to take back:

(the English Postmaster refused to give them the letter back so they could
change they chosen move)

This was game in question. London wanted to retract their Rook sac.
27.Rxg5+ Edinburgh refused.

London then actually then refused a perptual (29,Qc5+ - 30 Qg5+ etc).



The link fails to mention that in the critical game that Edinburgh won,
Edinburgh too made a blunder so went to the Scottish Postmaster
and asked for their letter back.

The Scottish lad handed back the letter right away. 🙂

This is the game.
Edinburgh are White (although they were Black in the acual game and went
first. All this is confusing, thank heavens they made the rule about white going first).

Good game this one.
Nobody is quite sure where Edinburgh blundered and got their move back
because officially it never happened. When it came to light years later
Edinburgh said they had sent a clerical error, an illegal move but could then
have been bound by the touch move rule.



White going first.

One theory has it that at the London Chess Club the pieces were White and Red.

The club sec was fed up with all the arguing about players wanting the Red
pieces. (I've no idea why. perhaps white was seen as a a cowards colour).

So he posted a rule on the notice board.
"The player who wishes to take Red forfiets the first move."

So White moves first in Chess to maintain the peace.

Hearsay? a Myth? I don't know but I have read a few accounts of this.

In the first game why didn't white play 25. fxg en passant? It seems to win very quickly. Perhaps they didn't yet recognize the move?

fxg ... Rxg7
Rxf7 ... Rxf7
Qh8#

fxg ... Kg8
Rxf7

Because....



When Black plays 24...g5 there is no ep. capture.

of course,
my bad

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Hi.

Thabtos asked me about this as I am now a life member of the
club that invented this opening.

Or am I?

Please read this:

http://www.edinburghchessclub.co.uk/ecchist2.htm

It is interesting to note that it was John Cochrane (a Scot playing for
London who suggested 3.d4).

Also in them days the rule about White going first was not yet ...[text shortened]... intain the peace.

Hearsay? a Myth? I don't know but I have read a few accounts of this.

Finally, we get to the root of GP's passion for a pgn setup where ...black can move first!😉

🙂

Yes. it's what the boys were doing were doing back in the 1820's.
Black(red) was going first.

I've actually played a few games with the very set the Edinburgh
boys used in the 1820's to look at the games v London.

I've also read the club's minutes for that period.

One of the first things the club did was to get a carpenter to make them
6 chess tables. His only instructions were the size and shade of the squares.

By chance only two were made with a white square on the left.

Edinburgh in the 1820's.

Burke and Hare were murdering over 30 people (they never robbed graves-
too must hassle. Easier to murder people and sell the bodies to Dr.Knox
who was a member of the Edinburgh C.C.)

This match took place, a book was written about it by Lewis
and some certain idols later to to be known as the Lewis Chess men were
being dyed red to orchastrate a scam against the British Museum
that still carries on today.

(though at last they are admitting they are NOT chess pieces).

Fascinating, almost hard to believe. Is that stuff true?

I noticed that the club site has a picture of the letter from London requesting to take the move back, but I can't read it.

What was their explanation?

"Whoops, fountain pen slip!"

A member sent the move off without consulting their committee.

Possibly the idea was discussed at a previous meeting and this lad
who ever it was, saw it and sent the reply.

The move sent is in the same handwriting as all the others and bears
the London Seal so this is possibly wrong.


My guess is they were explaining to the clubs other players how
the game was going and one of them found a refutation.

or

After they sent off the move, which looks good, they put it through
a computer and it spotted a flaw.

They had computers then, they were called Automaton Chess Players.
The most famous being THE TURK.

They fed the postition into THE TURK and he spat out the loophole.

Thanks GP for even more entertainment and information!

Why Scotch and not Scottish?

I thought Scotch was an insult(?)
Did the English name it?

It is named the Scotch game after the traditional drink of the Edinburgh Chess Club (in London they drank tea).

I didn't know that about Black going first. Does this mean that all recorded games with Black going first have had to be re-transcribed so that White goes first? Doesn't make any difference in descriptive, but algebraic could cause confusion.

The Turk was a fraud... it's moves were made by just another human. it was not a computer.

Originally posted by Vaevictis
The Turk was a fraud... it's moves were made by just another human. it was not a computer.

Match of the day: greenpawn34 - Vaevictis

14' greenpawn brings it in the box.Vaevictis tries to clear it with a header but gets the ball on the back of his head.

GOAAAAAAAAAAAALLL!!! 1-0 (OG)

😉
toet.

Someone asked if all that was true.

Yes everything, to the best of my knowledge it is true.
I can prove most of it.

...except the Turk, that was a joke.