Phillip Stamma
Encyclopedia
Philipp Stamma a native of Aleppo
, Syria
, later resident of England and France, was a chess master
and a pioneer of modern chess. His reputation rests largely on his authorship of the early chess book Essai sur le jeu des echecs published 1737 in France (English translation: The Noble Game Of Chess 1745). This book brought the Middle Eastern concept of the endgame to the attention of Europe and helped revive European interest in the study of the endgame.
Stamma was a regular at Slaughter's Coffee House in St. Martin's Lane (London), a center of 18th century English chess, and was considered one of England's strongest players. He was defeated quite handily by Philidor
in a famous match in 1747, which marked the beginning of Philidor's rise to fame.
Apart from the higher skills of Philidor, this defeat could also be justified by the fact that, as Ludwig Bledow
and Oppen suggested, Stamma, in Syria, was used to playing with the Arabic rules
and only after his arrival to Europe got acquainted with the Western rules.
It is not clear, however, how much this statement is true and how much it depended on the evident sympathy that Bledow and von Oppen had for Stamma.
Stamma died in London in 1755, with two sons surviving him.
in an almost fully developed form before the now obsolete descriptive chess notation
evolved. Philidor's writings had more influence after his victory over Stamma, and the descriptive system based on Philidor's approach was dominant for a long time. The main difference between Stamma's system and the modern system is that Stamma used "p" for pawn moves and the original file of the piece (a through h) instead of the initial letter of the piece.
His name is attached to the Stamma Gambit in the King's Gambit
(1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.h4), and Stamma's mate, a rather rare checkmate
.
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, later resident of England and France, was a chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
and a pioneer of modern chess. His reputation rests largely on his authorship of the early chess book Essai sur le jeu des echecs published 1737 in France (English translation: The Noble Game Of Chess 1745). This book brought the Middle Eastern concept of the endgame to the attention of Europe and helped revive European interest in the study of the endgame.
Stamma was a regular at Slaughter's Coffee House in St. Martin's Lane (London), a center of 18th century English chess, and was considered one of England's strongest players. He was defeated quite handily by Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
in a famous match in 1747, which marked the beginning of Philidor's rise to fame.
Apart from the higher skills of Philidor, this defeat could also be justified by the fact that, as Ludwig Bledow
Ludwig Bledow
Dr Ludwig Erdmann Bledow was a German chess master and chess organizer ....
and Oppen suggested, Stamma, in Syria, was used to playing with the Arabic rules
Shatranj
Shatranj is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world from India. Modern chess has gradually developed from this game.-Etymology and origins:...
and only after his arrival to Europe got acquainted with the Western rules.
(Stamma) als Schachmeister noch nicht anerkannt und bekannt genug, der Spielregeln im Occident weniger kundig war.
{(Stamma) as a chess master not yet recognized and well known enough, was less acquainted with the rules in the West.}
Ich glaubte früher, dass Stamma sich niemals mit Philidor in einen Wettkampf eingelassen habe, dem widersprechen aber namhafte Autoritäten: Sarrat treatise, Th. 1. S. xvii., Walker in seiner Ausgabe des Philidor, S. xvi., auch der Palamède, Th. 1. S. 180. Allerdings berichten nur Biographen des Philidor die Thatsache und weichen in Angabe der Bedingungen von einander ab, auch schrieb einer dem Ändern nach, man könnte daher noch an der Richtigkeit und dem Resultate, wie es referirt wird, zweifeln, für wahrscheinlich aber muss man es jedenfalls halten, dass Stamma im Nachtheil geblieben sei;, denn Philidor repräsentirte die Wissenschaft, Stamma das Genie, welches, selbst besiegt, mehr bewundert wird als ein regelrechtes System, das doch auch nicht überall und nicht unbedingt ausreicht.
{I formerly thought that Stamma never played with Philidor this match. This opinion of mine, however, contradicted the well-known authorities: Sarrat's treatise, Th 1st P. xvii., Walker's book on Philidor, p. xvi and also the Palamède, Th 1st P. 180. Although the event is reported only by Philidor's biographers, who differ and contradict one another in indicating the conditions of the match, and one could also have some doubts about the result in the way it is reported. But probably one needs to accept, at least, that Stamma had remained in disadvantage. Therefore, Philidor represented the Science and Stamma the Genius, which, although defeated, is more brilliant than a system of rules, but not always sufficient to win.}
Stamma died in London in 1755, with two sons surviving him.
Other legacy
Stamma's book introduced algebraic chess notationAlgebraic chess notation
Algebraic notation is a method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. It is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers...
in an almost fully developed form before the now obsolete descriptive chess notation
Descriptive chess notation
Descriptive notation is a notation for recording chess games, and at one time was the most popular notation in English-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries , . It was used in Europe until it was superseded by abbreviated algebraic notation, which was introduced by Philipp Stamma in 1737...
evolved. Philidor's writings had more influence after his victory over Stamma, and the descriptive system based on Philidor's approach was dominant for a long time. The main difference between Stamma's system and the modern system is that Stamma used "p" for pawn moves and the original file of the piece (a through h) instead of the initial letter of the piece.
His name is attached to the Stamma Gambit in the King's Gambit
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn so as to build a strong centre with d2–d4...
(1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.h4), and Stamma's mate, a rather rare checkmate
Checkmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
.