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The History of Chess in 50 Moves
History of Chess in Fifty Moves
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2015
5 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Bill Price
78 books10 followersBill Price is originally from Herefordshire and now lives in North West London. After working in various areas of the UK book trade for fifteen years, he become a full time freelance writer and is now the author of ten books. Most of these have reflected his interest in the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and, in particular, the First World War.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 9, 2025
“Another international tournament in
which Menchik played was held in the spa town of Carlsbad, now Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. Before play began the Austrian player Albert Becker is said to have taken a highly dismissive attitude to a woman being allowed to play in the tournament, scornfully suggesting that, if any of the 21 men playing against her lost, they should be admitted into the "Vera Menchik Club." Over the course of the tournament, won by Aron Nimzowitsch, Menchik did not actually perform very well, only winning two games, but, if the story is true, she at least had the satisfaction of gaining one of her victories against Becker, thereby consigning him to be the first member of the club he had founded.”
i loved it! i feel like ive learned a lot, especially about the early history of chess, and it was really interesting to read. the author did not dryly retell the story; he always attached some bit of wonder or emotion to it. only towards the end it felt a bit rushed (in particular i really wish he had written a bit more abt the polgar sisters, though i also liked how he talked about menchik, who i’ve never heard of before), but nonetheless, i did really enjoy it, especially the dramatics of 20th century chess.
“During one of the games in 1978, for instance, Korchnoi complained when Karpov’s support team sent a bilberry flavored yogurt out to him at the table, Korchnoi claiming it could have been some sort of coded message.”
which Menchik played was held in the spa town of Carlsbad, now Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. Before play began the Austrian player Albert Becker is said to have taken a highly dismissive attitude to a woman being allowed to play in the tournament, scornfully suggesting that, if any of the 21 men playing against her lost, they should be admitted into the "Vera Menchik Club." Over the course of the tournament, won by Aron Nimzowitsch, Menchik did not actually perform very well, only winning two games, but, if the story is true, she at least had the satisfaction of gaining one of her victories against Becker, thereby consigning him to be the first member of the club he had founded.”
i loved it! i feel like ive learned a lot, especially about the early history of chess, and it was really interesting to read. the author did not dryly retell the story; he always attached some bit of wonder or emotion to it. only towards the end it felt a bit rushed (in particular i really wish he had written a bit more abt the polgar sisters, though i also liked how he talked about menchik, who i’ve never heard of before), but nonetheless, i did really enjoy it, especially the dramatics of 20th century chess.
“During one of the games in 1978, for instance, Korchnoi complained when Karpov’s support team sent a bilberry flavored yogurt out to him at the table, Korchnoi claiming it could have been some sort of coded message.”
April 21, 2021
If you're a history buff looking for a coffee table or bathroom book to occasionally dip into, this is a great book about chess. If you know more about chess than I do, which is frankly not difficult to achieve, it will likely irritate you. Price offers intriguing, engaging snippets of the history of the great game. However, he does not seem to have the deepest understanding of his source material. The chess diagrams are almost illegible and not necessarily accurate to how they are described in the text and captions. And works in foreign languages have their titles translated in questionable fashion. If you're just looking for a light and interesting historical tour, though, it's more than satisfying.
June 24, 2021
I thought this was going to be the top 50 most influential chess moves in the history of the game, but really each "move" is just a historical event surrounding chess. While still a good and interesting book, it's very misleading and is more history than chess, which isn't what I wanted when picking it up.
August 5, 2022
An enjoyable trip through the history of chess. Well written and interesting. Good illustrations.
February 22, 2023
This was a pretty great book. It succinctly tells the story of how Chess evolved from Chatarunga to the game we all know today. Very effective and enjoyable to read.
March 7, 2023
enjoyable
September 1, 2024
Excellent short history in fifty small chapters (moves), and a good introduction to the game, as well. Recommended for an easy read.
January 20, 2025
This was a lot of fun. I loved it. Every chapter being a move and just breezing through this book.
February 10, 2024
The History of Chess in Fifty Moves [2015] – ★★★1/2
I got inspired to read this book because of the World Chess Championship 2021 currently held in Dubai where now the defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway is playing Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia. This book by Bill Price traces the history of chess from its very likely origin in northern India circa 7th century to the game’s expansion in Muslim countries, and then to it making its way to the heart of the Christian community through Islamic ports. Chess was then a game played by the royalty and was seen as “an expression of social standing, rather than an intellectual pursuit” [Price, Apple Press 2015: 56]. Certain historical and other developments then led to it being played by a wide variety of people and the game spread rapidly across Europe, played in coffeehouses across the continent in the 17th century. Though this book is more on a superficial side, it is still an entertaining journey into chess, offering some curious insights into the game, for example, into the women’s chess and into the origin of certain chess terms, such as a gambit.
The prominent theory is that the modern game of chess derives from a war game of Chaturanga originating in ancient India. That game was played with Kings, Counsellors (early form of the Queen), Chariots (early Rooks), Elephants (early Bishops), Horses (early Knights) and Foot-Soldiers (early Pawns). The White had the first move of the game. There is also another, but less popular theory that chess derives from a Chinese game of Xiangqi (played similar to chess but with additional rules, including restricted areas and “cannons”) and chess has also been linked to the Ancient Egypt’s game of Senet. However, irrespective of its precise origin in the distant past, the earliest game clearly meant to represent some kind of a fight between two opposing forces: “chess…in its earliest known form was a simulation of war as it was fought in ancient India”[Price, Apple Press 2015: 84]. The curious thing here is that many countries in the world still use the Indian/Persian terminology when referring to chess pieces, including Russia, where the Queen is called Ферзь (Ferzin) or a Counsellor in Persian, the Knight – the War-Horse and the Bishop – the Elephant. It is also curious that some countries like France and Romania have made their Bishops/Elephants into Jesters. For example, in France the Bishop is called Le Fou (lit. The Fool).
Some contributions by early chess masters may now be seen as self-evident, but back then were undoubtedly “ground-breaking”. For example, French composer and chess player François-André Danican Philidor (1726 -1795) was one of the first to realise the hidden power of pawns, pieces that were previously viewed as either purely “disposable” or “promotable” (eventually) material. Philidor made it clear in his treatise on chess that pawns have a strong capability to dominate the centre of the board at the beginning of the game and into the middle-game, paving later the way to victory. The curious thing to read in this book section was that it was precisely the “emancipation” of the Queen and her gaining the power to move so freely on the board that signalled that turning point after which chess became so dynamic a game and that also even led to the “democratisation” of chess, the author writes [Apple Press 2015: 72]. Of course, the book also mentions the Charlemagne chess pieces and talks in some depth about the Lewis chess, an elaborately-crafted set dating to 1150-1200 that was first discovered in Scotland in 1832.
One of the “blunders” of the book is that it constructs its text around chapters just for the sake of sticking to the book’s title “The History of Chess in 50 Moves”. This means that there is often no rhyme or reason to the author’s “chaptering” and, incidentally, the chapter “moves” hardly presuppose “chess moves”. Also, though it was interesting to read about early grandmasters, including about Paul Morphy, Howard Staunton and even about José Raúl Capablanca, the book does become less interesting as it gets closer to our present time, when it starts talking about famous matches, tournaments and championships that figure such names as Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Botvinnik, Tal and Fischer (but that is probably because so much have been written on those chess tournaments and grandmasters already).
♟️ In sum, though the book lacks depth and rigour, as well as often mixes factual information with purely anecdotal, it is still an enjoyable book with nice illustrations.
I got inspired to read this book because of the World Chess Championship 2021 currently held in Dubai where now the defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway is playing Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia. This book by Bill Price traces the history of chess from its very likely origin in northern India circa 7th century to the game’s expansion in Muslim countries, and then to it making its way to the heart of the Christian community through Islamic ports. Chess was then a game played by the royalty and was seen as “an expression of social standing, rather than an intellectual pursuit” [Price, Apple Press 2015: 56]. Certain historical and other developments then led to it being played by a wide variety of people and the game spread rapidly across Europe, played in coffeehouses across the continent in the 17th century. Though this book is more on a superficial side, it is still an entertaining journey into chess, offering some curious insights into the game, for example, into the women’s chess and into the origin of certain chess terms, such as a gambit.
The prominent theory is that the modern game of chess derives from a war game of Chaturanga originating in ancient India. That game was played with Kings, Counsellors (early form of the Queen), Chariots (early Rooks), Elephants (early Bishops), Horses (early Knights) and Foot-Soldiers (early Pawns). The White had the first move of the game. There is also another, but less popular theory that chess derives from a Chinese game of Xiangqi (played similar to chess but with additional rules, including restricted areas and “cannons”) and chess has also been linked to the Ancient Egypt’s game of Senet. However, irrespective of its precise origin in the distant past, the earliest game clearly meant to represent some kind of a fight between two opposing forces: “chess…in its earliest known form was a simulation of war as it was fought in ancient India”[Price, Apple Press 2015: 84]. The curious thing here is that many countries in the world still use the Indian/Persian terminology when referring to chess pieces, including Russia, where the Queen is called Ферзь (Ferzin) or a Counsellor in Persian, the Knight – the War-Horse and the Bishop – the Elephant. It is also curious that some countries like France and Romania have made their Bishops/Elephants into Jesters. For example, in France the Bishop is called Le Fou (lit. The Fool).
Some contributions by early chess masters may now be seen as self-evident, but back then were undoubtedly “ground-breaking”. For example, French composer and chess player François-André Danican Philidor (1726 -1795) was one of the first to realise the hidden power of pawns, pieces that were previously viewed as either purely “disposable” or “promotable” (eventually) material. Philidor made it clear in his treatise on chess that pawns have a strong capability to dominate the centre of the board at the beginning of the game and into the middle-game, paving later the way to victory. The curious thing to read in this book section was that it was precisely the “emancipation” of the Queen and her gaining the power to move so freely on the board that signalled that turning point after which chess became so dynamic a game and that also even led to the “democratisation” of chess, the author writes [Apple Press 2015: 72]. Of course, the book also mentions the Charlemagne chess pieces and talks in some depth about the Lewis chess, an elaborately-crafted set dating to 1150-1200 that was first discovered in Scotland in 1832.
One of the “blunders” of the book is that it constructs its text around chapters just for the sake of sticking to the book’s title “The History of Chess in 50 Moves”. This means that there is often no rhyme or reason to the author’s “chaptering” and, incidentally, the chapter “moves” hardly presuppose “chess moves”. Also, though it was interesting to read about early grandmasters, including about Paul Morphy, Howard Staunton and even about José Raúl Capablanca, the book does become less interesting as it gets closer to our present time, when it starts talking about famous matches, tournaments and championships that figure such names as Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Botvinnik, Tal and Fischer (but that is probably because so much have been written on those chess tournaments and grandmasters already).
♟️ In sum, though the book lacks depth and rigour, as well as often mixes factual information with purely anecdotal, it is still an enjoyable book with nice illustrations.
January 8, 2017
While rarely more than a superficial look at the origins and development of the world's most iconic board game, the lack of depth nudges Bill Price's survey toward the realm of guilty pleasure or bathroom reading. You will learn some decent cocktail party tidbits about the origin of the term checkmate; whether chess didn't actually begin in India and instead was invented by the Chinese; how the queen was emancipated; what the role of the coffee house was in the development of high-level chess play; who the great players were of each era; and when the professional class of chess players first rose to prominence.
Price is transparent on relying exclusively on second-source materials, though he is frequently upstaged by his sources when he chooses to quote them. He shows clever editing in his brief chapters that often leave you asking yourself more questions than he's answered and incline you to read on. He can be forgiven for steering clear of the academic weeds and leaving the heavy-duty footnote-grade stuff to the professionals. But after reading Price's whole book on the topic you are left wondering how much chess he himself has played. He seems incurious to any level of detail regarding several of the famous matches he is forced to present. Rather than explaining what specifically about these games were (ahem) the game-changers, he sticks to generalizations of the personalities of the players and their overall play styles. While this keeps things light and fun, you wonder if Price prepared himself adequately for his assignment. He appears especially overmatched when staring down the 20th century greats, leading the book to fizzle at it approaches our millennium.
Nevertheless recommended for its enjoyable survey of the pre-20th century game.
Price is transparent on relying exclusively on second-source materials, though he is frequently upstaged by his sources when he chooses to quote them. He shows clever editing in his brief chapters that often leave you asking yourself more questions than he's answered and incline you to read on. He can be forgiven for steering clear of the academic weeds and leaving the heavy-duty footnote-grade stuff to the professionals. But after reading Price's whole book on the topic you are left wondering how much chess he himself has played. He seems incurious to any level of detail regarding several of the famous matches he is forced to present. Rather than explaining what specifically about these games were (ahem) the game-changers, he sticks to generalizations of the personalities of the players and their overall play styles. While this keeps things light and fun, you wonder if Price prepared himself adequately for his assignment. He appears especially overmatched when staring down the 20th century greats, leading the book to fizzle at it approaches our millennium.
Nevertheless recommended for its enjoyable survey of the pre-20th century game.
November 16, 2015
Even thought I have only read one chapter I am really looking forward to finishing this book Its well writen and very factual. I gives the reader a very detailed look into the simple but at the same time complex game of chess. This book shows you how chess has influenced the world this is a very good read so far.
August 20, 2016
A pretty but jejune coffee table book that purports to tell of the history of chess. Beautifully illustrated but poorly organized and badly written.
April 20, 2017
A pretty book, but it has all the joie de vivre of a high school textbook. The author demonstrates neither particular love nor aptitude for the game. Still an interesting read if you love the game.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews