The Chess World of V.R.Parton: Beyond the chessboard

by Vernon Rylands Parton, Jean-Louis Cazaux (Editor)

Vernon Rylands Parton (2 October 1897 - 31 December, 1974) was an English chess lover and tireless promoter of chess variants. Among chess inventors, Parton occupies a place à part, surpassing former authors by the sheer quantity of games he conceived and, even more importantly, by the quality and originality of his productions. Steeped in classical culture, and a consummate non-conformist, he was passionately immersed in the “fairy” universes. Greek mythology, with its mighty monsters and other-worldly beings played a large role in his inspirations, and even more striking was his judicious adaptation of the famous, complex fantasy world of Lewis Carroll, which he translated into scenes and characters, to have their adventures played out over the chessboard. Parton wrote nine booklets, all simply typewritten and crudely illustrated (or left unillustrated) between 1961 and 1974. While he did not have the good fortune to see his works come to publication, which they so deserved, this volume endeavours to correct that omission. Jean-Louis Cazaux, specialist of chess variants and their history, has carefully reproduced Parton's integral work, word for word, and designed several explanatory diagrams to support the original text. Some hard to find testimonies and correspondence are included to help better understand the complex personality of this inventor of games. Parton’s legacy has powerfully influenced subsequent generations of chess variant inventors and authors of related topics. Parton showed a sincere desire for his studies to reach a broader audience, and this is what is accomplished by the present publication. At last, his creations are being made available to future generations, and will not be forgotten.

325 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2021

Reviews

[George Sr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

V.R. Parton was a prolific inventor of chess variants, many of which are very good. Parton self-published his variants in a series of uncopyrighted monographs. Back before the internet I collected most of these monographs, which were typewritten on 8.5x 11 paper and photocopied. I lost most of these monographs over the years, so I was glad to see that they had been collected in book form. Parton was obviously an “Alice in Wonderland” fan. Many of his variants are themed on that book. I think my favorite is Rettah (“hatter” spelled backwards).