| Luis Ramirez de Lucena | |
|---|---|
 One of the chess problems from his book |
|
| Full name | Luis Ramirez de Lucena |
| Country |  Spain |
| Born | c. 1465 |
| Died | c. 1530 |
Luis Ramirez de Lucena (c. 1465 – c.1530) was a leading Spanish chess player. He wrote the oldest existing printed book on chess, Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con ci Iuegos de Partido, published in Salamanca in 1497. The book contains analysis of eleven chess openings but contains many elementary errors that led chess historian Harold Murray to suggest that it was prepared in a hurry. The book was written when the rules of chess were taking their modern form (see Origins of modern chess), and some of the 150 positions in the book are of the old game and some of the new. Fewer than a dozen copies of the book exist.
The Lucena position is named after him, even though it does not appear in his book. (It was first published in 1634 by Alessandro Salvio.) The smothered mate named Philidor's legacy is in the book.
References
- Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
- The Lucena Position David Surratt, Chessville.com
External links
- Romeo, M.C.. "Lucena - A mystery after 500 years". http://www.goddesschess.com/chessays/romeolucena1.html. (Romeo is Director of History Chess Commission of Spanish Federation of Chess, FEDA.)
 |
This biographical article related to Spanish chess is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
