Cook,.Henry.and.Gilberg.-.American.Chess-Nuts.-.A.Collection.Of.Problems.1868.pdf

AMERICAN CHESS-NUTS

A COLLECTION OF PROBLEMS

BY COMPOSERS OF THE WESTERN WORLD.

EDITED BY

E. B. COOK, W. R. HENRY, AND C. A. GILBERG.

[ 1868 ]

“ Sweetest nut hath sourest rind. ”

An Electronic Edition

Anders Thulin, Malmö · preliminary version

AMERICAN CHESS-NUTS

INTRODUCTION

The most appropriate prelude to an opening of the Nuts, seems to

be an account of how these leaves have grown and borne their

fruit. In February, 1859, the writer received a very interesting

anonymous letter, calculated to excite the desire of becoming bet-

ter acquainted with its author. “I do not know,” said the unknown,

“whether you are a collector of Chess Curiosities. I hope you are

not. And yet, I inconsistently enclose title and specimen pages of

a Chess book that was neither printed nor published, and of which

the only copy is to be found in my Chess library (eighty volumes,

with prospects of a speedy increase to one hundred and thirty—all

modern works of practical value.) This work is intended to consist

of a pretty complete collection of such problems as have appeared

in newspapers, etc. It now contains about four thousand posi-

tions; but whether I shall have the patience to make any great ad-

dition to this number, I cannot undertake to say, although my no-

tation is concise enough to enable me to copy in one evening

sometimes as many as a hundred problems and their solutions.”

The title page referred to was in print, and read: “Chess-Nuts; a

Collection of Problems and End Games.” In the Correspondence

of the Problem Department of the Chess Monthly was inserted a

notice to “Cryptograph, New York,” in which he was told that the

writer “would be delighted to see —— at his residence.” This led

to a second missive, signed by the real name of the mysterious

correspondent. A reply to this brought a third letter, in which an

offer was made to loan the “Chess-Nuts.” In answer to a sugges-

tion, the writer says:—“If I wonder whether a large collection of