Jan-10-24
 | | MissScarlett: Walker in <Bell's Life in London>, October 16th 1842, p.2: <We have already alluded to the fact of Silberschmidt, one of the greatest chess players of the present age, being still alive, shut up for life in four stone walls by the present reigning Duke of Brunswick, for foolishly joining in a political movement. Surely a respectable petition, signed by the chess players of London and Paris, might have weight with the Brunswick Government. Would not Louis Philippe interfere? Or are there no chess players in the Peel Cabinet? Half a dozen words from a man of weight might unloose the sufferer's shackles. Silberschmidt published several valuable works on chess in Germany, and was equal in skill to any player in Europe. He cannot now be much over forty years of age.> More on Silberschmidt's imprisonment, albeit in French: https://www.chesshistory.com/winter... |
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| Jan-10-24 | | stone free or die: Winter gives his name as <Hirsch Hermann Silberschmidt>, though I've yet to find a mention of him as Hermann anywhere in the literature. (<Missy> asked about this over on the <Bistro>) I think that perhaps he adopted Hermann upon his emigration to London after serving 15 years in prison. He did a lot of compositions - I didn't look too hard, but only found this one I deeded reprintable here: <White to move and mate in 3> 
click for larger view<DSZ v79 N10 (Oct 1924) p232 N145> Silberschmidt's main claim to fame seems to be as chess author (certainly not from these losses to Staunton) (Did he remain in England until his death?) |
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| Jan-10-24 | | stone free or die: Some info about him, and other German players, from a May 28, 1844 letter to <Brentano's Chess Monthly> from J.H. Schumacher (Altonia). <<Mr. Horwitz tells me he has played with Mr. Silberschmidt immediately before he went over to England, of which Mr. Silberschmidt won two, lost eight; two were drawn. On his former visit to Hamburg, it was as far as I recollect, nearly in the same proportion that Mr. Silberschmidt lost against Mr. Horwitz. You will find the numbers stated in my letter.>What regards the Berlin players, Mr. Mayet was, when at Berlin, considered as one of the strongest, perhaps as the strongest of them all. He is now quite retired from Chess, and since five or six years member of a court of justice at Stettin and must have lost of his former game, perhaps he was accidently in Berlin when the games were played. Mr. Horwitz considers Bledow not quite so strong as Heydebrandt but very nearly so. Mr. Heydebrandt was, when he left Berlin for Treves, avowedly the strongest Berlin player. If he will not lose from his strength at Treves where he has nobody to play with, I cannot say. There are too few games played at Berlin with Mr. Szen and Mr. Buckle to give a correct idea of the strength of each player, as you remark very well in your letter, and the more we both agree that in Chess the conclusion A wins from B; B wins from C; ergo A will win from C, is not valid.> https://books.google.com/books?id=_... . |
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Kibitzing
