Is chess a royal hobby?

-

Chess sometimes is called a royal game. However which royals play(ed) chess?

Discover it in this blogpost! 








Austria


Archduchess Anna of Austria and her husband Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
liked to play chess (portrait made in 1522).




In 1873, the Vienna Chess tournament took place at the Prater from May 1st. 
Through this tournament Austria-Hungary presented itself as a world leader 
and the equal of France and England. Emperor Franz Joseph, Baron Albert
Salomon von Rothschild and Baron Ignaz von Kolisch contributed large sums to
the prize fund. 


Belgium

In Belgium, King Baudouin used to play chess just for fun. 

Bohemia


King Ottokar II of Bohemia also known as the Iron and Golden King liked to
play chess. 

Czech Republic



Oldrich Duras was a famous chess player from the Czech Republic. He played
against Dr. Jur. Wladimir Count Lazanski (1857-1925).  This man was the 
husband of Mechtilidis Wallburg-Zeil-Trachburg. As you can see on the name,
she was family of the wife of Archduke Theodor Salvador, the son of 
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria. Archduchess Marie Valier of Austria was
the youngest child of Emperor Franz Jozeph and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) of Austria. 

Denmark

King Cnut the Great also liked to play chess. He was King of England,
Denmark and Norway.

The legendary Queen Dagmar of Denmark (born Dagmar of Bohemia) 
played chess. She was the daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia. 

The Danish Chess Championship was first held in 1910. 



France




King Louis XIII of France played chess with cardinal Richelieu on the 
title page of the Three Musketeers (written by Alexandre Dumas). 




François-André Danican Philidor was a French composer and Chess
player . 


Napoleon Bonaparte was a keen chess player. This wonderful hobby was
handy for his tactics on the battlefield.

Jacques François Mouret was a French Chess Master from the early 19th.
century. He became a tutor of King Louis Philippe I.


Germany


Alexander, Prince of Lippe passed his time by playing chess, copying pictures
from newspapers and listening to music.




Hungary


It was known that Vladislaus II of Hungary played chess with his future wife
Beatrice of Naples (also known as Beatrice of Aragon) in 1479. Then she still
was married to Matthias Corvinus. 


Ottoman Empire


Mahmud I of the Ottoman Empire continued to play chess, write poetry and dealt
with music while he was a Sultan. 





Russia


Chess was a very popular game among the Romanov family. 

Tsar Ivan the Terrible died on 28 March 1584, while playing chess. 




In 1914 the title grandmaster was first formally conferred by Tsar Nicholas II. 




Spain


Alfonso Ceron was one of the strongest chess players of Spain in the
16th. century. At the invitation of King Philippe II of Spain he participated
in a tournament held at El Escorial, the royal palace, close to Madrid.

Giovanni Leonardo di Bona won a tournament in 1575. 





The Netherlands


William of Orange played chess, this was written by P.C. Hooft. William of Orange
also learned chess to his sons. 




In the recent history, Prince Claus and his son Prince Friso also would have played
chess even against each other. 


United Kingdom


King John (of Lackland) insisted on finishing a game of chess before
an audience.





The London 1851 chess tournament was held under the leadership of
the Duke of Marlborough.

Queen Victoria would have found comfort in playing chess. She never
travelled without a chess set in her luggage. 




Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was President of the Oxford University
Chess club. 






King George V played chess very well, so Queen Mary presented him on
his birthday a beautiful playing set in crystal and gold. 




A royal hobby


I play chess a little bit on the computer or on the phone. Which of the readers of this 
blog play the "royal hobby" chess too? 


A big Thank you


* Lisi @ EmpressofHAB
* Oscar Meijer from destaatvanoranje.blogpost.com
* Netty Royal from Nettyroyal.nl 
* Geert Janssens

For your research help! 



Source pictures: Wikipedia
Location: Brussel, België

Comments

Vallypee said…
What an interesting post, Kathleen. I had no idea there were so many chess playing royals! I've never learned to play, but I believe it's very good for the concentration!
July 3, 2021 at 10:38 PM
Kathleen Van Lierop said…
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Val! Yes chess has a rich and royal history. I only can play it on the computer or the phone (so the machine does the calculation work :-) )
July 3, 2021 at 11:54 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who is who? de Liedekerke family!

-
Image
Only a few noble families are intertwined with the history of  a country.  The de Liedekerke family has it all: a long and interesting history and close ties to the rules of their country.  Let's take a closer look!  History It was in 1301 that the history of the family de Liedekerke started.  Then Knight Raas of Herzele signed an official document in Beveren. His son was Raas of Herzele of (de) Liedekerke. His descendants called themselves de Liedekerke.  But there were many interesting people in the family de Liedekerke. connections with the Duke of Burgundy Raas of Liedekerke, lord of Nieuwerkerken (+/- 1421 - 1494/1495) was married to a certain Johanna. Due to his marriage he became Lord of Heestert and Zulte. In 1476 he went on a military campaign with Charles the Bold. Duke of Burgundy. In 1477, Mary of Burgundy, appointed him as bailiff of Aalst and Geraardsbergen.  Charles the Bold Mary of Burgundy Connections with the House of Habsburg Steven of Liedekerke (+/- 1457 - 1530
Read more

House of Wittelsbach - Between crazyness and excellence

-
Image
Plate with the coat of arms of Bavaria, Germany own picture taken in Munich With this blog post about the House of Wittelsbach I take you on a trip to Bavaria (Bayern) in Germany. Since 1996, the royal family's head is: Franz, Duke of Bavaria. So far is the situation nowadays but this royal familie has a very nice history. Own picture taken of the Coat of Arms of Bavaria The House of Wittelsbach: the origin Otto II, Count of Scheyern (who died on 31 October 1120) could acquire the castle of Wittelsbach near Aichach. Later the Counts of Scheyern left the castle in 1119 for Wittelsbach Castle and the former was given to monks to establish Scheyern Abbey. From 1180 till 1918 the Wittelsbach dynasty ruled several German territories in Bavaria and the Electorate of the Palatinate (till 1805). In 1329 under the Treaty of Pavia, the House of Wittelsbach split in two branches. Emperor Louis IV granted the Palatinate including the Bavarian Upper Palatinate t
Read more

Who was Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan?

-
Image
On 14 May 2022 Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan passed away at the age of 73. Family Khalifa was born on 7 September 1948 at Qasr Al-Muwaiji, Al Ain, in Abu Dhabi (then part of the Trucial States), the eldest son of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Hassa bint Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Education   He was a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Crown Prince When his father, Zayed, became Emir of Abu Dhabi in 1966, Khalifa was appointed the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi and Head of the Courts Department in Al Ain. Zayed was the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region before he became the Emir of Abu Dhabi. A few months later the position was handed to Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan. On 1 February 1969, Khalifa was nominated the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and on the next day he was appointed Head of the Abu Dhabi Department of Defense. In that post, he oversaw the build up of the Abu Dhabi Defense Force, which after 1971
Read more