Is chess a royal hobby?

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Chess sometimes is called a royal game. However which royals play(ed) chess? Discover it in this blogpost! 

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. 


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

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.



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
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