Philip Stamma
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Philipp Stamma ( – c. 1755), a native of
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
,
Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and sout ...
, later resident of England and France, was a
chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pre ...
and a pioneer of modern chess. His reputation rests largely on his authorship of the early chess book ''Essai sur le jeu des echecs'' published 1737 in France (English translation: ''The Noble Game Of Chess'' 1745). This book brought the Middle Eastern concept of the endgame to the attention of Europe and helped revive European interest in the study of the endgame. Stamma died in London c. 1755, with two sons surviving him.


Strong player

Stamma was a regular at Slaughter's Coffee House in St Martin's Lane, London, a center of 18th-century English chess, and was considered one of England's strongest players. He was defeated quite handily by Philidor in a famous match in 1747, which marked the beginning of Philidor's rise to fame. Apart from the higher skills of Philidor,
Ludwig Bledow Dr Ludwig Erdmann Bledow (27 July 1795, Berlin – 6 August 1846, Berlin) was a German chess master and chess organizer (co-founder of the Berlin Pleiades). In 1846 he founded the first German chess magazine, ''Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachges ...
and Otto von Oppen have suggested that his defeat could be attributed to the fact that Stamma, in Ottoman Syria, was used to playing with the Arabic rules and only after his arrival to Europe got acquainted with the Western rules. Bledow and Oppen also commented that the match was poorly documented, being mentioned only by Philidor's biographers, who frequently contradicted each other. L. Bledow, O. von Oppen, Stamma's hundert Endspiele, Berlin 1856
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Other legacy

Stamma's book introduced
algebraic chess notation Algebraic notation (or AN) is the standard method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. It is based on a system of coordinates to uniquely identify each square on the chessboard. It is used by most books, magazines, and news ...
in an almost fully developed form before the now-obsolete descriptive chess notation evolved. Philidor's writings had more influence after his victory over Stamma, and the descriptive system based on Philidor's approach was dominant for a long time. The main difference between Stamma's system and the modern system is that Stamma used ''p'' for pawn moves and the original file of the piece (''a'' through ''h'') instead of the initial letter of the piece. His name is attached to the Stamma Gambit in the
King's Gambit The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. f4 White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit ...
(1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.h4), and Stamma's mate, a rather rare
checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...
.


New edition of Stamma's book

A new translation of Stamma's book into modern French appeared in November 2015 under the title ''Les cent fins de parties de Philippe Stamma''.


See also

* Stamma's mate


References

Bibliography * * John Roycroft: ''Philip Stamma'', in:
British Chess Magazine ''British Chess Magazine'' is the world's oldest chess journal in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as ''BCM''. The founder an ...
, 124 (2004), pp. 544–49, 603-08 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stamma, Philipp British chess players 18th century in chess 1700s births Chess theoreticians People from Aleppo 1755 deaths