Edward Freeborough (18 August 1830 – 14 September 1896) was the co-author, with

Charles Ranken Charles Edward Ranken (5 January 1828 – 12 April 1905) was a Church of England clergyman and a minor Great Britain, British chess master (chess), master. He co-founded and was the first List of officers of the Oxford University Chess Club, pr ...

, of ''Chess Openings Ancient and Modern'' (1889), one of the first important

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...

s in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

and a precursor of ''

Modern Chess Openings ''Modern Chess Openings'' (usually called ) is a reference book on chess openings, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Griffith (chess player), Richard Clewin Griffith (1872–1955) and John Herbert White (1880–1920). The fif ...

''. He was a member of the editorial staff of the ''

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 and ...

'' from 1883 until his death in 1896. He also wrote the books ''Chess Endings'' (1891, 1896) and ''Select Chess End-Games from Actual Play'' (1895, 1899), and edited the book ''Analysis of the Chess Ending, King and Queen Against King and Rook'' by "Euclid" (a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

for A. Crosskill) (1895). Freeborough had just completed the third edition of ''Chess Openings Ancient and Modern'' and transmitted the final version to the publisher "when he was struck down by a sudden and mortal illness".

Legacy book

The first edition of the book was published in 1889. Later editions were published in 1893, 1896, and 1910. It was one of the first opening books written in columnar form: columns of move-sequences thought to constitute best play, presented in

chess notation Chess notation systems are used to record either the moves made or the position of the pieces in a game of chess. Chess notation is used in chess literature, and by players keeping a record of an ongoing game. The earliest systems of notation used ...

and concluding with a

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

indicating the analyst's assessment of the final position (such as "equal", "White wins", or "advantage to Black").

Andrew Soltis Andrew Eden Soltis (born May 28, 1947) is an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, author and columnist. He was inducted into the United States Chess Hall of Fame in September 2011. Chess career Soltis learned how the chess pieces mov ...

, ''The wisest things ever said about chess'', Batsford, 2008, p. 190. . The book also set forth a number of general principles, many of which are still valid today. Even contemporary grandmasters study the book. Frank Brady wrote in his

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of World Champion

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...

that ''Chess Openings Ancient and Modern'' was one of the most heavily annotated books in Fischer's personal library. Fischer had pencilled in his own analyses of the

Scotch Game The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On ...

Giuoco Piano The (; )Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 153. ''Giuoco Piano''. "The name means 'quiet game' and until the 19th century was often applied to any opening that was not a gambit." is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. ...

Evans Gambit The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 :4. b4 The Evans Gambit is an attacking line of the Giuoco Piano. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts, W ...

, Bishop's Gambit, Danish Gambit, and other openings. Referring specifically to the analysis in ''Chess Openings Ancient and Modern'', Grandmaster Robert Byrne wrote in a 1991 chess column in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "Ingenious strategies and tactics were tried out in the old days, and if your opponent knows them and you don't, you are in for a pounding." Likewise Fischer, in his famous book ''

My 60 Memorable Games ''My 60 Memorable Games'' is a chess book by Bobby Fischer, first published in 1969. It is a collection of his games dating from the 1957 New Jersey Open to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal. Unlike many players' anthologies, which are often titled ''M ...

'', annotating an Evans Gambit that he had won against

Reuben Fine Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...

, cited analysis from the 1893 edition of ''Chess Openings Ancient and Modern'' as an improvement on Fine's ninth move.

A rare game

Freeborough was not distinguished as a player, and few of his games survive.

Amos Burn Amos Burn (31 December 1848 – 25 November 1925) was an English chess player, one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century, and a chess writer. Burn was born on New Year's Eve, 1848, in Hull.Richard Forster, ''Amos Burn: ...

, one of the world's strongest players, easily beat him in the following game. Burn–Freeborough,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

vs.

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

match, 1887:
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3. f4 Bxg1? 4. Rxg1 Nc6 ? 5. fxe5 Nxe5 6. d4 Ng6 7. Qf3 c6? 8. Bc4 Qf6 9. Qxf6 Nxf6 10. e5 Nh5 ?? Losing a piece. 11. g3 Ne7 12. g4 b5 13. Bd3 Bb7 14. gxh5 Kf8 15. Ne4 Nc8? Losing another piece. 16. Nc5 Rb8? 17. Nxd7+ 1–0 Burn commented, "Mr. Freeborough is so constant a writer on the theory of the game that this example of his ''practice'' is somewhat remarkable."Forster 2004, p. 272 (quoting Burn in the 25 June 1887 ''Liverpool Weekly Courier'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeborough, Edward 1830 births 1896 deaths English non-fiction writers British chess writers Chess theoreticians English male non-fiction writers