A HISTORY OF CHESS.
A History of Chess. By H. J. R. Murray. (Clarendon Press. 38e. net.)—This work of stupendous learning shows an hereditary capacity for patient research. Mr. Murray has done for chess what his distinguished father has done for the English language ; he has given us a standard work of reference which may be supplemented, but can hardly be superseded. The first half of his book deals with the Asiatic origins of chess; the second half with the history of chess in Europe, and mainly with the mediaeval development of the game. Mr. Murray shows that our chess "is a direct descendant of an Indian game played in the seventh century with substantially the same arrangement and method as in Europe five centuries later." The Indian game, invented before the beginning of the Christian era, was an attempt to imitate the conditions of actual warfare. Its name, chaturanga, or " the four members," was derived from the quadripartite division of the Indian army into chariots, cavalry, elephants, and infantry—still represented by bishop, knight, rook, and pawn.
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