Who is the first chess player known by name in the American colonies?
Benjamin Franklin was an avid chess player. He was playing chess by around 1733, making him the first chess player known by name in the American colonies. His essay on "The Morals of Chess" in Columbian magazine in December 1786 is the second known writing on chess in America. This essay in praise of chess and prescribing a code of behavior for the game has been widely reprinted and translated.
What are your thoughts on this subject?
28 Comments
Bank-Robber
Ben played chess and flew a kite!!!
hweishaupt
Chess is not a "sport"! I don't think it belongs in this category. 😎
Paulette Arnold
kite005, that's why we have history classes and history books.
Glenn
The world's first super star very popular with people of Europe and the colonies
illonabird
Paul Backus, that wasn’t all he was playing with the noble women.
Jim Mascair
I love a good game of chess. I also like a wallet full of Benjamins.
GreedyJoel
I believe chess is still the only game allowed in the British Parliament, except politics!
jaijam
kite005, I was there. I know for sure.
jaijam
I bet he was pretty good.
kite005
How would anyone know this for sure.
Richard G Schwartz
Just had to be.
Judith Bandsma
The one that would be more commonly known, though, would be Morphy. And I imagine even more would probably say Fischer.
Annie
Of course it was Ben❤️
dsneed
You know that you have no idea whatsoever but you need to push an answer to continue. So you punch one and son of a gun, it was the right one. Hey hey hey.
Paul Backus
Remembered from a biography of his that he was know for spending his time in France playing chess with some noble women.