Antiques Roadshow

It is one of life’s comforts to see a forgotten trinket being dusted off and appreciated afresh. So in chess, I am gently heartened to see a chess opening pass through that same phase of life. The game has its share of magpies, for whom a shiny new opening gambit is irresistible. Their approach has merit — after all, an ambushed opponent is a weakened one. But with time, the defence is remedied, and when the opening begins to look tarnished, it will soon be stuffed in the attic. It might be years, or decades, before it attracts any more attention.

Even in the 19th century, some chess fashions had already been and gone, and come back around. Wilhelm Steinitz’s The Modern Chess Instructor, Part II (1895), had this to say about a variation of the Giuoco Piano/Italian game (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5, with 4 c3): ‘In spite … of its theoretical condemnation, enterprising players like Albin and Schiffers have taken it up within the last few years’.