Chess tournament at the court of the king of Spain

The artist, who was actively engaged in chess for many years, himself decided to paint a picture on a chess plot, his desire coincided with the expectations of art lovers in England , where he was well known. The work devoted to the historical past of chess was requested to be presented to the Royal Institute of Manchester at its annual exhibition. It was not intended for sale and, according to the idea of ​​Mussini, was to serve the cause of promoting chess art and its history. The implementation of the plan was monitored by the chess media in the UK. In 1882, a special correspondent for The British Chess Magazine in Italy, hiding behind the initials EO, wrote ^[3] :

“The famous professor Luigi Mussini, director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Siena and the author of a very delicate painting“ The Last Day of Nero ”, which adorned an art exhibition at the Royal Institute of Manchester in 1881 and was bought by an English connoisseur of art, is currently working on another painting, which destined to be exhibited in England. We make this brief mention of the new work of the illustrious artist, since the topic was proposed to him from the history of chess. Leonardo da Coutri, better known under the nickname “Baby” ( Italian: “Il Puttino” ) arrived in Madrid to play chess with the famous Bishop Rui Lopez, who was once considered an outstanding chess player. The match was held in the royal palace in the presence of Philip II and the Italian chess player defeated the formidable opponent, for which he received valuable gifts from the monarch. Professor Mussini presents the “Baby” declaring a mat to the opponent. The work was done with remarkable craftsmanship that distinguishes the work of this outstanding artist ... We believe that this work will be even more successful than The Last Day of Nero. The artist of this picture, in addition to the demonstrated outstanding skill of a chess player, composed many excellent tasks, which increases interest in his picture. We know that Mr. Mussini will present two more other valuable paintings for this year's exhibition at the Royal Institute. ”

- EO From our special correapondents. Italy ^[3]

The painting was probably completed already in 1883 ^{[4] [5]} , sometimes erroneous dates are found: 1882 and 1886 ^[6] . She traveled with the artist to chess tournaments, at which he acted as a participant, showing decent results. The picture was exhibited on them for all to see. It is currently located in Siena, owned by Museo di San Donato , and is exhibited in the historic building of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena . The picture was made in oil on canvas, its size is 77 by 133 centimeters ^[7] .

At the court of the Spanish King Philip II in 1575, the Spaniards Rui Lopez de Segura and Alfonso Seron competed in chess art, as well as the Italian masters Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona and Paolo Boi . The match in Madrid is often called the first international chess tournament . In fact, this is not entirely true, since all participants in the competition, despite different nationalities, were at that time subjects of King Philip II. There were no pre-developed game rules. The games were held at different times, and not in parallel, as is now customary in tournaments ^[8] . The Spaniards played only against the Italians, but not among themselves. There is no evidence that Italians also played with each other ^[9] . Italians were believed to adhere to a vivid combinational style, while the Spaniards preferred positional confrontation. The tournament was thus a confrontation between two styles and national schools of chess art . There were some differences in understanding the rules. The Italians insisted on free castling , and not on a fixed, as it is now. The player could, in different ways, depending on the situation that suits him, change the position of the rook and king . For example: when performing a short castling, the king could be placed on h1 , on g1 , and even on f1 , respectively, and the rook could be on the fields e1 , f1 , and even on g1 (with the king on h1 ). Rui Lopez, however, advocated a fixed and uniform position for the king and the rook during castling ^[10] .

In the Spanish capital, Leonardo dealt with his opponent, the best Spanish chess player of the time, Rui Lopez, taking revenge for his defeat in Rome in 1560 and 1572 . True, at a tournament in Madrid, Rui Lopez won the first two games. Then he was defeated in three games against Leonardo (these were three out of five games against each of the rivals). Soon, Giovanni Leonardo defeated another strong Spanish chess player - Alfonso Seron, who had specially arrived in Madrid after learning about the defeat of Lopez. Then Leonardo left Madrid and, in his absence, Paolo Boi, who came from Italy, defeated Lopez and Seron ^{[9] [11]} .

The artist achieved portrait similarity between the characters in his painting and prototypes, worked on documents from the era of the tournament. The film "Chess tournament at the court of the king of Spain" takes place in the royal palace of Escorial (which was under construction). The painting depicts major political figures, commanders, theologians of the XVI century . From left to right ^{[12] [13]} :

• chess player and clergyman Ruy Lopez de Segura ( Spanish: Ruy López de Segura ; circa 1540-1580, sitting, reflecting on his move), he is defeated in the game; Rui Lopez in the picture is the only one who looks at the chessboard;
• Charles III (1543-1608, in fact Charles II, but court historians made him third, attributing kinship with the emperor Charles the Great ) - Duke of Lorraine since 1545 , French politician known for his hostility to the Huguenots ;
• Monk Fra Diego de Chavez (at that time - the confessor of the king of Spain and a famous theologian );
• chess player Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona (nicknamed Kid ; Italian: Giò Leonardo Di Bona or Leonardo Giovanni da Cutro , 1542-1587, he rose from the table, confident in his victory);
• Don Cristovao de Moura e Tavora , Portuguese, leader of the pro-Spanish party during the future dynastic crisis in Portugal, future Viceroy of Portugal ;
• King of Spain Felipe II (sitting, watching the progress of the party);
• Infanta Isabella Clara Eugene , daughter of Philip II (1566-1633) - ruler of the Spanish Netherlands, the artist made a mistake by portraying her as an adult girl. In fact, she was only nine years old during the tournament;
• her maid leaned toward her;
• the wife of the Duke of Lerma - Catalina de La Cerda from the house of Medinaceli ;
• Queen Anne of Austria (1549-1580), the fourth wife of the King of Spain, Philip II, was brought to her husband by a niece (sitting at the table);
• next to her is the majorda of the palace of Escorial;
• a page leaning towards his interlocutor;
• Don Juan of Austria - Spanish commander, illegitimate son of Charles V and Barbara Blumenberg (sitting), winner of the Battle of Lepanto and a great chess lover.

Some fragments of the games played at the tournament in Madrid have been preserved. These are the games from the number played precisely between Leonardo and Rui Lopez. They were recorded by Leonardo's pupil Giulio Cesare Polerio , who accompanied him on trips. He did not take part in the tournament, but later became a strong chess player ^[8] . Three parties between Leonardo and Rui Lopez are dated 1575, one is indicated specifically, as played in Madrid:

• Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona vs Rui Lopez de Segura. Madrid ^[14]
• Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona vs Rui Lopez de Segura ^[15]
• Rui Lopez de Segura vs Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona ^[16]

• Σφήκας, Νικόλας. Ζωγραφικά έργα µε θέµα το Σκάκι από τον δέκατο πέµπτο έως τον εικοστό αιώνα (neopr.) . - Θεσσαλονίκη: Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήµιο Θεσσαλονίκης, 2007 .-- 298 p.