A few more words about the problems at the end of the book and we have done with the details. There are about a dozen compositions mostly by high-class American authors, and some of them of very good quality; but, unfortunately, Mr. Bird has omitted to indicate their solutions. We must suppose this to be due to an oversight, as he gives the key moves of the four problems by English composers. The omission is deplorable, for many students would wish to appreciate the author's idea, and the merits of the construction, if they fail to solve the problem. To quote an instance from our own experience; we could not find any solution to the problem on page 224, which composition, we conclude, is either of the highest order or suffers from the gravest of all faults, that of being impossible. In either case we should have liked to examine the solution. Our judgment of the book, on the whole, is that it cannot be ranked in the first class with the works of Heydebrand, Zukertort, Staunton, Lowenthal, Neuman and Suhle, Lange, &c.; but it will satisfy the demands of the great number of lovers of the game who do not aspire above the second rank. Mr. Bird's ability and ingenuity is beyond doubt, and there is ample evidence of his qualifications in the book before us, but he has not yet acquired that element of genius which has been defined as the capacity for taking pains. Mr. Bird could produce a much better book than this, and we hope he will. Variously estimated from 3,000 to 1,000 B.C. CHATURANGA. The Primeval Hindu Chess. bp--krnb np--pppp rp------ kp------ ------pk ------pr pppp--pn bnrk--pb [Diagram of a Chaturanga board with 4 armies. Yellow is in upper left. Black is in upper right. Green is in lower left. Red is in lower right.] ------ The Medieval and Modern Chess. White RNBKQBNR PPPPPPPP -------- -------- -------- -------- pppppppp rnbkqbnr Black [Diagram of a standard chessboard, white pieces at the top, black pieces at the bottom.] Derived from the Persian Chatrang, 537-540 A.D. ------ 833-842. Problem I. by the Caliph MU'TASIM BILLAH. Black -k------ RnR----- bN-p--r- p-nQpB-- p--N-b-r -------- -P--P--- -qBK---- White White to move, and give checkmate at the ninth move. ------ About 1380. Problem II. by 'ALI SHATRANJ. Black ---r---r ppq---R- b--bkp-p -------- --PP---- PP-B-Q-- --K---PP --B----- White White to play and mate in eight moves. CHESS HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF CHESS