George H. D. Gossip

By Jesse Russell

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles George Hatfeild Dingley Gossip (December 6, 1841 - May 11, 1907) was a minor American-English chess master and writer. He competed in chess tournaments between 1870 and 1895, playing against most of the world's leading players, but with only modest success. The writer G. H. Diggle calls him "the King of Wooden Spoonists" because he usually finished last in strong tournaments. Gossip was also a noted writer. His treatise The Chess-Player's Manual-A Complete Guide to Chess, a 900-page tome published in 1874 after several years of work, was harshly received by the critics, largely because he had included a number of informal skittles games that he had (atypically) won against stronger players. As a result, Gossip developed a lifelong enmity toward chess critics, whom he often attacked ferociously in his books. However, his 1879 book Theory of the Chess Openings was well received. Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Chess Champion, wrote that the 1888 edition of The Chess-Player's Manual was one of the best available books on the game. Thanks in part to a 122-page appendix by S. Lipsch tz in 1888, it became one of the standard opening works of the time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 5510530359
• ISBN13: 9785510530353
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Book on Demand Ltd.
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.8" x 8.3"