First Moves / Chess news from around the U.S. Ben and his Chess Set
Showing how Ben Franklin’s chess influenced American history By Pete Tamburro
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SEEING WHEN YOU GO TO PHILADELPHIA? Independence Hall? The Liberty Bell? Betsy Ross’s house? A Phillies baseball game? An NCAA regional basketball tournament? A football game? Ben Franklin’s chess set? However incongruous the last entry fits into the others, four chess friends went off
to the Ben Franklin Museum to see this great man’s chess set: Famous chess teacher, author, and Chess Life columnist Bruce Pandolfini, Chess Life for Kids editor Glenn Petersen, the Chess Magnet School’s own Hal Bogner and fun-loving amateur Pete Tamburro. A little bonus was an original copy of
Franklin’s The Morals of Chess from the Columbian Magazine in 1786. The main draw was the chess set. The board was not his, the table and chair set up was not his, but there was a provenance for the pieces. Franklin willed it to his granddaughter, Deb-
much of the time I had to spare for study. I, at length, refused to play any more, unless on this condition that the victor in every game should have a right to impose a task, either in parts of the gram- mar to be got by heart, or in translations, etc., which tasks the vanquished was to perform upon honor, before our next meet- ing. As we played pretty equally, we this beat one another into that language.”
Those two twenty-somethings beat
themselves into French, but little could they realize that Franklin would use his French and the medium of the chessboard for diplomatic liaisons to represent Amer- ica’s interests in France to help bring France into the war. Before the American Revolution, when
orah Bache, who married William John Duane, the co-editor of the “notorious” Aurora news- paper. The son of Deborah and William passed the set to his son Russell Duane, and his son, Morris, inherited it in 1939. Morris, a member of the American Philosophical Society, which Franklin founded in the 1740s, presented the pieces and a 19th century chessboard to the society in 1976. The museum staff was very helpful in explaining the journey from Franklin to his descendants and eventually to the American Philosophical Society who lent it to the museum. Why all the fuss? Is it because Ben Franklin is in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame (of
“... the victor in every game should have a right to impose a task ... which tasks the vanquished was to perform upon honor, before our next meeting.”
course, he is in 14 halls of fame!)? That isn’t it. It’s what we know or legend tells us about how Franklin’s playing chess affected American history itself. We know from his Autobiography that he learned French by a rather clever means:
“I had begun in 1733, to study languages…An acquaintance, who was also learning [French], used often to tempt me to play chess with him. Finding this took up too
last minute efforts at reconciliation were being attempted by both sides, Franklin found himself being asked by Lord Howe’s sister to sit at his chess- board once again. The lady at one of their get- togethers implored him to meet with her brother in secret, which he did. Howe was willing to
act as intermediary for Franklin for Franklin’s reconciliation plan, which Ben had already proposed in public, but Howe thought he might amend it to make it more palatable. It didn’t pan out, but it did show the respect for Franklin and
the role his chess playing had in providing opportunities for behind the scenes diplo- macy. The compelling thing about the museum’s display is that they set it up as though Franklin and his historic figure (French king, Lord’s sister…take your imaginative pick) might just be there in a few minutes, waiting for the drama to begin. You can just stand there and sus- pend time for a bit to wonder at the stories
8 February 2014 | Chess Life
PHOTOS: PETE. TAMBURRO
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