[Retros] Schlagschach again

[Bernd Gräfrath]

Hello again,

the two Wikipedia entries on "Antichess" and "Räuberschach" should not be regarded as authoritative concerning the name of the game. The entry "Antichess" relies on Pritchard's book "Popular Chess Variants", and in this book, the relevant chapter has the title "Losing Chess" (!). The entry "Räuberschach" relies on Binnewirtz's book "Schlagabtausch im Räuberschach", in which the basic chapter of this book has the title "Die Regeln des Schlagschachs" (!), and the term "Schlagschach" is used in all following chapters. Perhaps only the publisher preferred the more colloquial "Räuberschach"...
It should be mentioned that Karl Fabel, who was very fond of Schlagschach, also used this term in the book "Schach ohne Grenzen/Chess Unlimited", which he wrote together with C.E. Kemp. He treats it as the German equivalent of Dawson's term "Losing Game". In any case, clarity is import, and the two established terms "Schlagschach" and "Losing Chess" cannot be confused with anything else. Furthermore, "Die Schwalbe" uses the term "Schlagschach", and "The Problemist" uses the term "Losing Chess". For the sake of clarity, I recommend that German- and English-speaking composers follow this tradition.

Best wishes,

Bernd


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