The BCC continues its series of Legends of Chess tournaments with this coming weekend's Octads. Having long since used up Chess Legends that most people have actually heard of -- e.g., Lasker, Capablanca, Philidor, etc. -- this tournament is being named in honor of Phillip Stamma.
Who was Phillip Stamma? A quick web search uncovered the following facts:
- Born in 1705
- From Aleppo, Syria
- In addition to being a chessplayer, he was an interpreter of Oriental languages.
- In 1747, he played a world championship match against Philidor in London. Philidor played Black in every game and offered draw odds to Stamma. Philidor won the match +8 -1 =1 (+8 -2 with draw odds).
Perhaps we should rename the series the Obscure Legends of Chess!?
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