A monthly magazine devoted to the game of chess and its literature. Published By M. Chigorin 1876-1877. St. Petersburg, Russia. Typography Of V. O. Demakov.
The great Russian chess player, the founder of the national chess school Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin for ten years published excellent magazines "Chess List" (1876-1881) and "Chess Bulletin" (1885-1887). He was there the main, and sometimes - the only author.
Chigorin is the founder of the national chess school, an outstanding theorist, a contender for the world crown." How often we had to read and hear these words, which from frequent use got lost, began to seem empty banality. Meanwhile, Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (1850 – 1908) was really the brightest creative person. Gambling, captivating man, he for the sake of finding the truth of chess, solving the mysteries of an intricate debut or seemingly simple endgame position spared no effort and time. In those early years, universality has not yet become a "vital necessity" in chess, and therefore every major master had a distinct individual style, with its advantages and disadvantages. Russian champion believed in the dynamic potential of the figures, sought to open figure game, willingly donated material for the initiative. His powerful opponent Wilhelm Steinitz above all put unshakable positional values: the reliability of the pawn structure, the predominance in the center, the advantage in space. Chigorin and Steinitz played two matches for the world championship, a lot of tournament and easy games, but their fundamental dispute was not only at the chessboard. Polemically sharp, uncompromising discussions of these titans and their followers adorned the pages of Newspapers and magazines of those years.
Chigorin passionately loved chess, and he was depressed by the lack of public interest in this wise game in our country. He wanted to prove that chess is not an empty game; it can become a matter of life, a real profession. To show chess in the most favorable light and to attract the attention of the educated public, Chigorin for ten years published, mainly at his own expense, the magazines "Chess List" (1876-81) and "Chess Bulletin" (1885-87). He was there the main, and sometimes – and the only author. Needless to say, these brilliant examples of Russian chess thought have long been a rarity.