'I Made a $4million Chess Set'-- Article

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/i-made-a-4million-chess-set/ar-AARfYvq?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

'I Made a $4million Chess Set'
Colin Burn - Yesterday 5:14 AM


Newsweek
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/i-made-a-4million-chess-set/ar-AARfYvq?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531
Colin Burn - Yesterday 5:14 AM

I love the game of chess, and that stems back to my childhood. When I was growing up in Australia in the '60s and '70s, we didn't have the internet or modern technology kids have now, so we often played chess. We learned a lot of life skills through games and I like chess in particular because it's strategic and it brings people together.

Chess set designed by Colin Burn
© Chess.com
Chess set designed by Colin Burn

As a very young man in the '80s, I began making jewelry after

completing an apprenticeship as an electroplater. I worked for one of the biggest jewelry

companies in Australia, and then started my own business. Using technology I

had invented, I took natural flowers and covered them in gold. It's a tough road for young jewellers, but I was really loving the artistic side of it and by the mid '90s

I started the process of working on different jewellery projects, which later led to making

members' rings for teams in the Australian Football League (AFL) and for the V8

Supercars Championship, which was like America's NASCAR racing.

By 2007, I was living in Broome in north-western Australia. Its history as a pearl town is famous around the world and it's known for the South Sea pearls farmed off its coast. At the time, my son was a pearl diver there and I was doing a lot of work with South Sea pearls. A piece that I was making looked sort of like a chess piece, which prompted the idea that I should make a chess set.

I decided that if I was going to do it, I had to do it with real meaning and feeling. I wanted to bring the characters of the chess set to life, so I began to scribble designs down and spoke about it to a few of my peers. I felt that South Sea pearls were key to that and that they should be the head of each piece. I thought one side of the set could use white pearls the other could use black pearls.

Then, I had to really think about the game itself and the history of chess. The 1849 Staunton chess set is really significant as it's the set that is used championship tournaments. I wanted to make sure I made my set to that standard, I didn't want it to have a cartoon feel. By 2009, I thought I had the design worked out, but then I became busy with other projects. It wasn't until 2018 that I realized I wasn't getting any younger and I decided I was going to stop everything I was doing and make art for the rest of my life.

The chess set was very high on my priority list, so that's when it really started to evolve. But it took around 3 months to actually make. I created an original design and named the set The Pearl Royale. Then we printed the wax moulds for the pieces. For the King piece alone, there are probably 10 or 15 individual wax moulds. Then each piece had to be cast in 18 carat gold, soldered together and set with stones. I coated the 18 carat white gold with rhodium which is what gives each piece a platinum finish. It also keeps the white gold shiny and beautiful.

There are also 20,000 diamonds across the 32 pieces; that's a lot of stone setting. And, the diamonds are all different sizes. Part of bringing the characters to life was creating the shape and because of the tapering of each piece, the stones had to be graduated in size. I could have easily used one size stone, but that wouldn't have had the same aesthetic appeal. I had to assemble a small team of highly skilled setters to help me put the stones in absolutely perfectly. A lot of detail went into every little step.

As well as the South Sea pearls in black and white and the white diamonds, the queen piece has some pink diamonds set into her crown. The set also has also has 202 of the finest Ceylon blue sapphires. They are incredible stones and typically feature in royal jewelry.

When I was designing the set, I wanted there to be a reveal when the King is knocked over as the game is won. The last thing in the world I wanted was to put felt on the bottom of each piece, so I decided to set diamonds into the base of each instead. For the board, I used beautiful sheets of crystal glass and then coated it underneath to create the pattern for the chess board. The legs of the set are made of gold with beautiful patterning.

At $4 million, it is quite an expensive piece, but the work's value is really in the materials. The value of the best diamonds, sapphires, pearls and gold soon adds up. To me, the high value of the set symbolizes the high value of the game of chess. People all over the world come together to play a game and shake hands at the end; win, lose or draw.

The white king and queen of a Colin Burn chess set. Chess.com
© Chess.com
The white king and queen of a Colin Burn chess set. Chess.com
The underside of jeweled chess pieces, designed by Colin Burn Chess.com
© Chess.com
The underside of jeweled chess pieces, designed by Colin Burn Chess.com
Colin Burn, chess set designer, holds a jeweled chess piece. Chess.com
© Chess.com
Colin Burn, chess set designer, holds a jeweled chess piece. Chess.com
I have an art agent in America and we saw that the FIDE World Chess Championship 2021 was happening in Dubai in November and December, so we reached out to Chess.com and with them, I'm going to be able to showcase the set during the coverage

of the Championships. I have made three editions available of the Pearl Royale set, but the original set is my artist proof and the one featured during the Championship. So far, no one has ever played on it, not even me.

At the Championships, Fabiano Caruana, ranked number 3 in the world, is going to be the first to use it. That is just phenomenal. My dream when I first thought of this in 2007 was to make the world's best chess set and have the world's best playing on it, so I am over the moon.

People may flock to see the set because it's full of expensive gems, but I like my work to have a message. It's really important to me that I'm not just making a piece of art because it's pretty and expensive. That's not what I'm about. The Pearl Royale was never made to be the most expensive chess set in the world, but I really do want it to be the most treasured.

Colin Burn is an artist living in Perth, Australia. His Pearl Royale chess set will be on display at the 2021 FIDE World Chess Championship on December 3, 2021. It will be broadcast on chess.com. You can find out more about Burn's work at colinburnjewelryart.com

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

As told to Jenny Haward.

I play chess and have done so since learning the game at age 12. When in my first ever game, I beat my oldest brother( age 21) who had been playing for two years. And continued to win every game with him until he refused to ever play me again.
This expensive set is amazing and there are peope that could buy it without even thinking twice about it- people just that wealthy.

" Fabiano Caruana, ranked number 3 in the world,"
I have no clue who this person is because I stopped keeping up with chess competition on the world stage about 10 years ago.

Tho- I still play ten minute games with opponents from across the world a few days a week, every week. As a mind relaxing routine.--Tyr

[SassyLady]

I play chess and have done so since learning the game at age 12. When in my first ever game, I beat my oldest brother( age 21) who had been playing for two years. And continued to win every game with him until he refused to ever play me again.
This expensive set is amazing and there are peope that could buy it without even thinking twice about it- people just that wealthy.

" Fabiano Caruana, ranked number 3 in the world,"
I have no clue who this person is because I stopped keeping up with chess competition on the world stage about 10 years ago.

Tho- I still play ten minute games with opponents from across the world a few days a week, every week. As a mind relaxing routine.--Tyr
I play chess with my grandsons occasionally. I've noticed that it is a great way to take their over active minds (from playing video games) into a slower mode. They are still impatient and impulsive though, and I tell them this is why I keep winning.

This set sounds incredible. Please come back with photos after the big reveal.

[Juicer66]

I play chess and have done so since learning the game at age 12. When in my first ever game, I beat my oldest brother( age 21) who had been playing for two years. And continued to win every game with him until he refused to ever play me again.
This expensive set is amazing and there are peope that could buy it without even thinking twice about it- people just that wealthy.

" Fabiano Caruana, ranked number 3 in the world,"
I have no clue who this person is because I stopped keeping up with chess competition on the world stage about 10 years ago.

Tho- I still play ten minute games with opponents from across the world a few days a week, every week. As a mind relaxing routine.--Tyr


A prodigy, 15+ years ago -- American born / Italian-- who became a Grandmaster just before his fifteenth birthday . Remains an outstanding player but has never passed his FIDE rating of 2014 . Perhaps one of those youngsters who burned too bright when very young .
Certainly never reached the heights of the amazing Bobby Fisher -- or now likely to ---- and has never been able to continuously cope with his contemporary child prodigy the Icelander , Carl Magnusson , current World Champion .

I played at a high level --- started age 6 but effectively retired aged 18 because I had so many other competing interests . About ten years later I met a German Uncle of mine for the first time who also spoke near perfect English . We played and I privately assumed I would comfortably beat this likely local club player -- because my memory is near photographic and I equated playing Chess to bike riding --- you never forget the basics . He beat me comfortably several times -- not easily but convincingly .
Turns out he had sat Board number one at a simultaneous versus Botvinnik and got a draw .I have never played since but follow big competition results .

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

A prodigy, 15+ years ago -- American born / Italian-- who became a Grandmaster just before his fifteenth birthday . Remains an outstanding player but has never passed his FIDE rating of 2014 . Perhaps one of those youngsters who burned too bright when very young .
Certainly never reached the heights of the amazing Bobby Fisher -- or now likely to ---- and has never been able to continuously cope with his contemporary child prodigy the Icelander , Carl Magnusson , current World Champion .

I played at a high level --- started age 6 but effectively retired aged 18 because I had so many other competing interests . About ten years later I met a German Uncle of mine for the first time who also spoke near perfect English . We played and I privately assumed I would comfortably beat this likely local club player -- because my memory is near photographic and I equated playing Chess to bike riding --- you never forget the basics . He beat me comfortably several times -- not easily but convincingly .
Turns out he had sat Board number one at a simultaneous versus Botvinnik and got a draw .I have never played since but follow big competition results .

Even Kasparov and Karpov never topped Fischer's talent/abilities, imho.
Emanual Lasker was a great champion , Akiba Rubinstein was a magnificent player as was Rudolf Charousek the Hungarian chess player.
then there was Paul Morphy, Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Frank Marshall, etc...



2725: José Raúl Capablanca
2720: Mikhail Botvinnik, Emanuel Lasker
2700: Mikhail Tal
2690: Alexander Alekhine, Paul Morphy, Vasily Smyslov

Another listing--

In 2005,[19] Sonas used Chessmetrics to evaluate historical annual performance ratings and came to the conclusion that Kasparov was dominant for the most years, followed by Karpov and Lasker. He also published the following list of the highest ratings ever attained according to calculations done at the start of each month:[20]

Rank Rating Player
1 2895 Bobby Fischer
2 2886 Garry Kasparov
3 2885 Mikhail Botvinnik
4 2878 Emanuel Lasker
5 2877 José Capablanca
6 2860 Alexander Alekhine
7 2848 Anatoly Karpov
8 2833 Viswanathan Anand
9 2826 Vladimir Kramnik
10 2826 Wilhelm Steinitz


And who could ever forget -the truly great-- DAVID BRONSTEIN!!??.....

or Gata Kamsky?? --Tyr

[Juicer66]

Used to wonder how much extra Karpov was capable of if he had not sold out to the KGB and been able to be more Fisher like in his approach .

Loved Tal . Some of his combinations and brilliances were right there in Fisher Land .

Why is he not in the Top 10 ---- rhetorical ?

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Used to wonder how much extra Karpov was capable of if he had not sold out to the KGB and been able to be more Fisher like in his approach .

Loved Tal . Some of his combinations and brilliances were right there in Fisher Land .

Why is he not in the Top 10 ---- rhetorical ?

Tal went against the grain.
He was very friendly with Fischer, greatly admired Bobby Fischer
And if my memory serves me well, he did not march in perfect lockstep with the Russian Chess Federation.
David Bronstein and Tal were both genius genuises that gave this world many chess brilliances.
Alekhine was another one that gave us many chess brilliances. As did Frank Marshall, Richard Reti, Paul Morphy, and the great Insian player that beat Capablanca in a very famous game!

*******************************

I have played over this game a couple hundred times decades ago..
That this unknown player crushed Capa in this game speaks of a true genius, imho.
This man was actually a slave to his master.
Studying this game reminds me of my in-depth studies of Charoseuk's, Spielman's and Rubinstein's games..
I recommend this game to any player that wants to improve their chess... -Tyr



https://www.chess.com/article/view/sultan-khan-biography-daniel-king

Articles
The (Political) Story Of 'Extraordinary Genius' Sultan Khan
Sultan Khan after winning the 1929 British Champinship in Ramsgate. Photo © collection David de Lucia.
The (Political) Story Of 'Extraordinary Genius' Sultan Khan
PeterDoggers
PeterDoggers
Updated: May 2, 2020, 12:30 AM
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55
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Chess Players
The story of Sultan Khan, a remarkable chess talent from India who was brought to Europe by his master, won the British Championship three times, and defeated Jose Capablanca in a tournament game, is also a political tale. After seven years of research, GM Daniel King has published a biography.

"The fact that even under such conditions he succeeded in becoming a champion reveals a genius for chess which is nothing short of extraordinary," wrote Capablanca years after meeting Sultan Khan at the chessboard. These words perhaps mean even more than the result of their mutual game.

Before we move on, here is that famous game, with annotations as they appear in the book, kindly provided by the author and the publisher. The game was in fact played on December 31, 1930.

Sultan Khan, Mir vs. Capablanca, Jose Raul
1-0 Hastings 3031 Hastings 31 Dec 1930 Round: 3 ECO: E12


1. f3 f62. d4 b63. c4 b74. c3 e65. a3A pioneering move. Decades later, this became known as the Petrosian variation and developed into the main line of the Queen's Indian, championed by none other than Garry Kasparov. A handful of players had tried this in the 1920s, but I doubt whether Sultan Khan was aware of these games. Khan’s lack of knowledge, and lack of prejudice, in the opening facilitated his creativity, producing ideas that often challenged the prevailing orthodoxy. Sometimes his novelties were bizarre, some were simply poor, and some have stood the test of time. He had experimented with such short pawn moves on both flanks (a3 and h3) in other games, but this one is the most effective. Black is prevented from playing the bishop to b4, and therefore White gains more control over e4.5... d56. cxd5 exd5As one would expect from Capablanca, the classical move, maintaining a pawn in the centre. This is perfectly playable, but the modern main line is 6…Nxd5.7. g5 e78. e3 O-O9. d3 e4Showing an impatience to exchange. 9...Nbd7, completing development, is better.10. f4!In spite of his lack of experience on the white side of the opening, Khan shows good understanding. Instead 10 Bxe7 Qxe7 would free Black’s position as the queen has stepped off the back rank and the rooks are ready to move into the middle of the board.10... d711. c2An excellent move, pin-pointing two sensitive spots in Black’s position, h7 and c7. Khan’s habitual willingness to delay castling pays off in this instance.11... f5
11... xc3?12. xh7+ h813. bxc3 g614. xg6 fxg615. xg6 f616. h4with the initiative
Capablanca said afterwards that the usual move11... df6should have been played here, but he (and many others) had overlooked a simple tactic:12. xc7 xc713. xe4 xc214. xf6+ xf615. xc2
12. b5Black has difficulties in defending the c7 pawn. If 12…c5 13 Nc7 threatens the rook and a fork on e6.12... d6Capa backs down. The critical move is 12…a6, inviting a capture and setting off wild complications. This position was much discussed after the game, many claiming that Black was fine, but in fact White stands better:
12... a613. xc7!13. xc7is also possible13... axb514. xb7 dc515. dxc5 xc516. c7not an easy move to see16... xb716... xd3+17. e2 d718. xd3 ±16... d717. e5 +-17. xd8 fxd818. xb5 ±
12... c513. c7 +-
12... c613. c7 c814. e6 ±
13. xd6 cxd6The fixed pawn structure robs Black’s position of its dynamism and the pawn on d6 is a long-term weakness.14. h4An excellent move, preventing Black’s expansion on the kingside, and claiming space. As we have seen, Khan was usually unafraid to leave his king in the middle of the board, and in this case it is absolutely appropriate. Black has no possibility of opening the centre.14... c815. b3 e716. d2 df617. xe4 fxe4Khan exchanges off the best piece in Black’s position, the knight on e4.
17... xe418. f3 f619. xf5 ±
18. e2 c619. g4Khan recognises he is in complete control and expands on the kingside. The king is still safe in the middle.19... fc820. g5 e821. g4Both Black’s minor pieces are pitifully placed, blocked in by their own pawns, in stark contrast to White’s bishop pair. Taking the pawn is possible, 21 Qxd5+, but would only have given Black’s pieces more freedom.21... c1+
Capablanca does not want to sit and wait but instead changes the nature of the position. He could have procrastinated with21... 8c7but then White could choose between22. xd5+Or22. d2 c2+23. xc2 xc2+24. xc2 c7+25. b122... h823. O-O ±
22. d2 8c2+23. xc2 xc2+24. xc2White still stands better because of the minor pieces, but from Black’s viewpoint at least the situation is complicated because of the material imbalance. Over the next few moves Khan has to contain the queen, but that is relatively easy considering that the bishop and knight can offer no support.24... c7+25. d2 c426. e2 b327. ab1 f728. hc1 e729. c3 a430. b4 d7The queen bounces back, only to appear on the other side of the board.31. bc1 a632. g1 h333. gc1
Khan could have grabbed material with33. g4 xh434. g334. g2? h134... xg535. c8 xc836. xd6+ xd637. xg5 d7but how easy is it for White to win this position? I can understand why this was rejected.
33... d7
If33... xh434. c7+ xc735. xc7+ d836. xb7with a winning material advantage
34. h5The squeeze is on. The pawn is less vulnerable here and helps restrict the knight. Black’s pieces can barely move as they must prevent the rooks invading. Capablanca keeps probing with the queen just to keep White busy. Khan continues by repositioning his king, well away from the kingside, and begins an advance of the queenside pawns. The closer they are to the queening square, the easier it will be to win should White succeed in breaking through.34... d835. 1c2 h336. c1 h437. b2 h3
37... xf238. xa6 xc2+39. xc2 xa640. c6 +-
38. c1 h439. 3c2 h340. a4 h441. a3 h342. g3 f543. h4 g644. h6 d745. b5 a546. g3 f547. f4 h3In order to make the breakthrough on the c-file, White needs to be able to play the bishop to g4. Capablanca frustrates that manoeuvre by keeping his queen buzzing around that diagonal. For the moment Khan patiently manoeuvres, holding his advantage, not committing himself, and working out the best way to make progress. As is so often the case, the defender jumps out of his passive state before he is pushed, making life much easier for the attacker.48. b2 g249. b1 h3
49... xf250. g4 h451. g1 +-
50. a1 g251. b2 h3
51... d752. g3 h353. g1followed by Bf4 and Bg4 and Black cracks
52. g1White is ready to play Bg452... c8Defending against the threat, but allowing the rook to penetrate.53. c6 h454. gc1 g4
54... d755. g3 xg556. xb6 +-
55. f1 h5
55... xf2+56. 6c2 h456... g157. g2 +-57. h2 h358. xh3 +-
56. e1Capturing on b6 was possible, but he first prevents the bishop moving in to e2.
56. xb6 e2
56... h157. ec1
57. xb6was possible as 57…Bh3 could be met by 58 Rb8+, but Khan again avoids complications and returns the rook to a protected square. Capablanca returns with the queen, repeating the position, but Khan deviates.
57... h558. c3 h4
58... e259. d2prevents the queen from entering the position
59. g3Maintaining the strong pawn chain f2-e3-d4 - by this stage the g5 pawn is superfluous59... xg560. d2 h5
60... xh661. xb6
61. xb6Finally, once all his pieces are coordinated, his king totally safe, and Black has not the slightest chance of counterplay, Khan takes the all-important pawn.61... e762. b7+ e663. b6 f664. b5 h365. b8
65. b8 h566. b7 xg367. f8Ironically, the vanquished Capablanca was one of the few players in the tournament who could fully appreciate Khan’s patient play. This was a grand strategic performance, executed with style and precision, played with touches of originality that mark the game out as a classic: the early advance of the kingside pawns; the careful side-stepping with the king; the containment of counterplay. How often was Capablanca outplayed in this style? It was reported in one of the newspapers that although Sultan Khan 'received a host of congratulations, including Capablanca's, he took success most modestly.'
Malik Mir Sultan Khan was born in 1905 in Mittha Tawana, Punjab, British India. At the age of nine, he learned to play Indian chess, a version which had different rules for e.g. pawn moves, castling, and stalemate.

Showing a considerable talent for this game, he was considered to be the best player in Punjab when he was taken into the household of Colonel Nawab Malik Sir Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana in 1926.

It was then and there that Sultan Khan learned the rules of western chess and got to play against some of the strongest Indian players. His talent for chess as we know it quickly became apparent as well when Khan won the All-India Championship, organized by Sir Umar, in 1928.

A year later, Sultan Khan joined Sir Umar on a trip to Europe, and in a period of just four years, before returning to India, he scored a number of great successes on the chessboard:

won the British Championships in 1929, 1932 and 1933
scored 6/9 in the Hastings 1930-1931 tournament where he beat Capablanca
defeated Savielly Tartakower 6.5-5.5 in a match in January 1931
lost a match 2.5-3.5 to Salo Flohr in February 1932
represented the British Empire in two Olympiads, scoring 11.5/17 on top board in Prague 1931.
It's a remarkable story and one that deserves a full-fledged biography. After R.N. Coles's 1965 limited book "Mir Sultan Khan," the English grandmaster and commentator Danny King has now written a new biography, published by New in Chess, that comes close to being the definitive story.

Sultan Khan Danny King book
Daniel King's new book.
"Almost seven years ago, I was contacted by a theater director who enjoyed chess and had come across the story," King started. "He got in touch with me and asked me to do some research for him into the story and to kind of explain what was really going on in his chess. So I did a little research for him, and we met up and discussed it. Not much happened after that, but basically I continued my research. I'd always known the story, but I didn't know the background and the details, and the more I looked, the more extraordinary the story became."

On and off over the last seven years, King visited the British Library near King's Cross in the center of London ("the most fantastic building in the world, I love it!" - King) where he did most of his research.

"It was a hobby. And then I thought: I've got all this material, what do I do with it? So I started to organize, and I thought: OK, I think this needs to be a book," he said.

The book is a biography that tells about Sultan Khan's life, the highlights of his chess career, and his games with annotations. At this point, over 200 Sultan Khan games are known, of which dozens never made it into the databases.

King: "The kind of access you get to contemporary newspapers and magazines in the British Library is extraordinary. Some of the stuff is on microfilm, but they also have physical newspapers from 1929, and that's really amazing. I found games he played in simuls, county matches, really obscure stuff.

"When I was doing my research, sometimes I'd spend a couple of days at the British Library, and I'd find nothing. I was sitting in front of these microfilm machines, and at the end of the day, my eyes would be so tired. But on another day, I would suddenly find three new games and a couple of amazing stories. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle."

British Library
One of the reading rooms in the library. Photo: British Library.
King emphasizes the importance of the political context of the 1920s and 1930s, saying: "The political background is the only way to understand his story. Only if you understand that, can you understand how he came to London and how he disappeared at the end of 1933."

The author continues: "It's bound up with the whole of this turbulent time when the independence movement in India was growing. He came from a very modest background, but he was taken into the household of Sir Umar Hayat Khan. So this is his master, basically. You could say patron, but I think master is kind of more accurate, to be honest.

"Sir Umar was on a political mission to Britain, which was curious in itself. He was fabulously wealthy, he had extensive landholdings in the Punjab where Sultan Khan was from, he was a politician, he was a member of the Indian upper house. So you wonder, why is he interested in securing his position with the British?

He had fought for the British army all over the world actually. So he's very loyal to the British. But actually, he was a Muslim, and he was worried about an independent India because the independence movement in India was increasingly dominated by Hindus. He feared that the Muslim population in India would be marginalized."

Cartoon India Hindus Muslims elephant Gandhi
A cartoon in an Indian newspaper at the time, depicting the chasm between the Hindus and the Muslims with Gandhi sitting on an elephant that represents India. Image courtesy New in Chess.
"So, Sir Umar went to Britain on a political mission, to represent the Muslim minority (that still consisted of millions) but also to represent the so-called 'martial races.' Basically, these were tribes in northern India that the British had designated as the 'warriors.' Sir Umar was part of one of these tribes and fought with the British and recruited many soldiers for the British. He wanted to stress to the British how important the Muslims were and how they helped secure Britain's place in India.

"When he came to London, he brought Sultan Khan with him. He had already brought him into his household, trained him in western chess since 1926—he hadn't played western chess before—and Sultan Khan was his protege. So this was a kind of soft diplomacy. Sultan Khan made the headlines for him, sort of represented the intellectual side, and his master, Sir Umar, was the warrior. Between the two, they were kind of a perfect combination.

"Sir Umar was a decent player himself. He recognized Sultan Khan's talent and invited some of the best Indian chess players to train him for a couple of years before they came to London. Not that this was training in the kind of strict Soviet sense. They used to play a lot together.

"Sultan Khan joined the household in 1926 and then had training from these Indian players in western chess, and then Sultan Khan won the All Indian Championship in 1928, organized by his master Sir Umar. It was at that time, during this championship, that Sir Umar met a very influential political in Delhi, called Sir John Simon, who was also a keen chess player. That's when, I think, the plan to bring Sultan Khan to London really crystallized.

Mir Sultan Khan chess
Mir Sultan Khan
"As far as I could see, Sultan Khan did not have a political bone in his body. It wasn't his place to offer any opinions, but he was brought—I can't stress that enough—he was brought by his master."

One of King's biggest, and most incredible, discoveries is that Khan had played another game against Capablanca—much earlier than their famous 1930 Hastings game. Their earlier game, in April 1929, was in a simul(!), only two days after he had arrived in London!

King: "You can imagine that when I found this game my jaw dropped, my jaw hit the floor."

The third world champion had played a tournament in Ramsgate but then stayed in London where he gave some simultaneous displays. In one of them, he faced Khan.

"The whole story of when he arrived in London is incredible, tells King. "He arrived on Friday, 26 April, 1929. On Saturday, he was introduced into London society by this very eminent politician Sir John Simon at the National Liberal Club, one of these very exclusive London clubs. He played a few games against a chap called Bruno Siegheim who was a former South African champion and did well against him. And then on Sunday, he played in a simul against Capablanca. So he basically stepped off the boat and started playing these games and beat Capablanca."

Capablanca, Jose vs. Sultan Khan, Mir
0-1 Simul London 28 Apr 1929



1. d4 f62. c4 e63. c3 d54. g5 e75. e3 a66. cxd5 exd57. d3 e6?!8. ge2 h69. h4 c510. dxc5 xc511. O-O c612. f4 g513. xe6 fxe614. g3 e715. c1 d616. f4 c717. e2 g418. d4 xe319. e2 gxf420. h4+ d721. h5 af8!22. g6 b623. xe6+ c724. xd5?? xd5
As King wrote in New in Chess Magazine, this was not just a win because Capablanca blundered his queen:

"Capablanca cracked in the face of stout defense. Expecting a swift victory, the Cuban was provoked into a full-scale assault, but the game had moved away from the smooth strategic paths where Capa was in his element towards a treacherous quagmire. At this moment, when he found himself in peril, Sultan Khan defended with coolness and originality—qualities he was to display so often in his later chess career."

*********

One must weigh the abilities of our modern world champions against the advantages they gained by studying those before them. The great golden masters of old.. imho of course..-Tyr