It affords so much genuine
intrinsic interest that it can be played without pecuniary stake;
and has been so played more than all other games put together,
and continues to be so during the present time on occasions,
by the very finest players. It exists, flourishes, and gains
ground continually and prodigiously, although the average annual
support in amount for first class chivalrous chess competitions,
tournaments and matches in all Great Britain does not equal that
put on in former years as the stake of a good prize fight; whilst
the receipts of a great football match at Bradford and other
important cities, which can be named, exceeds the combined
incomes of all the few remaining British chess masters derived
from chess instruction and skill in play.
Chess is, moreover, surrounded by a host of associations, and is
suggestive of a pleasant mass of memories, anecdotes, manners,
and incidents, such as no other game, and hardly any science may
presume to boast; and though never yet honoured throughout its
long life by any continuous history, or consecutive and connected
record, its traditions from time immemorial have been of the most
illustrious, royal, and noble character.
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