The roots of this book stemmed from a reference that I chanced upon in an issue from 1841 of the Victorian newspaper Bell’s Life in London. I was interested in Victorian chess and as Bell’s contained one of the earliest and most informative chess columns from the period, it was a natural source for me to consult. However, the fragment that caught my eye, tucked away at the very bottom of the chess column, had nothing to do with the ‘royal game’ – as chess’s advocates were inclined to title it, but rather to what would later become known as ‘the beautiful game’ – football
