Three Chess Friends, A Century Apart
- Chess Friends Books
- Nov 20
- 4 min read
Howdy! It’s the Chess Friends!
Recently, we heard about this cool painting in the Frye Art Museum in Seattle from a fellow author friend. Thanks, Ilona!
Made in the early 1900s, the painting features three old chess friends, sitting at a table, focusing intensely at a chess board. Being the three young chess friends we are, we had to go see it! So one day, with hope in our eyes, we set off on an adventure, to the Frye Art Museum located in Capitol Hill, a neighborhood near downtown Seattle.
There are two things you need to know about this museum. First, the admission is free: how cool is that?! Thank you, Charles and Emma Frye! (though we donated a bit of money to support the arts!) Second, it has a salon-style room, where different paintings hang from ceiling to floor, covering every square inch of the walls, each with a different story to tell. Very impressive!
When we stepped into that room, we could really see why it was so special. We found the painting, said hello to The Chess Friends from 1903, and left with a sense of satisfaction. Mission accomplished!
Louis Moeller (American, 1855-1930)
A Critical Point in the Game
Date: ca. 1903
In this blog post, we want to share what we learned about the artist and his chess paintings, and neat openings named after someone else named Moeller!
Meet American artist Louis Moeller, born in 1855. He liked to paint people sitting at tables, doing various activities, like drinking tea, talking, and playing chess! We don’t know for sure if he played chess himself, but he must have been a fan of the game, because this painting in the Frye Museum is not the only one depicting people playing chess! He made several!
The painting we saw, called “A Critical Point in the Game,” shows three old chess friends, two focusing at the board, and one spectating with a sly smile on his face, like he’s trash talking! He’s probably saying something like “Wow bro, you’re so cooked! That move you just played should go to the hall of famous horrible moves! WAHAHAHAHA!”
We were inspired by this painting so much that we decided to recreate it right away! Since we always travel with a chess board (always ready for a game!), we found a table, set up the pieces, and imagined we were in a painting of our own! Check it out!
There is actually a Moeller Attack in the Italian opening, but it’s not named after the artist. Instead, it’s named after Danish chess master Jorgen Moeller. It goes like this: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.O-O Bxc3 9.d5
Wait, did White just give up their knight? Yes, this is a gambit line, and if Black spends too much time trying to keep their material, White is going to launch an unstoppable attack. To slow White down, Black should give the knight back for king safety. We recommend any player who plays e5 against e4 to look at this line again; it’s very common and can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. The only two moves that are good are Ne5 and Bf6. But our advice is to study this attack more deeply as it can lead to very chaotic and boisterous positions.
Here is a nice game from Mr. Møeller himself, winning in neat fashion, even after his opponent played 9. … Ne5:
Isn’t it cool, how at the end, Mr. Møeller gave up the rook for a nice knight & bishop checkmate combo?
The Danish master also has a defense named after him in Ruy Lopez. The Moeller System, or the Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation occurs after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6, the Ruy Lopez, Morphy defense, Columbus variation, the most popular line. White castles their king with 5. O-O, and we play 5… Bc5, the Moeller. This move is the 3rd most popular line after O-O, with 5… Be7 and 5… b5 tying for the most popular, based on Lichess data, and is super solid. After playing this, you can play d6 and castle with normal development. Here is a GIF showing it!
And there you have it, friends: Opening studies inspired by a trip to the art museum!
Chess inspirations are everywhere! When we were taking the photo, look who decided to join us! That inspired a theme for our next blog post! Stay tuned!
We wouldn't be The Chess Friends if we let you go without jokes! Here they art, the masterpiece of knee-slappers!
Why is the chess painting a good friend with all the other paintings in the Frye Museum?
Because they all hang out together!
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What do artists call the King chess piece?
The ruler!
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Why do artists like to play the Moeller attack?
They always win with it, quite easel-y!
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What is Earth without art in it?
Eh!
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Three Cheers, Fellow Future Master Chess Friends!
The Man Benji, The Myth Sarang, The Legend Vivi
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