George H. D. Gossip (1841–1907) was a minor American-English chess master and writer. He competed against most of the world's leading players in chess tournaments between 1870 and 1895, but with only modest success. The writer G. H. Diggle calls him "the King of Wooden Spoonists" because he usually finished last in strong tournaments. Gossip was also a noted writer. His 1874 treatise The Chess-Player's Manual—A Complete Guide to Chess was harshly received by the critics, largely because he had included a number of informal skittles games that he had (atypically) won against stronger players. He developed a lifelong enmity toward chess critics, attacking them ferociously in his books. However, his 1879 book Theory of the Chess Openings was well received, becoming one of the standard opening works of the time. He made his living primarily as a journalist, author, and translator, writing for publications in England, France, Australia, and the U.S. At various times he lived in each of those countries, Germany, and Canada. In 1898 and 1899, two publishers issued his only non-chess book, The Jew of Chamant. Published under the pseudonym "Ivan Trepoff", it was virulently anti-Semitic. Chess writers have often mocked Gossip's play. However, a modern assessment system, Chessmetrics, concludes that at his peak he was close to grandmaster strength.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1534:

Over 200 Spanish settlers led by conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar founded what is now Quito, Ecuador. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito

1768:

The first weekly installment of the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was released in Edinburgh, Scotland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica

1865:

Slavery in the United States was officially abolished when the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

1917:

A ship in Halifax Harbour carrying trinitrotoluene (TNT) and picric acid caught fire after a collision with another ship and exploded, devastating Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

1921:

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed and then came into force exactly one year to the day later, establishing the Irish Free State, the first independent Irish state to be recognised by the British government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Irish_Treaty

1989:

Claiming that he was "fighting feminism", 25-year-old Marc Lépine embarked on a massacre, killing fourteen women, and wounding ten other women and four men, before committing suicide at École Polytechnique in Montreal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

maudlin (adj): 1. Extravagantly or excessively sentimental; self-pitying. 2. Affectionate or sentimental in an effusive, tearful, or foolish manner, such as from drunkenness http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maudlin

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The Science of Language has taught us that there is order and wisdom in all languages, and even the most degraded jargons contain the ruins of former greatness and beauty. The Science of Religion, I hope, will produce a similar change in our views of barbarous forms of faith and worship. --Max Müller http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_M%C3%BCller