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Paolo Boi, also known as il Bove or
il Siracusano, was born in Syracuse,
Sicily in 1528. He is widely considered the 3rd
unofficial chess champion of the world from 1587-1598.
He came from a wealthy family which helped
to cultivate his intelligence. From a very young
age his main emphasis was on the game of the chess.
He quickly became the best player in Sicily, defeating
his three toughest competitors at the same time while
blindfolded.
His fame as a chess player put him in high demand from
figures of patronage, such as Catherine de Medici of
France and Pope Paul III. He instituted a chess
academy at the palace of Prince Fabrizio Gesualdo of
Venosa, where he made 300 scudi per year and met
Leonardo di Cutri for the
first time. With their contrasting styles of play
(Boi playing faster and Leonardo more patiently and
accurately) the two of them immediately established a
friendly rivalry. Their first encounter over the
chess board was a drawn game.
In 1575 both Boi and Leonardo traveled to the court of
Philip II in Madrid to challenge Spain's best chess
players, particularly the man regarded as the best
player in the world at that time,
Ruy Lopez de Segura. The event was later to be
considered the first true international chess
competition, as well as the first to be documented.
Leonardo and Boi were both successful in defeating their
opponents, but Leonardo walked away with the most
victories and prizes. The two of them would then
travel to Lisbon, where they both defeated the local
champion, il Moro. Leonardo would
additionally defeat Boi in a set match, earning him the
unofficial title of world chess champion.
Boi chose to remain in Portugal after Leonardo returned
home. He played chess for money, reportedly making
up to 8,000 scudi in a single day. He would go on
to travel across Europe and Italy playing money games at odds,
offering his opponents a pawn and a move. When he
returned home he would play Leonardo again in the palace
of the Duke of Ossuna in Naples. The result was a
drawn game and the last time these two would face each
other across a chess board.
Leonardo passed away in 1587, giving the mantle of the
best chess player in the world to Boi. In 1598 Boi
would lose to Alessandro Salvio
just three days before his death at the age of 70.
It was later rumored that Boi had accumulated more than
30,000 scudi just from playing chess. |
