The All High Sultan's Invitational Chess Championship was a chess tournament sponsored by Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire to determine who was the best chess player in the known world.
History[]
Early History[]
At some point during 1546, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman, decided to hold a chess tournament which would feature the best players of all of the nations of the known world. Suleiman did this in order to provide a false show of strength to his rival nations, as he had become convinced that the recent schism in the practice of the Moslem faith would cause his Empire's society to either decline or cease advancing.
However, Suleiman was also determined to make it appear that the Ottoman Empire was home to the best chess player, and with his inner circle, began plans to rig the tournament so that his cousin Zaman would win, with the option of the champion of Constantinople's common people, Ibrahim, also taking victory should things not work out for Zaman.
During the middle of the year, Suleiman sent out envoys to deliver the invitations to the tournament to 14 other nations to request they send a player for arrival during October of that year, while also including a demand of a gift of gold or some other treasure at the threat of an invasion when the tournament was over.
The Tournament[]
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Participants[]
- Ali Hassan Rama of Medina
- Dragan of Brasov, Wallachia
- Brother Eduardo of Syracuse
- Gilbert Giles of England
- Ibrahim of Constantinople
- Lao Tse of the Han People
- Marko of Venice
- Maximilian of Vienna
- Mustafa of Cairo
- Prince Nasiruddin Akbar of the Moghul Empire
- Pablo Montoya of Castile
- Brother Raul of the Papal States
- Talib of Baghdad
- Vladimir of Muscovy
- Wilhelm of Konigsberg
- Zaman of Constantinople
Tournament Format and Rules[]
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Matches[]
Round 1[]
- Zaman vs Maximilian
- Mustafa vs Vladimir
- Ali Hassan Rama vs Pablo Montoya
- Eduardo vs Raul
- Gilbert Giles vs Talib
- Dragan vs Marko
- Nasiruddin Akbar vs Lao Tse
- Wilhelm vs Ibrahim
Round 2[]
- Zaman vs Vladimir
- Pablo Montoya vs Raul
- Gilbert Giles vs Dragan
- Nasiruddin Akbar vs Ibrahim
Semi Finals[]
- Zaman vs Raul
- Gilbert Giles vs Ibrahim
Final[]
- Zaman vs Ibrahim (no winner determined)
Trivia[]
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