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This litte tidbit was offered by Mrs. Rhoda A. Bowles in a 1901 issue of Womanhood, an illustrated monthly for which she was chess editor.
Big "gooseberries" were in full season, when a correspondent sent the following " Royal Rules" suggesting their general adoption. I read them through, and saw in them so many "mannerisms" to be avoided by players that I strongly recommend every player to read and lay each rule to heart, and studiously avoid bringing any one into practice if they value the etiquette of the game.
A WARNING.
ROYAL RULES FOR SPRIGHTLY PLAYERS.
By Hector Rosenfeld.
1. — Always impress your adversary with the belief that you have beaten celebrated players. It will fill him with a wholesome awe, which is a great advantage.
2. — Lead off with P—K4 with careless assurance. It will set your opponent thinking, and it is a move that has won many games.
3. —Always attack your adversary's Queen when you can. You may waste a move, but it will worry him, which is always advisable.
4. — But when your Queen is attacked regard the move with contempt, and reply instantly with an utterly irrelevant move. This will probably lead to the suspicion that you are planning a Laskerian combination, beyond the discernment of your antagonist, who will accordingly decline to capture the Queen.
5.— When, through an oversight, you have lost a piece, any hesitation in making your next move may be fatal. Therefore answer quickly, keeping up the impression in your adversary's mind suggested in advice 4.
6. — Never resign until you are mated, and then induce your antagonist to let you take back the last five or six moves ; you may then perhaps win.
7. —When your opponent's game is quite hopeless, let him try all the moves at his command ; this will give you a reputation for liberality.
8. — Finally, check whenever you can—it may be.
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