Franklin K.‏ (Franklin Knowles) Young

author

Franklin K.‏ (Franklin Knowles) Young

1857–1931

A colorful early 20th-century chess writer, he treated the game as a form of strategy training and wrote with the energy of a lecturer trying to sharpen both minds and nerves. His books mix practical instruction with a distinctly military way of thinking about chess.

1 Audiobook

Chess Generalship, Vol. I. Grand Reconnaissance

Chess Generalship, Vol. I. Grand Reconnaissance

by Franklin K.‏ (Franklin Knowles) Young

About the author

Franklin K. Young was an American chess author born in 1857 and deceased in 1931. Project Gutenberg’s record for Chess Generalship, Vol. I. Grand Reconnaissance gives his full name as Franklin Knowles Young and dates him 1857–1931.

He is best known for books such as The Major Tactics of Chess and Chess Generalship, Vol. I. Grand Reconnaissance. In Chess Generalship, he presents chess not simply as a pastime but as a discipline closely tied to planning, judgment, and the study of strategy.

Young also appears in chess-history sources as part of the Boston chess scene of the late 19th century. That background fits the tone of his writing: serious, vivid, and aimed at readers who enjoy seeing chess explained as a contest of organized thought rather than just a sequence of moves.