The book consists of 11 stories and sketches, originally published in various magazines of the 1840s: The Chess Automaton, Deschapelles The Chess King, A Night in York, Chess without the Chessboard, The Cafe de la Regence, Ruy Lopez the Chess Bishop - A Legend of Spain, Mated and Chckmated - An Oriental Sketch, A Game of Chess with Napoleon, Vincenzio the Venetian, The Light and Lustre of Chess, Battles of La Bourdonnais and Mc Donnell.