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This is clearly in Ruskin’s hand of the period of House Book 1 and clearly intended to represent a game of chess. The layout of the page suggests the possibility that ‘w. first move. qs p. two’ was an afterthought by Ruskin aligned to show that it was to be read first and with the addition of the words ‘first move’ to reinforce the point. There is no other available information about when it was written or why it was written. It does not seem permissible to draw large conclusions from it, but it does raise some questions about Ruskin’s competence at chess, and his views on the relationship between chess and art.
Ruskin’s enthusiasm for chess is unquestioned, and perhaps confirmed by this note. However this game, seen as a trivial and careless doodle, seems to provide no support for the view that Ruskin was an excellent chess player (Works, 6.85 [n/a]), and it seems to provide no evidence to contradict the view that Ruskin’s role as chess critic.... is exempt from even a modest knowledge of the game.....He is quite unable to comprehend the progressive development of a combination the issue of which shall be simple and conclusive, and in recording the boredom that such processes inflict he has no suspicion that his mental grasp is at fault.’ (‘John Ruskin and Chess’ British Chess magazine, April 1923, pp. 115-118. cited by E.Winter, Chess Notes Archive[17] available here.
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[Version 0.05: May 2008]