I don't know, but it might have something to do with Ulf Andersson. The hedgehog was (perhaps still is?) the symbol for the Swedish military defence, so it would make sense in a way.

Stefan Buecker wrote on 07/24/11 at 08:58:47:

Possibly; in 1981 it was already around, I can witness. But I thought the term was of German origin, ie Igelstellung? If my memory serves me well the term has to do with trench warfare. But I could be wrong and both meanings stem from the same source - that funny animal.

It has nothing to do with my question above regarding the origin of the term "Hedgehog" in the Sicilian Defence, but I cannot resist. From the English tournament book Hasting 1895 (Cheshire, 1896), p. 139ff.:

Quote:

A famous game; I add only the first comments by Gunsberg from the tournament book:

"Indian Opening" not popular in Germany and Austria

Löwenthal's term "Indian Opening" (1864) for 1.e4 e5 2.d3 wasn't greeted with enthusiasm by Max Lange in Schachzeitung 1864, p. 266. In his work Kritik der Eröffnungen Lange had already mentioned 2.d3 in passing, arguing that as a preparation for f2-f4, the move 2.Nc3 were more useful than 2.d3. So he called the system not after the British colony, but "Damenbauer ein Schritt". 


Max Lange continued:

Quote:

Translation:

Quote:

The term "Indische Eröffnung" was used by Berthold Suhle in the German tournament book of London 1862, and similar set-ups involving e4 and d3 were sometimes called "Indische Partie": in Österreichische Lesehalle 1889, p. 154, and in Deutsche Schachzeitung 1895, p. 253. - The reason why this name never caught on in Germany is obvious: 2.d3 is played only rarely, there was no real demand for it. In the 1920s we will meet a completely different situation: 1.d4 Nf6 was played very frequently, by the strongest masters, and a good name was urgently needed. The rescue came from Savielly Tartakower, assisted by Max Stainlein from Munich.

In reply #65, I speculated whether the 661 Cochrane games (plus 3 with zero moves) from Calcutta might be the whole "Loose Indian..." collection. Could two more volumes of games - earlier and later games - slumber somewhere in a collection? However, the same post (reply #65) was already quoting the following: 

Quote:
 



The distribution of the games (above) confirms Cochrane's reduced activity from 1858 onwards. In the years 1859 and 1860 Valerine Green was in Calcutta and played against Moheschunder and others, but it isn't reflected in this collection. These observations make it less probable that a volume with later games had been collected by Cochrane.

Regarding games before 1848, the situation is less clear. In 1825 Cochrane went to India, was back in 1841-43, then he returned to Calcutta. A publisher seems to have contacted him in 1841, the book "Loose Indian..." was announced in 1852. But did he find any good opponents? How many good games could Cochrane have played before 1848, when he met Moheschunder? The sources mention an eight-game-match between Cochrane and Moheschunder played in 1848, but as far as I know only one game has survived.

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 07/20/11 at 20:05:28:

As far as I know: no. Cochrane commented some games in the manuscript (as we know), perhaps he added general remarks about the circumstances of the games and/or the matches. If I become more interested in the topic, maybe for an article, I should get the microfilm. But right now I am satisfied with what I know. These games are "only" played at a fast rate, but in the 1850ies the magazines published also European games of low quality: odds games; matches between players to whom Staunton gave odds; the occasional patzer game sent in from an enthusiastic reader, simultaneous or blindfold games, and so on. I'd guess that Moheschunder had FM strength, and Cochrane IM strength. Had Loose Indian Chess Leaves - or only the 70 KI games - appeared in 1870 in book form, the new opening "Indian Defence" would have instantly become the new fashion and soon a fully accepted opening.

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 07/20/11 at 20:05:28:

The picture may be distorted, because I chose mainly "King's Indians", and in the KI bishops often have a long life, while pins Bg5 or Bg4 are relatively rare. I played through other games and couldn't see such a trend in their many Open Games. Obviously, I focused on the KI games. 

What was most interesting in the King's Indians between Cochrane and Moheschunder: how fast they learned. One should assume that strong players are able to learn from their mistakes, but still ... it was nice to compare the idiocy of some early KI games with more reasonable games later, but then they throw in an anti-positional Nxe4, or Bc1-g5. I may be prejudiced, and should perhaps re-check this more critically, but to me some of their latest KI games look quite modern. Maybe I'll give some examples... Anyway, this was a difficult development which took time, and the strong opponent Cochrane played an important role in the process. 

Maybe it was hard for contemporaries to recognize that Moheschunder's ideas were something special and new, not just adoptions from the Native Indian Chess. But with the games before us on the screen, today we should drop the notion that "the Brahmins", as a group, had these opening ideas. I bet you could have picked the 100 best-playing "Brahmins" of that era, and Cochrane could have beaten them 95-5 in a simultaneous. It wasn't "the Brahmins", the KI was Moheschunder's invention. (Later the KI was - temporarily - called "Euwe's Defence". Fully deserved, if you ask me. But history goes on, and the names of openings are the product of many factors, including luck.)

Paddy wrote on 07/20/11 at 17:32:57:

Thanks!

Hmm... in The British Chess Magazine 1897, p. 150, C. E. Ranken writes: "This game was played at the rate of a move a minute." Maybe the players used a sandglass which they simply turned for every move. - The 12th move is an improvement upon 12.Ne6, as played in the (more famous) game in reply #56. Ranken apparently hasn't seen the whole manuscript, else he wouldn't have made the comment regarding "with more deliberation". The sacrifice Nxe4 was tested in 17 games by Cochrane and Moheschunder.