Paolo Boi

Paolo Boi (* 1528 in Syracuse, † 1598 in Naples) was an Italian chess master.

Life

Paolo Boi, called "the Siracuser ", was the scion of a respectable and wealthy family. As a child he began to be interested in the game of chess. As a young man he was a friend of Pope Pius V and many Italian nobles, including the Duke of Urbino, who paid him a yearly appanage of 300 scudi.

Paolo Boi traveled throughout Europe and earned his living by playing chess. He is said to have earned around 30,000 scudi a year. He also had the opportunity to play chess II at the court of King Philip of Spain.

Paolo Boi died in 1598 in Naples from stomach cancer. Some sources claim Boi had been poisoned by his own servants.

Some sources report that Paolo Boi captured in the Gulf of Lyon by Algerian pirates and was sold for 2,000 gold pieces as a slave. His Turkish gentleman should, however, been a friend of chess and have released him with a bag of money.