Stroeback is a town in Germany. Text on note says "Der Welt-Schach-Meister".

Stroebeck's history includes nearly 1000 years of the game of chess. In 1011, the Bishop of Halberstadt, Arnulf II, imprisoned the duke Gunzelin in the Wartturm, a tower in Strí_beck. He then ordered the local farmers to guard him. To relieve the boredom in his prison, Gunzelin created a chess set and taught the game to his guards. Upon his release, the duke thanked the local people for their kind treatment by relieving them of some tax burdens. Chess became a tradition among the local people, even though at that time it was only played by the aristocracy. In 1689 the village began holding public chess exhibitions. These were accompanied by Chess Parties where the all chess figures are represented by elaborately costumed participants. This tradition is still carried on by the Strí_becker Schachverein, a chess club founded in 1883. Since 1823, chess has been a required course of the Strí_beck public school curriculum. Text Via {webgerman.com}