Part of the reason I am writing my chess blog is due to my Communications class that I am taking. We are required to blog about our passion, and since mine is chess, here we are :). Today, I am going to share a few photos with you, some that I have taken myself, others from Pinterest or online sites.
My desire today is for you to see the beauty in chess, not just the intrinsic beauty of a wonderful board game, but the creativity contained in various different chess boards and pieces. For example, there are Staunton chess sets worth close to $1000, hand carved from mahogany and blood rosewood (check the link if you don't believe me). And then there are tournament boards made from cloth that come with plastic pieces. These sets for example cost only about $15. So yes, if you are saying right now that there is no difference between the chess played on a $1000 set compared to a $15 set, you are correct.
Yet many are concerned with much more than simply playing chess. It is about the art of a chess set, the subliminal joy one receives when fondling a knight made out of the finest mahogany wood there is. It is my hope that through my photography you will witness firsthand the beauty of both chess sets, and come do a deeper understanding of the forms of art chess can take on, and that chess pieces contain much more than simply a perfunctory role.
Star Wars Chess Set: This is a Star Wars collector's chess set with pieces made from pewter with a silver finish. The board is made of MDF and polyresin with a glass etched top. This set costs about $600
Credit: http://www.geekalerts.com/star-wars-chess-set/
Outdoor Chess: Have you ever seen life sized chess pieces before? This is a really fun way for kids to play, especially as it's outdoors and allows them to be physically active.
Credit: http://www.ubergames.co.uk/giant-chess-pieces-plastic-60cm-p37.html
Staunton Chess Set: This is a traditional Staunton set: beautifully finished mahogany or maple board, with equally impressive weighted pieces. A set like this runs for about $300, but is highly regarded as worth every penny. If you are planning on investing in a collector board with good aesthetics, yet sturdy, Staunton is the way to go.
Credit: www.houseofstaunton.com
Tournament Board: Tournament boards are perfect for large tournaments for a reason. With a roll-up vinyl board and light plastic pieces it is the perfect set for traveling and moving around. They are very cheap; you can buy them on Amazon for a little more than $15. By the way, despite black having the material advantage, I still managed to checkmate his king on the h file. ;)
Credit: Taken by my iPhone 5 while playing an old friend.
Log Chess Set: This is by far the neatest and most unique set I have seen. Designer Peter Marigold hand crafts each set out of single branch, plywood, and graphite. Yet the beauty comes at a price, $575 to be precise. However, you can still go out and make your own board and pieces!
Credit: http://www.joesdaily.com/home/log-chess-set-by-peter-marigold/#
The five chess sets I have laid out above cover pretty much all of the different setups you might encounter. Some of the sets as you witnessed are very elegant indeed, while others are quite mundane. The beauty throughout all of this is that no matter which set you are playing with, chess remains the same wonderful sport you have always known. Now go out and explore the beauty of chess and the various boards and pieces you can play with!
