I Have Seen Stunning Pieces In The Bazaars
The thing that I’ve owned throughout my spirit and criss-crossed the nation with, is a little electronic chess set. It runs on 2 AA batteries and has eight contrasting skill levels. Of course after 43 years the whites are a bit rusty and I’ve misplaced a bishop along the way, but for the most part and a change of batteries once in a while it has lasted with me since I was twelve years of age.
My chess set has stayed in New York, Alaska, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It endured wedlock and survived kids. It waits patiently in a cabinet for me to find time for a game. Of course I’ve never done it justness, only ever playing to skill grade five and for most of the time being adequate at level three or 4, but it has been a steady friend. It’s difficult to think a chess set could be made in 1963 and hold up until now, but it has and it’s still here primed to play!
There are a lot of unusual and stunning chess sets in the world, they can be a wonderful thing to collect or to present as gifts. I have seen stunning chessmen in the bazaars of Turkey and Israel and in the market places of Malaysia. They appear to be a world-wide happening. These fairly priced sets made from wood, marble or other local materials can be ravishing conversation chessmen or cosmetic elements, even if one doesn’t play chess.
To Boot, you can find chess pieces that are fashioned after a smorgasbord of themes, from civil war chess sets representing the North and South to those based on books and films, such as Lord of the Rings.
An old, better that vintage, chess set on the lower ledge of the wash room in my parents’ household in a broken red box is nothing treasure searchers would present to Antiques Roadshow for an estimation. However, this set of red and black chessmen, with the strong feel of even the pawns, is priceless.
In my past are stories of childhood, an uncle who died before I left grammar school, and hours learning the game and competing with my smaller sister. Instead of growing into chess, I outgrew it, more things going on and less patience as I went toward teenage years. This chess set conjures precious memories beyond the broken board and well worn pawns.
I remember when I was young that my father would only on special occasions pull out the family chess set. I was perpetually so thrilled to view the hinged wooden box with the red and burn two inch checkers on it. This wasn’t your normal chess set, this was a totally wooden hand crafted set.
I can recall each and every last chess pieces with extraordinary detail, the knights, so demanding and drastic. The rooks painstakingly even cylinders with the tiniest details showing several hours of work. I continue to own that chess set, it’s devoid a couple of pieces today, but I still cannot wait to exhibit it to my boys when they’re senior enough to appreciate it.
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