My Chess Genealogy

A significant part of chess for me has been the pieces themselves. This goes back to my childhood. Growing up, we had four chess sets. One was a Lardy Staunton set, which I now have, and I treasure it.

We also had a plastic set that was fairly common at the time, and can still be found on eBay for a fair price. This set was modeled after French medieval sculpture, featuring figural pieces--the king was a king, the queen a queen, etc. The rook always entranced me--a literal figure of a castle tower. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to live in such a tower, in safety.

The third set we had was a travel set, which again, I have now. The pieces were tiny and had pegs that went into holes on each square on the board. The fourth set was a French Regency set made in the early 20th century. I remember my father telling me that his mother had given it to him, and she recalled someone giving it to her. He learned how to play chess during World War II, at a time when long periods of boredom were punctuated with periods of crisis. He came home and told her that he was going to continue learning about chess. She gave him the Regency set but suggested that it might be beyond him

My father was active in a local chess club for a number of years before he married my mother in 1955. I am not sure if he was active in the club after he was married, but it is possible.

Getting back to the chess sets themselves, I now have my father’s Staunton set that he bought in the early 1950’s so that he would have a set to bring to the chess club in Meriden. The Regency set is long gone, not surprisingly. I think that and the Lowe’s figural set went into a yard sale. I have similar sets that I bought on eBay, and although they are not the actual sets they are exactly the same as those that I remember.

Moving the pieces around has always been a great appeal to me. I have never been a strong player although I continue to work on my game. The aesthetics of the game are very important to me. I enjoy studying the different styles of chess pieces. I have a number of sets from the 19th century, and the early 20th century. I have also made reproductions of a wide variety of sets dating from the Middle Ages up to the early 20th centuries. My wood turning skills continue to improve with practice.

Enjoying the actual pieces as miniature sculptures is a pleasure to me. I enjoy examining chess pieces and thinking about how they were made. I enjoy moving pieces around on a board and looking at how they interact with one another.

The reasons I enjoy making reproduction sets are several. For one thing, I often can't afford the originals. Also, I like making a complete set from pictures of a set that has not survived complete, to have an idea how the first owner would have seen it and used it. It's nice to be able to play a game with a set in the style of one made centuries ago and to think about the people who would have used it.