Old, make that vintage chess sets      

November 17th, 2008

The object that I’ve held throughout my living and criss-crossed the nation with, is a tiny electronic chess set. It runs on two AA batteries and has eight unique skill levels. Naturally after 43 years the whites are a bit rusty and I’ve misplaced a knight along the way, but largely and an exchange of batteries from time to time it has lasted with me since I was 15 years old.

The chess set has lived in New York, Alaska, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It braved marriage and survived children. It waits patiently in a cupboard for me to find a moment for a game. Of course I’ve never done it justice, only ever playing to skill level five and for most of the time being adequate at level three or four, but it has been a steady friend. It’s difficult to believe a chess set could be made in 1972 and run on until today, but it held up and it’s still omnipresent primed to play!

There are so many unique and gorgeous chess sets in the world, they can be a fun item to amass or to present as gifts. I have seen gorgeous pieces in the flea markets of Turkey and Israel and in the market places of India. They appear to be a worldwide phenomenon. These moderately priced sets constructed from wood, marble or other local fabrics can be lovely conversation chessmen or decorative components, even if one doesn’t play chess.

To Boot, one can find chess pieces that are designed after a smorgasbord of themes, from civil war chess sets symbolizing the North and South to those made about novels and motion pictures, such as Lord of the Rings.

An historic, better that vintage, chess set on the upper shelf of the laundry room in my parents’ house in a well-worn red box is nothing gem searchers would submit to Antiques Roadshow for an appraisal. Notwithstanding, this set of black and red chess pieces with the strong feel of even the pawns, is priceless.

In my history are stories of childhood, an aunt who passed away before I left grammar school, and hours learning the game and competing with my older sister. Rather of growing into chess, I matured out of it, more distractions and less patience as I went toward teenage years. This chess set provokes precious memories beyond the damaged board and well worn pawns.

I recall when I was a youth that my dad would only on holidays pull out the household chess set. I was invariably so charged to view the hinged wooden box with the red and bronze one inch checkers on it. This wasn’t your garden variety chess set, this was a totally wooden hand crafted set.

I can think of each and every piece with wonderful detail, the knights, so rigorous and firm. The rooks painstakingly straight cylinders with the smallest details showing several hours of work. I continue to own that chess set, it is lacking a couple of pieces now, but I still cannot wait to present it to my sons when they’re old enough to value it.

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