The traditional version of Chess has been an inexhaustible treasure for over 500+ years, developed and modified during the Renaissance into a game, played by many gentlemen of fair estate and fortune - Kings and Queens, Princes, Princesses, Dukes, Generals, Regents, Presidents, Academics and School children alike. Many cultures have produced sets of exceptional craftsmanship and beauty thus delighting the aesthetic sense. At the turn of this century, Kings, Queens and European nobility had Chess sets of rock crystal intricately handcrafted with antiqued silver plate or delicately painted by hand to capture every lovely feature. Many charming hand painted sets have been produced which are a vision of grace and beauty, magnificently sculpted in fine bisque and Tesori porcelain (a blend of powdered porcelain and resins), some accented with multi-faceted crystal, others forever captured in carefully tooled wood carvings with the boards resplendent with inlaid oak, mahogany or rosewood veneers, solid brass fittings and finally those encrusted with semi-precious jewels, found today in places such as Van Cleef & Arpels of Paris or Tiffany’s of New York. The artistry involved in producing these Chess sets has only been rivaled by the priceless creations of Peter Carl Faberge who crafted his Regency, Imperial and Alexandra eggs in shimmering springtime colours and lavishly accented them with regal 22 carat gold or carefully sculpted and hand-painted them down to the tiniest details with blushes of soft pink and powder blue. The Staunton pattern is a pulchritudinous example now in use for 150+ years. When evening falls, and it is time for a well deserved rest, there is nothing quite like these Chess pieces which are like comfortable loveable companions. It enhances many a home with its beauty and mystique and many feel a sense of family with this pattern. Born of medieval legend, this is a Chess set of supreme quality, capturing romance and drama, myth and magic on the battlefield of the fateful game of Kings. Clean, clear, well distinguished without being ornate, quite rewarding to the touch and responsive to the move. They are individually well proportioned, and formally inter-related by means of classical balusters, crowning balls and grooves that, in elevation are either at the same height or at equally measured intervals. The graduated height of the pieces, although singularly unexpressive of relative power, contributes to the architectonic composition of the whole. And beyond that, the natural symbolism is well expressed - the Knight and the Rook are obvious - the more abstract shape of a Bishops headdress suggestive of a mitre - the crowns of the King and Queen imperiously clear and the pippalie of the Pawns indicative of suckling babies. The boundless scope of abstraction in representing mythological and historical themes has been used by artists, writers and film makers to suggest an intellectual atmosphere or to express a particular mood such as contemplation, reflection or, the joie de vivre. The history of Chess has been coloured by the contribution of many countries and furnishes a deep sense of continuity with the intellectual community of bygone ages. Chess and the figurants who grace its stage are the land of imagination, imagery motifs, mythological patterns, shamanic journeys and initiations and a complicated interactive event. It is a magical place where you can ride on fluffy white clouds wearing a dreamy expression on your face, moving your pieces as you play your favorite game of make believe. Western Chess has been a recreation of many of the world’s luminaries including: 01 Charlemagne • 02 King Canute • 03 Sir Walter Raleigh • 04 Shakespeare • 05 Ben Johnson • 06 Leibnitz 07 Voltaire • 08 Rousseau • 09 Peter the Great • 10 Fredrick the Great • 11 Napoleon • 12 Buckle (the historian) • 13 Benjamin Franklin • 14 Dickens • 15 Ruskin • 16 R.L. Stevenson • 17 Lenin • 18 Bonar Law • 19 Fritz Kreisler • 20 H.G. Wells • 21 Charles Boyer • 22 Humphrey Bogart • 23 Neil Diamond • 24 John Wayne • 25 George C. Scott • 26 Bob Dylan • 27 Our man in Havana - Fidel Castro • 28 Leo Tolstoy • 29 and YOU! - and too many contemporaries to mention. An instrument proclaiming the dawn of a new civilization ruled by reason A Chessboard and pieces comprise a remarkable instrument capable of being used with intelligence by the human mind. The traditional game of Chess is played on a board of 64 cells, and occupies a unique position in the history of our game. Centuries of labor went into its making and the resources of powerful nations and the contributions of many millions of people were involved in bringing it to the level at which it is now played. The sublime beauty of the traditional Chess-set can be forgotten by many of its practitioners. Crowded with its 32 pieces the player looks down auspiciously on their work and presides with unshaken self-possession and undaunted perseverance over the tumult and raging fury of this theatre of war with visage furrowed and darkened by the anguish of contemplation. Each player probes, pokes, feels and flexes h/er pieces in a nose-to-nose staring competition. While this is happening some sort of bonding occurs which lends the feeling that one is part of a grand philosophical design and a sense of source and purpose is given. The warriors of this game-tree of Chess with its perfect order and arrangement of Rooks, Bishops, Knights, Pawns, King and Queen - where the workmen execute their orders with a silent and unerring obedience - where each possible contingency can be foreseen - each detail carefully rehearsed - are worthy of the provident self-expression with which they were handed down to us by our forefathers. In the west Chess is considered a game with rules to be learned, openings to be memorized and techniques to be mastered. Western players do not usually speak of Chess as art and metaphysical questions about the game cause people to feel queasy. Most writing on the subject is dry technical analysis relevant only to serious students of the game with society tending to regard serious players as an eccentric group of heavyweight thinkers whose intelligence is useless.
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