My Chess Obsession!

[Whiterook]

I’ve an obsession with the game of Chess, and a fetish for Chess sets!

This all started somewhere in my pre-teens, in early the 1970’s. The catalyst was in fact, a Chess set! My older brother (10 years older than me) was in his high school Chess Club, and one day, he brought home a Chess set borrowed from a friend. I was in awe! It was a Ganine “Gothic” Salon Chess Set.



…this design was from Italian sculptor, Peter Ganine; the edition of that particular set was circa 1961, though I’ve seen references of its production origins back to 1947, in plastic; and it appears that an original 1939 edition, with slightly less detail was produced in ceramics. Basically a collection of heads, it was nothing like any Chess set I’d ever seen, and I absolutely fell in love with it. That borrowed set was the “Salon” edition, with glossy ivory and black colored plastic chessmen. The set was accompanied by a rather cheap folding cardboard chess board, and the Pawn chessmen sat in long cardboard boxes, while the major pieces sat in individual slots. The art on the whole box cover was gorgeous, too.

I-wanted-it! …and I spent years searching for it through the 1980s. In the interim, I bought a couple traditional sets, but it wasn’t until discovering eBay, did I finally find and buy this gorgeous Ganine “Gothic” Chess Set! It’s a prized set in my collection. It’s the same style Salon set from my childhood… I later found out there was a larger set, called the “Tournament” set, which I saw on episodes of the television reality show, Big Brother; It’s much larger (the King stands about 4.5” tall! …I’m still hunting that one down!


However, another Ganine set I did hunt down and buy was, The Conqueror, which I bought probably a year or so after the Gothic. Made with full figure chessmen, this was a bit higher caliber than the Gothic.









An absolutely gorgeous set!

[Whiterook]

Learned to Play

Several years after I’d seen my brother’s borrowed Chess set, in my mid-teens, my best friend learned to play from his dad, who was a great Chess player. Seeing a Chess set in his house, setup on their kitchen table, I asked my friend to show me, but he for some reason didn’t want to …I later figured out, because he didn’t grasp the game very well.

Those that know me, know it takes a lot to deter me, so I resolved to learn. That’s when fate, or dumb luck intervened! I was walking along side my mom in the grocery store one day, and low and behold, a cereal box of Lucky Charms caught my eye, with an advertisement in the box, “Checker’s ‘n Chess Game Board and Men - Inside”.



My mom bought it and that’s how I learned to play! There was a chess board and pieces you could cut out, and simple instructions on how to play the game and how to move the pieces. I figured the game out and practiced, and challenged my friend to a game — and I beat the pants off him!

[Whiterook]

I’m a Playa!

After learning how to play and my first couple matches, I found that was all it took to get me hooked! My next step was to buy a Chess set, which I did at a local store. It was a glossy walnut, wooden Staunton style set with a cardboard chessboard. It was actually a really nice set, with weighted Chessmen. My friend and I played tons of Chess matches together… I was a better a chess player, but we were closely matched. I played my brother in law a lot too, but he was much better than me and beat the pants off me. I loved that first Chess set… I wish I still had it today, but somewhere down the line around college, the set parted ways somehow. It was also around college where my chess playing lagged, finding myself much busier with college course.

It was 1983, after meeting my wife, where Chess became a much played game again — of course, she neglected to tell me she was in a Chess Club in high school and would beat the pants off me, lol. While we were dating, she got this wonderful Renaissance themed Chess Set from her parents one Christmas, and it got a lot of playing! …she still has it! It was also around this time, a year or so later where she bought me my one, and only non-computer electronic Chess Set — a Kasparov SciSys TURBO 16K, was at the time, a sophisticated chess computer which automatically registers your moves on its built-in sensor chessboard. The chessmen are slightly magnetic, which helps the small pieces stay in the board. It has 17 different levels of skill and two digital chess clocks to show you the elapsed time for each side. There are a number of additional features such as the unique three-colored LED’s which make all operations easy to understand. The promo ads declared, “You will be sure to appreciate the new instant response program that gives you very fast games in the casual levels”.

Called, a chess computer, has 17 different levels of skill. The first nine are designed for casual play with average response times. In these levels the computer is programmed to try to anticipate various moves you might make and to calculate its responses for each of them while you are thinking. Thus you may very often get an instant response to your moves.





This chess computer was how I really learned how to play much better! Ask for suggested moves, and undo were enormous aids. This was as good as having a Chess teacher!




And yes, I still own it!

I would later try computer chess apps, followed by iPad chess apps… and of course, we have the Play Chess Add-on feature here in the game room. All are great ways to play. I know Duncan plays online on the computer, I believe in a lesson/learning format with competitive play? Electronic and online chess can be awesome, but I still prefer face-to-face with a real Chess set.

Since the 80s, I’ve bought several Chess sets, which I’ll try and show in future posts.

[Whiterook]

Chess Tables, and Richard the Lionheart

All through the years, I wanted a Chess Table! After discovering my love of the game, and of the pieces, I took greater note or chess tables in old movies, from the magnificent mansions to the common pedestrian living room. I was fascinated by all these great Chess sets, but the tables made specifically for them became a desired acquisition goal for me for decades.

I saw several that were very nice, and honed in on one in particular that was the size of a large chess board and extra room, with four beautiful chairs. The problem was, they were all very expensive for brand new tables and chairs. As gorgeous as they were, they lacked that “old” feeling… which impacted the question of fitting into the homes we lived in, being so modern made. I know that sounds weird, but it was a thing!

As a conciliation prize, I did end up buying a small corner table — hexagonal shaped top with fake leather inlay, on a central post with a three leg perch. It even had a couple small drawers on each end, which held my Guanine Chess pieces! But no chairs, and it was never confit sit at with anything we had for kitchen or dining room chairs. Placing a chessboard atop didn’t look all that great, either. It eventually got donated to a charity.

Then in 2019, my wife and I were in a big antique shop up in Bennington, Vermont, in the beautiful countryside of the Green Mountains, five minutes from Upstate New York, when I saw the Chess table of my dreams! …and four chairs, not original to the table but a great match. Made circa 1940’s, it was an estate item from New York City; made of Maple, Walnut, and Pear woods, the table and chairs are probably Queen Ann style and in great shape. I almost didn’t buy it, ‘cause of the price… $950 for the full set, but I am so glad I did, as it’s my prize possession 😊






The Chess set I keep on it as the regular set is Richard the Lionheart, from Studio Ann Carlton…







This set was actually bought somewhere around the late 1990s, before the Ganine set; bought at a high end game store in the Mall of America, Minnesota. Besides being an amazing work of art, it reminded me of the Ganine set I was so rabid about finding and had not as of that time. Oddly, over time, it has become my favorite Chess set, just behind my precious Ganine Gothic and Conqueror sets,

“Richard the Lionheart Chess Pieces.

A more definitive decorated chess set would be hard to find than this superbly crafted masterpiece. Our designers at Studio Anne Carlton, combining their skills with the styles of Staunton and the Old French Dieppe sets, have created one of our most attractive sets featuring important characters from the era of King Richard 1 of England (known as Richard the Lionheart). These regal pieces are richly decorated which contrasts with the simple elegance of the Staunton style bases.”

— Studio Ann Carlton

Just an amazing set, with weighted pieces; solid feel and a joy to hold.

[Whiterook]

So as you can see, Chess plays a major part of my life. It’s made the question, “If you could only keep one game, what would it be?”, easy… Chess; of course, which Chess set would be a little tough! I’ll post pics of my various sets and history as this thread develops with time.