For the first time in many, many months we had friends stay over for the Canada Day weekend (July 1st – 4th) and after a sumptuous dinner and a few cold bevvies some lively games of nine-man-morris and chess were had outside on our patio. Today is Monday the fifth, and I’ve just spent the […]
Category Archives: Chess Set
Chess Set
MANAS, THE KYRGYZ & THE GREAT SILK ROAD: A sojourn into the small world of folk-art chess pieces in Central Asia
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[The suffix, –stan is from Old Persian, also -istan or -ustan, meaning ‘land of’ or ‘a place where there are many of.’ Kyrgyz is pronounced krrr–Giz with a rolling ‘Scottish’ r and emphasized g. Manas is not pronounced ‘manners’ but m’Naz with a lingering zzz and emphasis on the n. You’re all caught up.] To […]
This month I thought I’d take you through the process of stripping down a set (and we’ve all seen them) that are virtually unplayable. A prime example being this deep purple vs. black Botvinnik-Flohr set that made a brief appearance in our May Chessay, TO STRIP, OR NOT TO STRIP? and in this sorry case […]
My husband is an incredibly talented mixed media artist. A humble one, too, so I have insisted on taking the reins of the latest Chessay to brag about his inclusion in an excellent article published in Canada’s top national paper, the Globe & Mail. The item is about the recent popularity of the Netflix series […]
Amber, otherwise known as ‘Russian Gold’ (Latin electrum, from Ancient Greek elektron speaking of a ‘beaming sun’). Some time a while back (the weeks and months all roll into one these days) I was very kindly gifted an excellent little-known tome from the well-respected U.S. chess aficionado, Chuck Grau. The wonderfully illustrated (and for me, […]
…as the old Monty Python skit (from The Holy Grail, 1975) kinda said. But instead of bringing out the ‘dead,’ in this month’s Chessay we’ll be bringing out the ‘lead.’ In this case from a late 1950s ‘Grandmaster’ or ‘GM’ set. A classic design that dominated Soviet chess tournaments (in several variations) well into the […]
Chips and busted bases – chippititus! Sorrowfully, an all-too-common ailment throughout the chess collecting community and the subject of this month’s (somewhat delayed) Chessay. Whether a set is made from wood, bone or carbolite, an unexpected tumble from the playing table or an over-enthusiastic ker-thud! during a game of blitz and <<< BOOM!! >>> Shift […]
THE 2019 ‘GOLD SIGNATURE’ SERIES A few enquires have been made of late as to how many of our sets carry the iridescent gold ‘power’ signature on the base of the kings distinguishing the body of work completed in 2019 (as opposed to the iridescent ‘silver’ signature of 2020). Quite by chance, the answer to […]
… and that is indeed the question of this month’s Chessay! Just when does a vintage chess set qualify for an evening on the worktable with the stripper? Or more specifically, exactly which factors determine whether a set is eligible to be slathered in noxious chemicals and feel the wrath of the wire brush, sandpaper […]
It’s in unusual circumstances that I sit here today and write this month’s Chessay. Toronto, where we are based, is virtually in lock-down due to the pandemic caused by the C-19 virus that is running rampant through so many parts of the world. What would normally be a day of celebration for me as I […]
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