Saturday, July 27, 2013
The Chess Store
I always wanted to add a post on board games. However, they're hard to find at one auction or through one auctioneer. I had also wanted to add a post on chess, but I wasn't able to get the permission from the auction house from whom I wanted to write about. Those were antique collectible items. So I looked and looked, and then I had one of those "Eureka moments". Instead of looking for antique chess games and pieces, why not try modern-era people and sites! Now why hadnt' I thought of that before!
So I did a search on Monday, and lo and behold it didn't take long to fine exactly what I was looking for! I wrote to The Chess Store and within a day, I received a reply from Mrs. Jerri Koos, the Director of Marketing for The Chess Store, Inc.
"The Chess Store and The Backgammon Store were started in 1999 as an online retail business by Jeff Myers, who is the President of The Chess Store, Inc. Jeff began the business after a 20+-year career as an engineer with a major high tech firm in Oregon. He started the business with only himself, his computer and his garage; then slowly added one employee, then more and finally progressed to an office and warehouse of 20,000 feet. The Chess Store opened its showroom last October.
Jeff is very hands-on with his business, managing all aspects of the day to day operations. In addition, he is a self-taught photographer who shoots the gorgeous photography displaying all of the products on his websites.
The Chess Store offers a variety of over 2,000 products ranging from $3.00 plastic chess sets to exclusive high end chess sets priced at $3,000."*
* Courtesy of Mrs. Jerri Koos
If you read the reply from Jerri Koos, you'll have noticed that the owner - Mr. Jeff Myers is the photographer for all of the company's imagery. I mentioned to Jerri that the photography on the site was suburb! Of course, this helps me a lot when I like to whiten the background and adjust the colour-balance. In both cases, I didn't need to do anything!
I haven't played chess in a long time, and when I did, I never really had the patience to play. I liked to play fast, but this is definitely not a game of speed. You always have to think several moves ahead if you want to win. I was not much of a winner at this game!
What was fascinating to see at The Chess Store Inc. was how much diversity there is for game. I of course as a child, was used to playing either with wood or plastic. Yet here, there are all kinds of materials, and all kinds of themes to the chessmen. Of course, in the "real" game, played by serious amateurs and professionals, there are standards to the game and the men. The chessmen have t have a certain appearance rather than some of the more interesting sets such as the Egyptian set above!
Not only is there a fantastic selection of chess pieces, but there are also chess boards, and boards that also act as storage for the game.
The above set is from a company by the name of Italfama. I'm not a chess aficionado, so I am not familiar with the manufacturer, but they are well-known. The design, materials, and workmanship are beautiful. Exotic wood, as well as silver and gold -coloured metals would make playing chess a very entertaining experience.
The set above is made of bone and comes from India. I'm certain that the bone is made form animals that are not on the endangered list or banned form entering the USA (e.g. ivory). THese beautiful pieces are hand made.
Here's another very interesting set from India. It's an elegant and ornate set from the Punjab province of India, and is hand-carved from camel bone. The craftsmen I'm sure have taken years to develop their skills to be able to work in bone.
Of course, there are other items that can be found in the store,and above is a sampling.
The Crusades III Theme set above is my favourite (for now). What I like about the set is all of the interesting chess pieces. Now that would keep me interested in the game, while my opponent spends 3 minutes working on the next move. I'd be thinking,and coming up with ideas such as "You know what would be great? A travel tour of the Crusade routes!"
Stacey!
It's your move!
I hope you enjoyed today's post. It's not my regular type of post, but certainly fits into the realm of children's pastimes. For myself, looking at these exotic sets and designs was certainly an eye-opener. And the next time, I venture out to a yard sale (garage sale in Canada), I'll be searching out more than toys!
Thanks for dropping by on a leisure Saturday or whatever day you happen to have visited here.
As always, have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
(toysearcher@gmail.com)
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