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The People Who Own Decorative Chess Sets
Lots of people own a chess set. Its often made up of plastic or wooden pieces, stretched across some folding board, tucked away in a box in the closet; if the issue ever comes up, its there, waiting to be pulled out. But its not displayed; its not set out there, a challenge, beckoning to potential players to take up the gauntlet of battle.
Thats what a decorative chess set really is. Its a call to arms, a challenge to anyone that enters. In a game of wits, the relative intelligence of...
Decorating With Chess Sets
Chess is an ancient game of strategy and power. It is based on geometrical and mathematical purities, making it one of the most elegant games ever conceived of. And yet, it is a contest, and as with any conflict the battle rages back and forth as two opponents struggle for dominance. This combination of purity, and dynamic tension, mixed with a rich and varied history, makes chess sets a powerful symbolic piece in any decorative setting.
It is important to select an appropriate environment...
Chess Decorative power Through Challenge
A chess set is a challenge. Its very existence provides for a battle of wits that can actually have a defined winner, and a defined loser. It is a call to arms for anyone who enters a space. As such, it has a certain power that other pieces may lack. It is a force in a room, an immediate attention grabbing piece that elevates the style and sophistication of a space.
When someone walks into a room, their eyes will be riveted towards a chess set. It demands attention. As such its important...
Different Types of Stone Chess Sets
Stone is a powerful and ancient material that is born deep beneath the earth, and is formed over millions of years. This makes it an excellent candidate when choosing a material with which to form a chess set. Chess is a game of strategy, battle, and conflict, and so playing with stone pieces lends a certain power to the symbolic nature of the set. However, there are a wide variety of different types of stone, each with its own look, feel, and style.
Marble is probably the most iconic...
Marble and Alabaster Chess Sets
When you get into the market for truly high end chess sets, you will inevitably be drawn to materials that have classically been used in the sets of princes and kings throughout the ages. The historic look of chess has always been a set crafted in natural polished marble. When you need even more dignity and style, then alabaster is used, as it is a similar material, only it has a slightly more noticeable sheen and luster to it.
The first thing you should know about a marble chess set is...
The Modernization of Chess
Chess has not always looked like it does today. Over time the pieces and the rules have changed drastically. The modern game did not even emerge until the 1400s at least a millennium after it had been invented.
Chess is believed to have been invented in India, sometime before 500 AD. It quickly spread to Persia where it was called Shatranj, a Persian version of a Sanscrit word. It was adopted by the Muslims who retained the Persian name when they invaded. By 700 AD a version of the game...
Chess a Game of Warriors a Game of Nobility
The nature of chess is in its very essence no more than a game. A contest set between two opponents, each equally matched in everything except mental skill and experience. It is a game of equals, as much as it is a game of nobles. It is a contest that anyone can win, but only a few can master. It is a test that is almost as ancient as civilization itself, and yet its simplicity is unmatched, and its brilliance unrivalled.
The game of chess is a mental sport. As such it has generally been...
Early Chess Tournaments From Anderssen to Zukertort
The birth of competitive chess happened in London in 1851 with what many consider to be the worlds first modern chess tournament.
At the time chess had been rising in popularity in Europe steadily for over 400 years. People had started to think philosophically and strategically about the game, and to analyze it using mathematical formulas. Chess manuals were being published, and chess problems were a regular part of many newspapers weekly additions.
The tournament in London was the...
Social Decorating With Drink Coasters
Beverage coasters are interactive accessories that can be used to help protect surfaces from water rings, scratches, and other damaging factors. However they also have the potential to be wonderful decorative accessories, pieces which can be used to spread color and design throughout your home.
While a single coaster may be a small piece, when you have a set, they can stretch across the landscape of your home, bringing color and pattern to every corner of the space. They are also...
Onyx Decorating Care Maintenance and Information About the Stone
In decorating terms Onyx is a semi precious material, a form of marble that can take a high polish, featuring unique swirls of pattern and color which dance across its smooth face. One property that gives onyx a truly unique personality is that it has a translucent property, allowing light to actually pass through the stone and come out on the other side.
Onyx Stone is primarily quarried in two places, the Himalayan Mountains, and certain regions of Mexico. The Mexican material tends to be...
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