Does some research doubt the age of the historic Chess Set ?
The Chess pieces – currently split between museums in Edinburgh and London – were discovered on Lewis in 1831.
But the research suggests they may have been used in both chess and Hnefatafl – a similar game to chess that was popular in medieval Scandinavia.
It also casts doubt on the traditional theory that the ivory chess pieces were lost or buried by a merchant.
The research was led by Dr Caldwell of the National Museum of Scotland believes the Lewis chess men from the Chess Set may have belonged to a high-ranking chess playerliving on Lewis.
Chess
The game of chess has been in existance for over 1,500 years and is a fascinating object for collectors interested in tracing the history of Chess.
Chess Terms and Chess terminolgu starting with the letter G
Grandmaster: A FIDE title awarded to the top players in the world. GrandMaster’s usually must achieve a FIDE rating of 2500 or more.
ChessGrand Prix: A special contest sponsored by the USCF. All USCF players are eligible to participate. Throughout the year, “points” are awarded to those players who win Open sections of tournaments that qualify as Grand Prix events. To qualify as a Grand Prix event, the tournament must offer a prize fund of more than $500. (The amount of Grand Prix Points available for each tournament is determined by the amount of prize money offered) At the end of the year, the points are tallied and the winner is awarded a large cash prize.
There will be a chess sale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, London. (more or less opposite Harrods) on the 28th of October 2009.
The catalogue is now online at:-
and navigate to the chess sale.
There are a lot of good Jaques antique sets for sale, including weighted wood sets and ivory sets.
Worth it just to see and handle the sets even for those who don’t want to buy.
But for those who want that special playing set it is a treasure trove!
Public viewing will be from a few days before the sale, and hardcopy catalogues are avaliable from Bonhams.
