Chess board with buttefly wings on the white squares.

There is a used book store "The Olive Tree" downtown where I live, that I have been a customer about forty years. They know that I am a chess teacher, soccer coach and a bowling coach. Mostly to the youth in town but I coach adults also. Mostly as a volunteer but sometimes I do it for a fee. They give me a discount on any book I purchase. I always purchase gift certificates for my three grandchildren for their birthday, holidays or whenever I want to give them a gift. They love to read. I like Borders as the second choice for a book store.

One day a woman that works there said to me, "My father used to play chess and I have the chess board he used, it is unique. I was wondering if you would like to have it. I have been thinking to offer it to you for quite a while, but I keep forgetting."

"Absolutely You can never have enough chess boards. Is it wooden or what is it that makes it unique?"

"My dad used to travel and he picked it up in Brazil. It is wood with glass over the board. The lite squares are made from butterfly wings and the dark squares are black. He picked it up in the 50’s. They don't make them any more since they are on the endangered species. I don't have the pieces but your welcome to have the chess board. I have had it for twenty years."

"I will be happy to take it. If you want something money for it I will be happy to pay you for it."

“No. That isn’t necessary. I know that it’s going into good hands.”

I knew she would not take anything for it. One day I am going to ask her to lunch or dinner with me at my favorite Mexican restaurant down the street.

It’s a beautiful board . . . I have never used it . . . I has just sat behind my dresser . . . I love the colors the way the blues change to green, brown, they look fluorescent, then back . . . It seems to glow even without much light . . .  Hmm . . . Maybe I should hang it on a wall as a picture to display it . . . The top is glass to protect the butterfly wings under it . . . It is in a dark brown wood frame with light brown inlay strips . . . I has a “Made in Brazil . . . The back is nailed with finishing nails . . . The squares are 1 3/4 inches . . . If I display it as a chess board, I would have to purchase a suitable fancy chess set . . .

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See the wings change flourescent colors!

If you have a laptop computer, then you can see the photos with the butterfly wings change colors, by moving the laptop screen back and forth. Give it a try.

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This first photo is the board held with my hands showing. See the inlay around the frame. The actual playing board is 14" inches and the frame is 21" inches square.

 

 

 

The third photo shot is the board taken without any lighting or any flash. That's why its kind of dark, but look at the colors that reflect the ambient light.

 

 

The next board is one that I have had since 1961. I purchased it for $35.00. It is a Formica brand table top.

My sons said, "Dad you used to have it sitting behind the couch or dresser for years. Always saying that you were going to have it mounted."

Forty years later I finally had it mounted on a wood base. That was in 2001. The wood edge has been left unstained so I can select the color that I want on it. It has been a one score years now. It can be used for cards, checkers, backgammon, chess,  and it has a # 6 domino imprinted in the center to start that game . . . I don't have any legs for it . . . It is to heavy for a card table . . . but I will get a base for it this year . . .

On the board are two books that I just purchased. "Learn from Bobby Fischer's Greatest Games by Eric Schiller, 2004, by Cordoza Publishing" and "Winning Chess Strategies by Yasser Sriawan, 1994 by Microsoft Press". . .

 

Hmmmm. . .

No comments today. . .

No contraversy? . . .

Nobody like the Boards? . . .

Nobody hate the boards? . . .

Nobody dislike that I posted this?. . .

Wow. . . That is boring . . .

Goodnight then . . . I'm going to sleep . . .

                           Denver

Nice board, butterfly wings are so decorative.

   Denver - wonderful pictures. The butterfly board pictures are really cool and the board looks great framed like that. I also like the reflection in the board of the tree. Your son did a great job photographing them.

   As for the Fischer books, I have two myself, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess and Bobby Fischer - The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion.

   Thanks for sharing the picks Denver, and your memoirs too. Although I don't reply to too many posts anymore, I've really enjoyed yours. Keep 'em coming.

These are great pics. The butterfly wings really make the board look great.

Cool, thanx for showing

Nice board!

Very beautiful Denver, I dare say that the technique of glass is "fusing"... Ceramic and glass together. It makes enough for Castellón (Spain).

You can see here

http://keramik.es/SeriesKeramik.html

http://www.google.es/images?hl=es&q=fusing%20vidrio&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1024&bih=604

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4XuI2xDx-w

 

Your thoughts are always very well regarded 

 

Beautiful!

Thank you for posting these images Denver :-)

Pity you couldn't do it with a nice high resolution camera instead of a mobile phone camera.  Would be nice to see the board "close up".

Nice though!

Cool looking board. Since all I have is a wooden board from Wal-Mart, I won't bother posting a picture of it.

Hi  woodshover

I have never seen one from Walmart.

I'd like to see it.

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Hi  BorgQueen

The second photo is the close up of the middle of the board. Actually my son used a digital camera and at high resolution. The photo was so large that I had to make it smaller for chess.com.

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Thanks to all of you that commented and to all of you that just read.

I don't think I would sell this board. I will leave it for one of my sons, when I get mated.

Bye for now

Then it's a pity you had to reduce the size!  Would still be nice to see 1 - 4 square(s) at full resolution!

Hi  BorgQueen

I will go to my photo album and I will post a full resolution and see what happens.

I think it reduces it automatically when it post.

I will do, in five minutes it will be there.

It will be the first one shown.

Bye

Hey! Beautiful, just beautiful.

I love that third photo, the one without flash. Those reflections... Nature is amazing, isn't it?

I had read the other thread but the images were gone by the time I  read it. I'm glad you reposted it.

Cool, I'll check out your album soon...

If you could perhaps e-mail me a full resolution one, I'll be happy to host it on my website for you so others can see and download it?  IF that is something you want to do that is... and chess.com doesn't let you host large images.

BorgQueen

I posted it the full resolution and size but I think it optimized it to fit chess.com

It is the number one on the photo album.

http://www.chess.com/photos/view_album/DENVERHIGH/chess-stuff

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Hi bgangioni

I reposted and added them to that album also.

Thanks for the comment.

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Bye for now

Ok; unfortunately chess.com seems to have done a good job on it then.

Denver, have you read much Vladimir Nabokov, a superb novelist, lepidopterologist (studied butterflies), chess enthusiast, and chess problem composer  

That is really neat! My father had been given one after my grandparents went to Brazil back in the fifties. (They had actually picked up two boards. And no, I have not a clue what happened to the second one) But recently we had hand-made pieces made for it that match real nicely, and we use it quite often. :D Its really cool to see that a few of these boards still around.