In Praise of Powderdigit - King of CBE

He lurks in the background quietly - but his ominous presence looms over every corner of the CBE forum...

Here he holds court like a king - forcing many to buy new chess sets. Who can stop him?

"Your current set is lacking" are the words which echo through your mind as you read his posts...

One Powder to rule them all.

In the immortal words of the goddess (yeah, my mother), “Don’t make me come down there!”

😂

He’s protected by the Cape of Good Hope and the southern seas! 🍻🍻

😆😆😆

You good folk make me laugh, I am but an amateur in these parts. There are many, many more knowledgable collector minds with their vast and high quality collections - far more historically significant and informative than mine. My mind immediately moves to people like Jon, Frank, Chuck, Holger, Walter, but so many more …

…. my scattered thoughts and modest collection are not comparable to those that really matter. For example, not a single Jaques do I own - and yet, these pieces are the pinnacle for many.

My own peak lay in the simple, functional and stylish sets produced in the Dortan region of France.
I enjoy the long distance friendships that I am grateful to have built through my collecting journey, and seeing the amazing pieces that some collectors have. It is a joy to participate in friendly communities from who I continue to learn. 
Cheers, Mark

Nothing wrong with a Jaques set but your posts are quite enjoyable and bringing joy into the world is a great gift. And you own the loveliest green Chavet knight.

And you made me falling in love with dog nosed knights, simply by polishing them up with some beeswax. Must be a secret power.

😊 Yes, those little dog-faced knights make me smile. Also, to clarify - I’d love an authentic Jaques or two in my collection however, they are way beyond my budget and a moonshot to find locally. That said, one of my favourite sets is in the style of a Jaques - this 1849 beauty.

I knew something was off. Dog-faced instead of dog-nosed... 😂

That is a very nice set! 😍

Powder,

Two comments:

1) Having a Jaques has circled around the drain that is my mind. At the end of the day, with a limited budget, other joys must win the day.

2) One of those joys is reading posts about chess sets, new or old, that others have found/enjoyed/are curious about - and the ensuing conversation. What you (and I) lack in Jaques, you make up for in point #2 here. Worth my annual subscription.

By the way, is it me or has the discussion of various sets fallen off in recent months?

I think you’re correct about the discussion falling off. I can only speak on why for me. Two main reasons - life and work becoming busier than normal with the unexpected illness of mum and some unplanned work changes. I also got tired of the negativity that pervaded discussions; the forum went being a sea of positivity, constructive debate and fun to a mud pit of personal jibes. To be fair, it was only one or two that peed in the pond but the trolls were fed and throw the food and play in the mud, they did. My silence was not avoidance it was me not wanting to play in that pit. There’s enough dark news in the world, I didn’t need more here!
Finally, I became uncomfortable. My desire has always been to offer objective and fun thoughts, primarily related to my collecting journey but I started to feel a burden in that people may have been purchasing sets based on my observations. I get it but we all have very different tastes and perceptions of quality, and add to that the variability in production quality from some of the manufacturers and it meant that people may receive very different levels of service or piece quality …. Hard to explain but being an over-thinker, I started to worry - probably for no reason.
The combination of the reasons above is why I have reduced my posts but I still enjoy the forum, viewing other’s sets, learning from those with more experience and I hope discussions continue.

True about the jibes if not occasional mud-slinging. When I see a post with a set that I dislike for whatever reason, I keep it to myself. What’s important is that the one posting has found something in this that they enjoy. And that’s enough. It would be awful if we all marched in lock-step (NOJ comes very close to that, but damn, their work really is high art).

I have found personal gems through posts here by people far more informed and educated than me - and not expensive at all (it isn’t always about the money).

Wonderful words. 👍

DKW and some other toxics did their own harm but it often feels like CBE's "glory days" are now passed. I miss 'em and hope for something to stir everyone's interests again but fear this may be a season (or an era). Hoist a glass, Diehards, and keep the faith!

He works in the background quietly- but his luminous presence brooms over every corner of the CBE forum...

Here he holds court like a king - endorsing many to buy new chess sets. Who can stop him?

"Our current bet is stacking" are the words which echo through your mind as you read his posts...

The king has features of all his fellow pieces: moves ortho- and diagonally like rook, bishop and queen- is an octopus like the knight- is short range and can not be promoted to like the pawn.

A king of the people

Shelter me from the powder and the fingerCover me with the thought that pulled the triggerJust think of me as one you'd never figuredWould fade away so young, with so much left undoneRemember me to my love, I know I'll miss her

Powderdigit, ominous, though, if you like, in the memento mori sense that we are carrying flames.

Powder, to me, is: photography, scholarly modesty, chess playing, a long-running practice of collecting vintage stuff locally and meeting the sellers in person, going for another Sandor Biro set, made by Sandor Biro, helping proof-reading (I guess) Holger Langer's fantastic book, turning a piece on a lathe.. so much unpretentious content, thank you!

My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos... ruined dreams... this wasted land. But most of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called "Max." To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time... when the world was powered by the black fuel... and the desert sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now... swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war, and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all. Without fuel they were nothing. They'd built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders talked and talked and talked. But nothing could stem the avalanche. Their world crumbled. The cities exploded. A whirlwind . Other's say he 's that road warrior ,

,,

5 knights for underdown

Black on Black supercharged Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe, known as the "V8 Interceptor" His Car !

There is such an incestuousness in designs that it becomes hard to find - at low-moderate prices - interesting sets. So many are made in India - not a problem (thankfully, Amritsar keeps traditional sets available) - and look alike from one maker to another, which are the same ones seen on the sites of many U.S. and European vendors.

At a certain point, the thrill is gone. There is no real creativity and originality. It’s hard to find the exceptions (within that price range): ERWoodLeather is one (on the higher end); RetroMaximum is another; Sandór Biró is another (one design - his own - in multiple finishes); and a variety of older sets found randomly…. It feels as though there used to be more…. Some well known vendors have, in my opinion, really lost their edge. I find little on their sites that piques my interest anymore…. This site has been fantastic at unearthing more interesting work (I found the now defunct Indian Chess Company here, where a handful of great replica sets were produced in limited numbers and were affordable).

Here’s a little gem - Latvian design - purchased several years ago from RetroMaximum (love giving whatever support I can to Ukraine too):