Win some lose some, draw a few.
I purchased this at the height of me being a chess fanatic . . .
That was 57 years ago but to this day i have not put legs on it . . .
I had it mounted on wood around 1990 . .
I'm now 83 and don't know what will happen to it when i go to the chess heaven in the sky. . .
In 1960 i also bought a chess set in a fake leather box that the pieces were red & white. It was being liquidated in a store that was closing called the White House in San Francisco. I played many , many games with it. But to my demise i don't know what happened to it. . .
Today I dropped in on my son at his home with a 100 piece puzzle. It was of a white bunny, My grandaughter and grandson were there and I didn't take the cover of the puzzle in with me, so they could not see what it would be.
Soon we were done with the puzzle after much laughing and carrying on. My grandaughter said, "Papa, wait I will be right back." Off she ran up the stairs in search of something.
"Papa I got my beautiful chess set and I want to play you a game of chess."
"Ok. I will play you." I haven't play a game with anyone in a 9 months. On Chess dot Com I have only played four game in a year.
She said holding the two bags of chess pieces, "Which color do you want?"
"Wait a second. The proper way to choose the color is to put a white pawn and a black pawn in your closed hands mix them up behind your back. Then let me choose the hand."
Quickly she did that with her tiny seven year old hand and extended them out to me. I choose her right hand. I got the white pieces.
We set our own pieces up and when we were ready to play she said pointing at the three pawns on the kings side,"Papa. Those three pawns you don't move at the start of the game. Even those on the left side. O.K.? Just the two in the middle."
"Right I got it," I said.
I move 1. e4 she quickly responded . . e5.
I moved 2. f4 Her eyes lit up and and snapped up the pawn. e x f4.
"Oh nooo . . . you wiped him out." I said with a 73 year old surprise. My son and his lady friend and my grandson were watching us, while they played with another puzzle.
"Papa. That is the way in Chess, sometimes you lose pieces." She said looking at me very logically.
A little later I checked her with my queen.
She tried to move the king here and there. It was imposible. She tried to block impossible. Finally with happines she found the queen and put it , , , Q to f7. "I found a way," she said proudly.
I took the queen and she took my queen with her king, smiling. "I am out of trouble."
We played on. I was goind to take one of her pieces and she searched and moved the knight, then tried the bishop, then the rook to no avail trying to block a bishop check. Finally she move a pawn . . . c5.
"I didn't see that," I said. "But now listen to this."
"What is it Papa."
"Do you know what "enpassant is?"
Rolling on the floor but listening intently I showed her. She was dissapointed but I showed her because she found that move it mave an escape way for the king.
A little later she checked me with her bishop. "It's a check. Papa but I just put it there trying to get away."
"Wow. Now I have to move my king." I said.
"No Papa, why don't you just castle?"
"You aren't allowed to castle when you are in check. I had to do it before I move my king or be in check." I moved my king.
That game never ended. We started some other games with the rest of the family, but she learned four things today.
It also made me play a game of chess. I was a game against my 7 year old granddaughter with her beautiful silver case, wood board and golden varnished white and black pieces.
It was two drawn games.