I learned how to play chess when I was 2 years old from my Dad. He taught me Giuoco Piano ( Italian ) Opening for white and Petroffs ( Russian ) Defense for black.

My father was a chess historian and loved to collect old chess sets and books. Our chess family grew up playing with 15th Century renaissance chess pieces from England and 11th century Florentine chess pieces from Italy.

I played FIRST board starting in 8th grade and learned about regulation 18th century Staunton. chess pieces in completions against other schools. My teams always went to the state chamionships receiving trophies for finishing in the top 10.

I learned the first unofficial world champion was Howard Staunton in 1943. During home matches, Staunton used Grand Cigar Devine Simpsons on the Strand chess pieces. This is my favorite chess set to play OTB matches at the beach. It is named after the Hotel and cigar room where the chess matches were played in England.

Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant lost the world championship to Howard Staunton in 1943 and he used French Regency pieces.

Every time the world championship moved to France and was played at the French Regency Hotel, Howard Staunton did not like these chess pieces and pushed for standard chess pieces in tournaments. I made my own set of French Regency chess pieces on a lathe and it took me 2 months.

My father showed me many ancient chess sets in museums. I purchased the 11th century replica Isle of Lewis from Isle of Lewis, Scotland.

The oldest chess set I own is from the 6th century found in Afrasiab, Uzbekistan. It is called .the Afrasiab chess set complete with silk board and different pieces than the more modern sets.

The oldest museum chess set replica my father showed me was 2 BC Queen Nefertiti chess set from her tomb. back then the game was like backgammon and chess. That is why chess boards I grew up with had chess on one side and backgammon on the other side. In the movie, “The 10 Commandments” the King and Queen played on a similar chess set.

My father had 3 Italian chess sets he would play his friends OTB: Val Gardena is a valley in the Dolomites of South Tyrol, Northern Italy. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving. Surrounded by Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France, the area s woodcarving families-industry has flourished since the 17th century and include Anri, Dolfi, Demetz and several others.

1953 ANRI Toriart Charlemane chess set

1966 ANRI Mediolanum Bust chess set

1960 ANRI D’arttagnan chess set

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