• Chess in a Can

    From Quadibloc@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 21 20:46:51 2022
    I was at a "discount superstore" recently. Browsing the aisles, I saw they were sold out of some all-plastic playing cards that I liked for their durability...

    but they had, for five dollars, a chess set in a container styled to look like a soft drink can. The modern kind, that was inspired by the fuel tanks of the Atlas missile.

    It contains a small cloth chess board with, of course, printed squares.

    But what surprised me pleasantly enough to buy it... was that the chess pieces included were not plastic ones, but wooden ones.

    They were very simple in shape. Not only was the knight not sculpted, but also omitted were the crenellations of the Rook, and the diagonal cut to imply the Bishop's mitre. So everything but the Knight is strictly lathe-turned, and the Knight is as
    simple as can be.

    But at that price, one can't complain.

    John Savard

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  • From Phil Innes@21:1/5 to Quadibloc on Wed Dec 14 12:01:26 2022
    I read somewhere that the cost of machine-sculpting the knight was equal to the cost of sculpting all the the other pieces. Doubtless a small exaggeration, though maybe close to the truth for wood.

    It is difficult to obtain non-turned pieces in wood, and entire sets can cost some 400+ bucks or so.

    Cordially, Jekyll

    On Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 11:46:52 PM UTC-4, Quadibloc wrote:
    I was at a "discount superstore" recently. Browsing the aisles, I saw they were sold out of some all-plastic playing cards that I liked for their durability...

    but they had, for five dollars, a chess set in a container styled to look like a soft drink can. The modern kind, that was inspired by the fuel tanks of the Atlas missile.

    It contains a small cloth chess board with, of course, printed squares.

    But what surprised me pleasantly enough to buy it... was that the chess pieces included were not plastic ones, but wooden ones.

    They were very simple in shape. Not only was the knight not sculpted, but also omitted were the crenellations of the Rook, and the diagonal cut to imply the Bishop's mitre. So everything but the Knight is strictly lathe-turned, and the Knight is as
    simple as can be.

    But at that price, one can't complain.

    John Savard

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  • From William Hyde@21:1/5 to Phil Innes on Wed Dec 14 12:39:05 2022
    On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 3:01:27 PM UTC-5, Phil Innes wrote:
    I read somewhere that the cost of machine-sculpting the knight was equal to the cost of sculpting all the the other pieces. Doubtless a small exaggeration, though maybe close to the truth for wood.

    It is difficult to obtain non-turned pieces in wood, and entire sets can cost some 400+ bucks or so.


    Good to see you're still about, Phil, even in the wasteland rgcm has become.


    I learned chess using a St. George set. Not sure that's even legal in tournaments nowadays.

    William Hyde

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  • From Eli Kesef@21:1/5 to Quadibloc on Wed Dec 14 13:14:28 2022
    On Friday, July 22, 2022 at 6:46:52 AM UTC+3, Quadibloc wrote:
    I was at a "discount superstore" recently. Browsing the aisles, I saw they were sold out of some all-plastic playing cards that I liked for their durability...

    but they had, for five dollars, a chess set in a container styled to look like a soft drink can. The modern kind, that was inspired by the fuel tanks of the Atlas missile.

    It contains a small cloth chess board with, of course, printed squares.

    But what surprised me pleasantly enough to buy it... was that the chess pieces included were not plastic ones, but wooden ones.

    They were very simple in shape. Not only was the knight not sculpted, but also omitted were the crenellations of the Rook, and the diagonal cut to imply the Bishop's mitre. So everything but the Knight is strictly lathe-turned, and the Knight is as
    simple as can be.

    But at that price, one can't complain.

    Bs"d

    I think that in that case, it is best not to complain.

    https://tinyurl.com/KC-play-trap-gamb

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  • From Eli Kesef@21:1/5 to Phil Innes on Wed Dec 14 13:18:56 2022
    On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 10:01:27 PM UTC+2, Phil Innes wrote:
    I read somewhere that the cost of machine-sculpting the knight was equal to the cost of sculpting all the the other pieces. Doubtless a small exaggeration, though maybe close to the truth for wood.

    It is difficult to obtain non-turned pieces in wood, and entire sets can cost some 400+ bucks or so.

    Bs"d

    Luckily the turned pieces look better. And are a lot cheaper.

    Of course the horse is unturnable, but for that we have CNC machines.

    https://tinyurl.com/mighty-pin

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  • From Eli Kesef@21:1/5 to William Hyde on Wed Dec 14 13:25:29 2022
    On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 10:39:06 PM UTC+2, William Hyde wrote:
    On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 3:01:27 PM UTC-5, Phil Innes wrote:
    I read somewhere that the cost of machine-sculpting the knight was equal to the cost of sculpting all the the other pieces. Doubtless a small exaggeration, though maybe close to the truth for wood.

    It is difficult to obtain non-turned pieces in wood, and entire sets can cost some 400+ bucks or so.
    Good to see you're still about, Phil, even in the wasteland rgcm has become.

    Bs"d

    But at least we know now what to do with diabetic feet, and that is also important.

    I learned chess using a St. George set.

    You're not the only one who had a difficult childhood.

    https://tinyurl.com/Short-kill

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  • From Quadibloc@21:1/5 to William Hyde on Fri Dec 16 06:21:06 2022
    On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 1:39:06 PM UTC-7, William Hyde wrote:

    I learned chess using a St. George set. Not sure that's even legal in tournaments nowadays.

    I'm fairly sure it isn't, as it's sufficiently far from Staunton as to impose difficulties
    in piece recognition.

    The St. George pattern, though, was light-years ahead of the Regence pattern, in which the Pawn, the Bishop, and the Queen were basically only distinguished by their height.

    In both the Regence and St. George patterns, though, the Knight had a
    horse's head, and thus could not just be turned on a lathe.

    At least, in the St. George pattern, the Bishop was now distinctive, as it
    had a mitre. It, too, could not be turned on a lathe, although it was easier
    to make than a Knight.

    In my opinion, while the Edinburgh Upright pattern resembles the
    Staunton pattern in the plainness of its stems, as far as what distinguishes the pieces from each other, it's clearly just a trivial variant of the St. George
    pattern - just like Barleycorn pieces, if in the opposite direction.

    If one wants to find a pattern that anticipated the Staunton pattern by making the Queen distinctive in the manner we are familiar with today, it is the pattern
    used in the Grand Cigar Divan of Simpson's on the Strand (dating from 1828, hence pre-dating Staunton by 21 years) that should be the one recognized.

    John Savard

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