Personal Research Project-Jesse Neethling

The world of chess piece design

For my research project, I decided to delve into the fascinating art of chess set creation. For over 5000 years, the game of chess has mystified the world, bringing countless players from all walks of life. For myself, the question was, what about chess piece sets make them so alluring, and what processes are used at the highest levels of play, that make them so unafforadable?

The game of chess originated in India 5000 years ago, and from that point on, it has changed many times. Most notably, the pieces themselves have undergone significant visualization changes as well as functional ones. For instance, here is a photo of what was originally called 'Gaja', which is Sanskrit for elephant. This piece is the precursor to the modern day Bishop and served as one of the only pieces of the game that could move diagonally.

However, in contrast to the bishop we know today that can span the entire board in one span, the gaja was only able to move 2 squares but could hop over other pieces like the modern day knight. This piece as well as other pieces from the time, we usually carved by hand, and were made from either stone or ivory. Carving an entire chess set from elephant tusks makes one realize why it was given a place of honor in the game itself!

Lewis Chess set

This chess set was discovered in the Isle of Lewis in 1831 and dates back to the 12th century in Norway. They were created using whale teeth and walrus ivory.

Venafro chess set

This particular set was found in 1932 in a tomb in Italy. Made from deer antlers, only a handful of the entire set was recovered.

Chinese chess set

This set hangs in the The Met, and dates back to the 19th century China.

As you can see chess sets come from almost all cultural backgrounds and from a wide range of time periods. Crafted by a multitude of materials, it is a wonder that we have managed to collect so many of them. But where does our need for good materials come from for something as simple as a game? I looked into the materials used at the professional level of play in today's chess world. Here's the breakdown:

Wood- Most chess sets used in professional play are of Staunton-design meaning they come from the established piece appearance designed by Howard Staunton in the 1800's, and are made from boxwood or acacia. Ebony wood can also be used but the price increases and isn't typically associated with tournament play as a result.

Plastic- Many tournaments use plastic chess pieces due to their durability, and inexpensive replacement cost. Chess pieces need to be able to take a beating, contrary to popular belief; many professional chess players lose their temper and have been known to slam tables, thrown pieces, or even tip tables over.

Bone- In rare cases, bone has been used for games of honor played by a professional level player, against a notable person such as royalty or a celebrity, but largely, they are decorative and not designed for competitive play.

Cost ranges from cheap travel sets at 20 dollars all the way to some of the most expensive made from mammoth tusk ivory at a staggering 14.9 thousand dollars. (Some antique sets used by royalty have been known to cost millions of dollars)

Surely, creating a chess set can't be so difficult though right?

...right?

I tried my hand at modeling my own chess set

Using Tinkercad, I tried to roughly model a pawn. As you can see it ended up looking recognizable, but surely a far cry from anything as stunning or visually pleasing as what we've seen from the 12 century even. This goes to show the craftsmanship needed to firstly, create a design, and then precisely replicate that design. This would require the design of 16 identical pawns, 4 bishops, 4 knights, 4 rooks, 2 queens and 2 kings. As well as 2 backup queens, that usually come with chess sets.

method

Most chess sets are made by turning wood on a lathe, however nowadays, many companies and commercial manufacterers have turned to machine lathes and 3D printing to achieve a certain level of uniformity.

Here we can see a low polygon 3D model used in 3D printing software. There are a near countless amount of ways to model and manufacture chess pieces but as history has shown us, whether you are making them from bone or polyurethane, the cost will differ greatly, as well as the durability!

Here was a video I came across from a DIY project done by Standish Woodstory on Youtube. She shows us many of the tools used by craftsmen in order to produce a full set. These can differ depending on the size of the producer or materials used.

In conclusion:

Crafting chess sets, especially at the professional level requires extensive modeling, technical know-how, a sturdy material and no shortage of creativity. It was such a joy compiling the history, techniques and research all in one place. The game of chess has become such a big part of my life and I hope to spread that joy and mysticism to others. I hope that through knowledge, you can discover a love for the game yourself!

Google Sites

Report abuse