Chess Sets What the CookJaques Duopoly did for chess design

I wonder if Nathaniel Cook and John Jaques ever realized that the staunton chess design would be so dominating as the style of chess sets and the design chosen for global chess tournaments. What w...



I wonder if Nathaniel Cook and John Jaques ever realized that the staunton chess design would be so dominating as the style of chess sets and the design chosen for global chess tournaments. What would Bill Gates have done Sold a license for each set, andnbsp each game played The reboot functionality would be useful for my poorer games a handy technique for Doh Well have to start the game over again. I bet Bill plays a mean game in practice, no doubt with many similarities to a computer.
Before the days of Cook and Jaques the design of chess sets was rather different than todays. Whilst weighting has been the predominant improvement since those days, previously there was a wonderful array of resplendent design, unharnessed by the restrictions messers Cook and Jaques imposed. A look at those designs gives an insight into the imagination of our ancestors. And why not What a perfect medium for expression. The church could provide Biblical figures, the Romans could add their political and military heroes, the Eastern empires could design chess sets based on their rich heritege and monarchies. The Cook Jaques duopoly put a dampener on all this. Now we have to have the Knights with a strong horse metaphor, the Bishops have to have their mitre, the Queen has to have her Coronet and the King his cross. The pawns are plain the rook is dominated by its distinctive ballistrade.
But we have a secret weapon to overcome the dampeners placed upon us, the binding upon our imagination and the rules restricting our expression. Here horsey horsey... lets make you pretty With some occasional diversion, the Knight has become the focus of chess design such that it stands out in many luxury chess sets as the end result of a craftsmans sorry ladies... thought, talent and skill. And there are many outstanding examples of design ofnbspchess sets, chess boards and chess pieces that enable the modern craftsman to regard the Knight as his palette with awe inspiring results. Wanna see some Heres a design called the Ultimate Knight. And what about this bespoke design of chess setsnbsp this belongs in a museum display huh. The third example is one where the craftsmen take two days to create just one single Knight thenbspBridled Knight chess set also known by other names.
Tournaments worldwide use the staunton design for matches using the most traditional of designs. Cant have our little chess prodigies mistaking a pawn for a bishop can we Dont know about you but I cant warm to theme sets mickey mouse, star wars, lord of the rings, etc. Staunton has fulfilled a need, just like Bills operating system, Henrys car and my litte pink pencil sharpener. Thank you guys. But thank you also for leaving us a little area for expression. Now, wheres my riding saddle...