So you are braving the holiday shopping crowds on the prowl for the perfect gift for the game lover on your list.
One option people tend not to immediately think of but should, is a chess set.
While I haven’t got the list of games I have reviewed here over what is now years, I am not sure I have ever actually looked at the game we recognize as ‘western’ chess.
The standard version of chess dates back to the late 1400s, and as you might expect a specific game creator is not known. That makes sense since chess as we know it very much evolved through its early years.
But the game we now know, played on an 8X8 checkered board, with two players each having a force of 16 pieces, and the goal of checkmating the opponent’s king is one most people are at least aware. Even if you have never played the game you would recognize a chess set if it was sitting on a coffee table in a neighbour’s home.
That ardent players will have a chess set on display is one reason it makes a great gift. There are amazing looking chess sets out there, and they are something which looks great as a home decor accent.
Put out a nice set, and when friends come over it becomes something of a conversation starter, and from there you might find a new opponent.
Beautiful sets, or at least those with decor potential, run a rather broad range of boards and pieces. There are sets with Star Trek and Simpsons characters, to stone cut pieces from Mexico, to beautiful wood pieces hand worked on a lathe.
The price can vary from quite low for some nice wood sets, to hundreds of dollars and beyond. A set as a gift can be tailored to an interest — there is for example a National Hockey League set for the hockey fan.
If you are a bit artsy and understand the concept of coordinating colours you can even do that in matching a set to Aunt Martha’s living room.
And if you are crafty, well making a chess set is not beyond possible, my Jetan set (Martian Chess for the John Carter of Mars books) is homemade.
A chess set is also a game and a gift for all ages.
Every youngster should be introduced to chess. I say that for several reasons.
To start if they have an affinity for the game it is one where you can take your interest all the way to world competitions. Of all the board games out there, none are more organized on a competitive level than chess.
Even if a youngster does not take chess that seriously, it is a great game to expand one’s mind. It is a thinking game. One of strategy, which means understanding the cause and effect of not only your current move, but your opponent’s likely response, and your follow-up. The farther ahead you can ‘think’ the moves the better.
In terms of chess being good for the mind, it is also a great gift for grandparents if they play. Buy a set as a gift, and add a few ‘promise notes’ to play games over the coming year, and help keep everybody’s mind sharp and thinking.
And if chess is not quite exotic enough, well try Shogi, the Japanese equivalent with decidedly different pieces and moves, or Xiangqi which is the Chinese chess.
