Less Is More

Chess set. Table of reclaimed wood, cast iron base and repurposed industrial chessmen. Photos copyright and courtesy of District Eight.

The Ivory Tower

Thanks to Mrs. Cecilia Riccio, the mum of Emma (dancer) and Cesare (chess player) – both engaged for the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” – for sending us a picture of two Islamic ivory chess pieces, Iraq, late 9th–early 10th century AD, on display at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, Italy.

Coffee and Cigarette and In-Between

A Regency chess set displayed in an exhibit style setting inside a coffee house at the corner between Via Masaccio and Via fra’ Bartolomeo in Florence, Italy. As they say, a coffee before and a cigarette after, and in-between don’t forget to take a couple pictures!

Art Nouveau

• Vladimir Putin to Give Away Chess Sets as well as State Awards, Chess-News.ru, July 20, 2015

Now chess sets will be added to the list of gifts from Vladimir Putin, reports Moskovsky Komsomolets. “The porcelain pieces of green and red color, are based on the heroes of ancient chronicles. The chess sets will be in a box, the cover of which depicts the Kremlin and the Russian coat of arms”. [Read more].

• Eva Merkacheva, Новые подарки россиянам от Путина: шахматы и вазы (Putin’s most recent Russian gifts: chess and vases), MK.ru, July 19, 2015