Chess Set Design - What the Cook, Jaques Duopoly Did

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, and each game played? The re-boot functionality would be useful for my poorer games - a handy technique for "Doh! We'll 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 it's 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... let's 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 chess set design that enable the modern craftsman to regard the Knight as his palette with awe inspiring results. Wanna see some?

Here's a design called the Ultimate Knight. And what about this bespoke design - this belongs in a museum display huh?. The third example is one where the craftsmen take two days to create just one single Knight - the Bridled Knight - also known by other names.

Tournaments worldwide use the staunton design for matches using the most traditional of designs. Can't have our little chess prodigies mistaking a pawn for a bishop - can we? Don't know about you - but I can't warm to theme sets: mickey mouse, star wars, lord of the rings, etc. Staunton has fulilled a need, just like Bill's operating system, Henry's car and my litte pink pencil sharpener. Thank you guys. But thank you also for leaving us a little area for expression. Now, where's my riding saddle...?

Author: Baron Turner of ChessBaron USA, France and UK - Innovative Chess Sets, Chess Boards and Chess Pieces

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