cthia wrote:BobfromSydney wrote:Goodness Cthia, as a chess-player myself I don't normally take giant sets very seriously - okay for spectator events but otherwise just a gimmick.
The way you have described that room makes me want to make a game there! That chess/battle room sounds amazing
It really
is amazing Bob. It
really is. Initially, I was surprised that my sister agreed to turn it into a chess room, and she had agreed to do so so quickly. But then she became so obsessed with getting everything so specific. My niece teased her that she was acting like a dictator and a general before the room was even complete. But now that the room
is complete, Tierney and I yield to her obsession. My sister got everything just right - perfectly. Which brings me to an item I had left out of the details. My sister used two different colors of marble for the floor. White with brown grain. Medium brown with natural grain.
We wanted black and white, my niece and I. My sister would make a puking gesture at the recommendation. Tierney and I were overruled - by the dictator. When it came time to have the floor assembled, my sister was throwing a hissy fit because we then found out that she had ordered yet a third darker color of brown for the borders of the floor; the darker brown was not sent. We thought it too much trouble and a bit much. After giving the company a piece and then another piece of her mind, and after an interminable delay, the floor was complete. The darker brown border pulls everything together and emphasizes the floor - makes it stand out. She was right, we were wrong. The border also emphasizes walking space along the perimeter of the battle field and base camp for each general at the top and bottom. I don't know how I left that huge detail out. It is a testament to my sister's design skills and foresight.
Bob, it really is a joy to play on that floor. Your view of the board is astounding. The battle field appears as I have never seen it before. Things are going on on the Queen's side that appear totally separate from the King's side. On a regular board, they all appear as one mess of pieces. On that floor, each side of the board appear as another stage of operation and distinctly separate battle. You begin to think things in your head such as Company C and Company B, flanking maneuvers, misdirection and theaters of conflict. Then there is the middle of the board which easily appears as your main thrust of forces. And supporting your pawn en appui becomes a necessary and pressing strategy because it stands out like a stranded child if not. Brilliant combinations are conceived like brainstorms coming over the burnt horizon. It's a drug, that room.
The pieces. I cannot say enough about the pieces. The detail obtained in the intricacy of the carvings is amazing craftsmanship. The rooks look so much like castles of heavy stone. The knights become two of your most cherished pieces because they look so powerful on the board. Some say the floor actually makes them castle sooner than they normally would because on this
board the dangers are more apparent. Some say they castle when they rarely did before.
At any rate, games played in that room stick in your head for months. They get into your soul.
Each move becomes a vivid stage of the battle. You take the games to bed with you in your head. Talk about feeling like a general. My sister has military friends that insist on playing with their uniforms on!
Tierney and I are now referring to it as The Pit - the War Room.
You will never ever forget a single game played on that floor. Win or lose. My sister says that her entire home could catch afire and burn to the ground around the current players - because they'd never notice it. They'd think the excessive heat was being generated by their opponent.
****** *
Tierney and her mother have recently added Latin phrases along the hallway leading into the War Room. I don't speak Latin but they seem so apropos. The English translations are not included. It's amazing how many people recognize the phrases. They are conversation pieces in and of themselves. Taken directly from the net - with translations and source.
Cur ante tubam tremor occupat artus?
Why should fear seize the limbs before the trumpet sounds? (Virgil)
victis honor
Honour to the vanquished
veni vidi vici
I came, I saw, I conquered
(Julius Caesar's report of victory in 47 B.C. over Pharnaces, king of Pontus)
in pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello
In peace, like a wise man, he appropriately prepares for war
bella horrida bella
Wars, horrid wars (Virgil)
bella detesta matribus
Wars, the horror of mothers (Horace)
bellum omnium in omnes
A war of all against all
bellum internecinum
Internecine war, a war of extermination
bellum letale
Lethal war, deadly war
bellum domesticum
Strife/war among family members
My
personal addition, stolen from my very first favorite author is the best, IMO.
In Henry VI Part III, 1592:
QUEEN MARGARET:
Off with his head, and set it on York gates;
So York may overlook the town of York.
