My Homemade Chess and Draughts Board =)

[Sheilawisz]

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share with you a picture of the Games Board that I made some months ago, because I am particularly happy with it and it makes my games more fun. This is the picture, please let me know what you think:

This board is made of white cardboard, and it measures 52 centimeters (around twenty and a half inches) every side. The squares are dark purple even though it looks kind of blue in the picture, and it took me about a week to carefully draw all the necessary lines and color every purple square.

My Chess pieces are too small for this board but my Draughts are fine, which is good considering that I play more Draughts than Chess.

I have another project to make a 10x10 squares board for International Draughts, but so far, I have been playing with this board a lot...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I love the purple! It's a nice change from black and white. And the size is lovely, too.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Thank you, Lowan!

I wanted the purple squares because it's my favorite color (Violet is my true favorite, but they are similar), and it indeed makes the board happier and not boring like the black and white boards.

The large size helps to create a funnier atmosphere for the Draughts games with my father, and we use green and orange Draughts that make a very nice combination with the purple and white. I need to find large Chess pieces somewhere or make my own, because the ones that I have look too small on this battlefield...

I have created a new style of game while practicing, and I called it Violet Draughts (or simply V Draughts) because of the color of the squares.

I'll share pictures of the 10x10 I.D. Board when I finally make it =)

 

[jpoelma13]

I need to find large Chess pieces somewhere or make my own, because the ones that I have look too small on this battlefield...

Might I recommend the House of Staunton to you? You can find them online at www.houseofstaunton.com. They are one of the leaders in producing chess pieces, and can produce sets that will fit boards with squares of up to 3". (That's twice as big what you need.) If you do decide buy from Staunton, you might want to buy plastic pieces as their wooden sets are rarely under a 100 USD.

Unfortunately, while Staunton does make a lot of quality chess sets, they mainly focus on selling to professional chess players and don't make them in a white and purple pattern that would fit your board. However, American Chess Equipment (www.amchesseq.com) does make purple and white chess pieces of the proper size.

By the way it's nice board.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Hello Jpoelma, and thank you for suggesting those Chess sites to me.

I visited the House of Staunton site some time ago, while I was researching the historical origin of the Staunton style Chess set. I am checking it out again right now, and I must say that the quality of their products is outstanding... I can find nice wooden sets at a Games Specialized shop in my city, but sadly I am not interested in Chess anymore.

Chess is a fascinating game and I can play it decently, but I am in a profound disagreement with the current Chess rule regarding the Stalemate position. I think that a Stalemate becoming a Draw is unacceptable, so I propose two ways to fix this problem:

1- Let the Stalemate become a victory for the player that has locked up the other player.
2- Do not let the Stalemate to happen, at all. If a player makes a move that results in a Stalemate, then that move must be undone.

In my opinion, declaring that a Stalemate is a Draw is illogical and crazy and I shall not play Chess anymore because of that.

I was infuriated and saddened by this a little, but considering that I am really a Draughts player I feel better by now. It shall take me some time and loads of practice to become a decent Draughts player instead of the total disaster that I am at the moment, but I am very fond of the Draughts game and I will dedicate my best efforts to learning it well =)

Thanks for appreciating my Board.

 

[CupofJoe]

I know someone that has made their own chess pieces from Games Workshop Warhammer 40K figures. One side was Space Marine Terminators and the other were Chaos figures and Genestealers. The Terminators were dark blue and gold and the Chaos figures a bony colour... They are far too large for a standard chess board but may look right at home on yours. [He was planing an Eldar set but I never saw that...]
You also get all the fun of building and making your own chess set.
Admitted anything to do with Games Workshop is going to be expensive and then there is all the modelling and painting... but if you have six months to hand build a set and a fair amount of money, it might be an option and a project for next winter
I was planning Elf vs Dwarf for my 2 inch/square board.... but I got bored with the painting.
Stalemate sucks but it is supposed to reward a stout defence... that said... I just ignore any rules I don't like or don't understand. I only ever play chess for fun and usually suicide chess [try to get your pieces taken as fast as possible] its almost as tactical as real chess...

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Stalemates would take less effort than checkmates (if both were considered victorious), and it's hard to assign blame/credit to one particular player in some stalemate situations.

In Chinese Chess, it's illegal to repeat the same move three times. Stalemate is still possible, but you need to do more than just dance on the same two corners. Actually, if you're looking for alternatives to Chess, Chinese Chess is quite fun. There are 64 squares, but you move pieces to the corners of squares giving you 90 places to go. 90, not 81--there are two 32-square areas which are separated by a "river."

The pieces:

• SOLDIER [5 in front] - moves 1 space forward or horizontally
  (I think they can opt to move forward 2 spaces from starting position, but I'm not sure... been a while since I played)
• CHARIOT [2 at corners] - moves vertically or horizontally (like a rook)
• CANNON [2 behind soldiers] - moves like chariot when passive;
  when attacking, moves like chariot EXCEPT the cannon must jump over exactly one piece (friend or foe) then land on the next piece, capturing it
• HORSE [2 beside chariots] - moves 1 space vertically or horizontally + 1 space diagonally
  (same destination as knight, but NOT a jump)
• ELEPHANT [2 beside horses] - moves 2 spaces diagonally (not a jump);
  confined to own side of river
• GUARD [2 beside elephants] - moves 1 space diagonally;
  confined to castle (there are only 5 places this piece can go)
• GENERAL [1 between guards] - moves 1 space vertically or horizontally;
  confined to castle (there are only 9 places this piece can go);
  IN CHECK if the player's own general is threatened or is facing the opposing general with no pieces in between, the player must move/block/save his general (checkmate is when that's impossible; stalemate is when checkmate's impossible for either player)

 

[Sheilawisz]

The modern version of Chess evolved from the ancient Persian game of Shatranj, which was very similar to what Chess is today except for a few curious differences.

In Shatranj, a Stalemate was a victory and so was destroying all of your opponent's forces except for the King. Modern Chess seems to be obsessed with Checkmate as the only way to win... Then, I think that players should not be allowed to win by the opponent's resignation and a resigned game should be a nice and clean draw, too =)

Chinese Chess looks more interesting, thanks for explaining all of it to us, Legendary.

I had heard that it was a terribly complicated game, but after this, I might try it one day. I like the concept of the river separating both rival territories, that's very nice, and also it does not use all those stylish pieces just to make the game look cooler like Chess does.

CupofJoe: I will make my own wooden Draughts and paint them myself, thanks for the idea.

 

[stephenspower]

i totally misread this as the more tasty cheese and drafts board.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

You just need to read Chinese characters. It's not hard, but Hong Kong people are surprised when I have no issue reading chess pieces and mahjong tiles.

The only trick is that some pieces have different characters for each side. The black elephant piece actually says "elephant," but the red elephant's character looks like a guy with a shield. Generals and soldiers also have a different character, and sometimes the red mandarin (guard) has a formal version of the same character.

Chariot -General - General--Chariot
Horse - Soldier - Soldier - Horse
Elephant - Soldier - Soldier - Elephant
Guard -Cannon - Cannon- Guard​

 

[Sheilawisz]

I will start to make my own board for International Draughts this week, which I am sure will be far more difficult than my first board because it is composed by a hundred squares instead of just sixty four.

This is what an I.D. Board looks like, image taken from the Wikimedia Commons:

I have never played Draughts on a 10x10 board like that, but I can imagine that it greatly increases the excitement of the game and allows for some fantastic jumping sequences to take place... The version that I am practicing at the moment follows the International rules, however the one I play with my father is a combination of English and Polish styles.

We also use the old Huffing rule that is not part of Tournaments anymore, it's very annoying and controversial and so I am trying to convince him to abandon it...

I feel very fond of these flat, circular pieces that jump wildly all over the board, and the multiple jumping sequences fascinate me every time that I play =)