Courier chess set

In 1831, on the Isle of Lewis, a hoard of 12th century chess pieces was discovered, which have become known as the Lewis chessmen. Replicas of these are listed aplenty on eBay, and I was always keen to 'do' something with a Lewis set. Then I stumbled across an Etsy shop which offered (among many other sets) a standard set of Lewis chessmen with the option of adding a few more different pieces. This would be perfect for a set for Courier chess, which is played on a 12 x 8 board, and has several additional pieces: a man, a fool, and two couriers. So I got myself this extended set of Lewis chessmen.

Thinking about the board to create, I wanted something 'northern' given that the original chessmen were made in Scandinavia, or possibly Iceland. That spurred the idea of the fields of the board representing ice shelves, floating in water. So I ordered a box of small marble tiles.

As most of the original Lewis chessmen were carved from walrus ivory, I also got myself a pair of walrus figurines, to feature on the side of the board somewhere, as a nod to the original material and to add to the northern theme.

And then I got stuck .... I couldn't think of a way to create a water-containing board which wouldn’t be heavy and awkward to use, and wouldn’t quickly become messy ….

My set of Lewis chessmen remained boxed up for a long time until I had a brainwave one early morning: what about not having a board at all? Just the concept of a board. Just the squares, 'floating freely' on the table?

So here the 96 squares, and laid out as unconnected square 'ice shelves'.

 Time to add the Lewis chessmen to their cold and northern home!

I think it looks really great; typical example of 'less is more'!

Given that I had the two walruses, I might as well put them on the board; they'll move out of the way once play commences.

Finally, a few close-ups of the Lewis chessmen in this set.

It really is nice to see an idea come to life, especially one I was stuck on for so long.