Handsome Partner's beloved chess set, which I gave him many years ago.
He was a good player and we both used this set a lot. We replayed the Fischer-Spassky tournament on it, playing every evening over a couple of weeks, took it to a chess club we founded, too.
In recent years it's been dusted and admired but needed players. And last evening, I asked a friend if they knew of a good person for it.
Tomorrow it's on its way to a young high school counselor who uses a bit of chess teaching to calm and center distracted students. He only has a little plastic one now, what he could afford, in his first job. I'm hoping for pictures of his new one in action.
This was a joyful deaccession.
I neglected to mention that the friend who picked it up for delivery brought me a container of his newly cooked Italian wedding soup. He's a great cook, and we share tips and samples.
ReplyDeleteYou have a beautiful heart to give the set to someone that will use it well.
ReplyDeleteThis is one time I really think Andy would have been happy to know about. He was good with kids, local guidance people used to bring high schoolers to the lab to hear him talk about research, and to shadow him for a day.
DeleteSo he'd be glad to have the set valued and used by someone else. He's been gone almost nine years, or maybe nine days.. depending on how I'm doing.
That's lovely, Liz - the chess set and the sharing of it. I hope the new owner will send you a picture :)
ReplyDeleteI hope so, too. I'll share if I can. The friend acting as go between works in wood, and loved the whole set, pieces in maple and possibly ash, the veneered board with white maple squares' grain traveling in one direction, the walnut black squares' grain in another. It's a well crafted piece of work.
ReplyDeleteHow generous for you to pass on this set that holds such memories for you. I hope it sees many more hours of play - calming and sharpening the young minds who will soon be bent over it. It was also really nice to learn a bit more about you since recently discovering you here.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's really a good feeling that I think it went to its next real destination. Better than sitting on my shelf full of memories.
ReplyDeleteDon't have the head for chess, but I do love the sets, and this is a lovely thing, Liz. And what a wonderful gift to give to someone who will probably use it for years. It's really a gift that gives in several directions at once. Can't do much better than that, can we.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased about it. My son confirmed he's not a chess fan, though he's tried it, and he liked the set but thought it was okay to pass it on.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Andy would be very pleased to know his much-loved set is going to such a good cause, and I think you're quite happy with your decision to let it go. Some things just need to bless someone else.
ReplyDeleteAnother friend stopped in today, and I told her about it. She reminded me that she had played with that set, and was a bit weepy, but approving, of its destination. She remembered my heartbreak as Andy lost the ability to process the moves, and I quietly put the set away.
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