Chess Set

Chess

On the way to the Isle of Skye this morning, we stopped for tea at the Ledgowan Hotel in Achnasheen, in the highlands of Scotland. The building was constructed in 1906 as a hunting lodge. In the lounge, I found a chess set that was different from any that I have ever seen.

As one would expect, the two sides are painted in different colors, but what I found surprising was that the figures were totally different from side to side.

For example, here’s the queen on the ‘brown’ side,

And the queen on the ‘green side.’

The knights are quite different, too. The ‘brown’ knight is a lion devouring its victim:

While the ‘green’ knight features a knight riding on a charger

And the pawns are also interesting, the ‘brown’ pawn has a black face, but the rest of his skin is white,

And the green pawn seems to be wearing proper armor.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for a game!

Mary

Posted from Inverness, Scotland, 9/16/18