Pawns protecting the officials. Officials protecting the queen and king. The queen, strong and powerful, does her best to protect the king.
All together, they work hard to conquer far and equally powerful lands to become the champion of this intellectual and brain-teasing board game.
Chess is more than just a game. It’s a love story put into small pieces and a quadrant board where soldiers and knights fight for their lives and for glory.
It is probably the reason why many people enjoy playing chess, so much so that many of them can go a whole day sitting in front of a chess board.
Chess History
Chess is a popular board game that has been around for centuries, despite the changes in structure and design.
It is believed to have originated in India in the 7th century, but was standardized and the rules finalized in the 19th century.
Since then, the game has been popularized all over the world and is played in many tournaments. Chess boards ranging from very small pieces to life-size statues, many people enjoy this game as a mind-tickling pastime.
Although the game and the rules are the same, it is on the design that the game varies. There are many designs of chess boards – colors, sizes, materials used and other trinkets that any creative mind could add.
Because of this, the price of each set may also vary. There are cheap sets; there are expensive sets; and then there are the luxurious sets that are bought by collectors to be more of a collector’s item.
Is the most expensive chess set extremely “expensive”? Well, here’s how much it costs.
The Most Expensive Chess Set
Gold, diamonds, pearls, sapphires and rubies are only the ingredients used to make the world’s most expensive chess set – The Jewel Royale Chess Set which costs a staggering $9.8 million.
Manufactured in Great Britain in 2005, this luxurious (and that is an understatement) chess set was made by the jewelry company named Boodles.
The chess set is made of solid gold and platinum. It is gem studded and features diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. It also has black pearls and white pearls on some of the pieces.
To sum up, the entire chess set is made up of 73 rubies, 146 sapphires and 748 diamonds.
Each piece of this eye-boggling set has a gem-studded spiral body which is held by a 16 karat yellow gold.
Inlayed in the gold lining are diamonds. The king piece alone is worth $100,000. It weighs 165.2 grams and is the largest piece in the set.
The price and design may vary, but the rules of the game are the same. You protect the king above anything, or you die trying (well, the pieces do).
Bottom Line
Chess is both an exciting and intellectual game that can keep you and your opponent occupied for hours on end. One thing is for sure – regardless of the design and price of the chess set, winning a game is like winning your own medieval battle.