Hey my Chess Friends! I appear in this new 4-hour film series on the Culture of Chess! INFO AND DOWNLOAD AT ideasroadshow.com/chess/ WATCH THE TRAILER AT ruclips.net/video/zLnOklDkTGQ/видео.html DVD FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON www.amazon.com//dp/B0C13M1B84/
Yes, it came down to me to do the analysis shown in this video. I sought out all the references and documents I could get, and elicited moderate interest from my fellow chess historians -- but finally, I found no other researcher, past or present, to actually look at the van Leyden chess configuration in depth. It was a fascinating study!
Hey, Rick, I would like you to make a set with that board, Staunton chess pieces with a knight that doesn't have much doesn't have little details as to make it easier to make, and sell it on Amazon and your site for 15 US dollars. Here's what the other ones should be: Sage: A crossless king, slightly shorter Schleich: The Van Leyden rook Queen: A schleich-sized queen, to show it's weaker Courier: The Van Leyden bishop
Thanks for your message, Gary. I don't entirely understand what you are proposing. It would certainly be a challenge for me to source or create any set that would sell online for $15, without losing quite a bit on every transaction. But are you suggesting I could make a courier set out of existing standard pieces? When I was a teenager, I did make sets like that. Perhaps you could make a set like the one you have in mind, and show it to me.
I don't have the materials, or any money, and it would probably take months to get enough allowance to do so, but try for $25 or $30, and subscribe to my channel. Oh, and I'll be turning 13 on Nov. 2nd, so near that day, if possible, please make a video on how to play Shatranj and Makruk using a standard chess set (in case folks like me want to play, but don't have an actual shatranj or makruk set) and please shout me out at the end.
Thanks for your comments. Yes, I sculpted the original models; then had them cast in resin (with steel reinforcement). The brass set was made by another craftsman, based on my models and drawings (it has sold already. Expensive.). I know, there are many possibilities of what the pieces 'could be', if one just looks at them -- that's why I rely so much on the position on the board, the quantity of each sort of piece shown, and the ancient design conventions, for as much evidence as possible.
I wasn't able to build a set but I wanted to keep this game alive with my friends so I took a chess set I had and added paper with the extra squares. For the extra pawns I used chess pawns, for the sage I did a upside down rook, and for the, bishop (modern) as courier, the bishops (courier chess) were senet pieces. The jester I had to use checkers, but at least the game works!
That sounds great. My first Courier set, when I was 13 years old, was a combination of a standard plastic set and a stylized 'grim faces' set (Ganine style) ... It would've worked, if I'd only had someone to play with! Alas, I don't have that set any more.
Very interesting! The easiest way to have a functioning Courier set would be to get 2 chess sets of very different design (say, one standard and one very stylized), and decide which piece represents each of the courier characters. Only the pawns would have be be mixed, some pawns from one set; some from the other set. But if you have the means to mold sets, as you are suggesting, I could send you my sketches of how I define the shapes based on van Leyden's painting. What do you think?
I think: 1. Use the classic pieces for the classic pieces, make the sage a king without a cross, make the alfil a bit like the van Leyden bishop,ake a schleich a pawn with a big head, and make the queen a rook sized sage. 2. I will be using this channel from now on, because I now have a phone for my 13th birthday. I inspired my profile picture off of yours, Ancient Chess.
@@garyfleming7028 Great to hear from you! You are the same age I was when I discovered chess variants, and when I made my first Courier Chess set, 13 years old! I used standard pieces, and some figurative 'face' pieces, and cobbled some things together ... it was all pretty neat, but I don't have it now, almost 50 years later. But many of my home-made chess creations did survive from those days, and you must see them on my video ruclips.net/video/ger8Qsk_RMg/видео.html You can watch it on your new phone! Anyway, it's great to hear that you are enjoying courier chess, and thinking of making your own style of set
Thanks for the good comment. I hope to have some more of those sets available soon. The big news over here is the publication of our book ( AWorldofChess.com ) ... send messages any time
yup. i do understand all points. for the moment, all i can do is to make my own courier. any suggestion? i'm planning to use plaster of paris or pvc or whatever is available here.
I appreciate the problem. It's a huge effort to produce just a small run of a rare historic chess reproduction, and can't be cheap for anyone. If only Hasbro would take an interest in Courier chess, they'd bang those sets out in China for a fraction of the cost! So for now, it's one set at a time, labor intensive, made in the States. Expensive.
@@AncientChess Awesome, thank you so much. I am looking to teach others at my college, since they are really into chess. I think that something as amazing and old as this shouldn't die out again like it did. :) We all love and appreciate your hard work, and I hope that this supports you enough to keep going.
The rules are pretty well established by Selenus's book of 1616. Of course, in those days, it was always quite possible for there to be regional variations. For instance, where Selenus encountered this game, in Stroebeck, Germany, there was a rather complicated procedure for promoting a pawn ... that was probably not practiced in other regions. But over all, Selenus's account gives us a pretty definitive account of how the game was played. As for the pieces, well you know, chess pieces varied widely in style throughout history. This particular interpretation is from careful observation of van Leyden's painting ... which was clearly painted with great care to show each piece quite precisely. For info on Selenus's book, check this link: www.kongernessamling.dk/en/dronningens-haandbibliotek/object/hertug-august-af-braunschweig-luneburgs-skakbog-16161617/
So sorry, my production has bogged down with these. So little time, so many chess variants...and it takes a lot of attention to get these ready. I'm still planning to put out more sets -- just taking much longer than I had expected. If you send a message through my web page courierchess.com, I'll put you on the list to notify when they are available
Hey -- very interesting! My research in identifying the pieces has been independently corroborrated. Check out this fellow's video ruclips.net/video/eLgkg8_meSI/видео.html
Hey my Chess Friends!
I appear in this new 4-hour film series on the Culture of Chess!
INFO AND DOWNLOAD AT ideasroadshow.com/chess/
WATCH THE TRAILER AT ruclips.net/video/zLnOklDkTGQ/видео.html
DVD FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON www.amazon.com//dp/B0C13M1B84/
Yes, it came down to me to do the analysis shown in this video. I sought out all the references and documents I could get, and elicited moderate interest from my fellow chess historians -- but finally, I found no other researcher, past or present, to actually look at the van Leyden chess configuration in depth. It was a fascinating study!
Thanks for posting these, it's interesting to see the sets from different times and places.
This is amazing! Kudos for the effort!
Hey, Rick, I would like you to make a set with that board, Staunton chess pieces with a knight that doesn't have much doesn't have little details as to make it easier to make, and sell it on Amazon and your site for 15 US dollars. Here's what the other ones should be:
Sage: A crossless king, slightly shorter
Schleich: The Van Leyden rook
Queen: A schleich-sized queen, to show it's weaker
Courier: The Van Leyden bishop
Thanks for your message, Gary. I don't entirely understand what you are proposing. It would certainly be a challenge for me to source or create any set that would sell online for $15, without losing quite a bit on every transaction. But are you suggesting I could make a courier set out of existing standard pieces? When I was a teenager, I did make sets like that. Perhaps you could make a set like the one you have in mind, and show it to me.
I don't have the materials, or any money, and it would probably take months to get enough allowance to do so, but try for $25 or $30, and subscribe to my channel. Oh, and I'll be turning 13 on Nov. 2nd, so near that day, if possible, please make a video on how to play Shatranj and Makruk using a standard chess set (in case folks like me want to play, but don't have an actual shatranj or makruk set) and please shout me out at the end.
Thanks for your comments. Yes, I sculpted the original models; then had them cast in resin (with steel reinforcement). The brass set was made by another craftsman, based on my models and drawings (it has sold already. Expensive.). I know, there are many possibilities of what the pieces 'could be', if one just looks at them -- that's why I rely so much on the position on the board, the quantity of each sort of piece shown, and the ancient design conventions, for as much evidence as possible.
I wasn't able to build a set but I wanted to keep this game alive with my friends so I took a chess set I had and added paper with the extra squares. For the extra pawns I used chess pawns, for the sage I did a upside down rook, and for the, bishop (modern) as courier, the bishops (courier chess) were senet pieces. The jester I had to use checkers, but at least the game works!
That sounds great. My first Courier set, when I was 13 years old, was a combination of a standard plastic set and a stylized 'grim faces' set (Ganine style) ... It would've worked, if I'd only had someone to play with! Alas, I don't have that set any more.
AncientChess Well you have this beautiful new one now!
Very interesting! The easiest way to have a functioning Courier set would be to get 2 chess sets of very different design (say, one standard and one very stylized), and decide which piece represents each of the courier characters. Only the pawns would have be be mixed, some pawns from one set; some from the other set. But if you have the means to mold sets, as you are suggesting, I could send you my sketches of how I define the shapes based on van Leyden's painting. What do you think?
I think:
1. Use the classic pieces for the classic pieces, make the sage a king without a cross, make the alfil a bit like the van Leyden bishop,ake a schleich a pawn with a big head, and make the queen a rook sized sage.
2. I will be using this channel from now on, because I now have a phone for my 13th birthday. I inspired my profile picture off of yours, Ancient Chess.
@@garyfleming7028 Great to hear from you! You are the same age I was when I discovered chess variants, and when I made my first Courier Chess set, 13 years old! I used standard pieces, and some figurative 'face' pieces, and cobbled some things together ... it was all pretty neat, but I don't have it now, almost 50 years later. But many of my home-made chess creations did survive from those days, and you must see them on my video ruclips.net/video/ger8Qsk_RMg/видео.html
You can watch it on your new phone!
Anyway, it's great to hear that you are enjoying courier chess, and thinking of making your own style of set
very cool
Thanks for the good comment. I hope to have some more of those sets available soon. The big news over here is the publication of our book ( AWorldofChess.com ) ... send messages any time
Everybody's giving her a little advice. "Don't piss him off. Don't piss him off. iLol!
Ha ha, I can be a very mean chess history enthusiast .... Raaarrrhhhhh! Look out! :)
The collector in me is itching to get a copy
yup. i do understand all points. for the moment, all i can do is to make my own courier. any suggestion? i'm planning to use plaster of paris or pvc or whatever is available here.
I appreciate the problem. It's a huge effort to produce just a small run of a rare historic chess reproduction, and can't be cheap for anyone. If only Hasbro would take an interest in Courier chess, they'd bang those sets out in China for a fraction of the cost! So for now, it's one set at a time, labor intensive, made in the States. Expensive.
Is there anywhere to buy courier chess
@@glitchgaming9093 I'll try to make them available again soon at ancientchess.com
@@AncientChess Awesome, thank you so much. I am looking to teach others at my college, since they are really into chess. I think that something as amazing and old as this shouldn't die out again like it did. :) We all love and appreciate your hard work, and I hope that this supports you enough to keep going.
iLove! this. So very very neat.
Where i can buy thats chess?
Only the brass sets are now available, which are rather expensive. You can contact the maker at the courierchess.com website
If I understand well, the rules aren't official, these are just an interpretation maybe the pieces, the rules aren't that, I am right?
The rules are pretty well established by Selenus's book of 1616. Of course, in those days, it was always quite possible for there to be regional variations. For instance, where Selenus encountered this game, in Stroebeck, Germany, there was a rather complicated procedure for promoting a pawn ... that was probably not practiced in other regions. But over all, Selenus's account gives us a pretty definitive account of how the game was played. As for the pieces, well you know, chess pieces varied widely in style throughout history. This particular interpretation is from careful observation of van Leyden's painting ... which was clearly painted with great care to show each piece quite precisely.
For info on Selenus's book, check this link: www.kongernessamling.dk/en/dronningens-haandbibliotek/object/hertug-august-af-braunschweig-luneburgs-skakbog-16161617/
Are you still working on these?
So sorry, my production has bogged down with these. So little time, so many chess variants...and it takes a lot of attention to get these ready. I'm still planning to put out more sets -- just taking much longer than I had expected. If you send a message through my web page courierchess.com, I'll put you on the list to notify when they are available
It's on eBay now! I've been waiting!
Don’t you still have to make more sets?
oh they ran out. Try your best to keep selling them!
Hey -- very interesting! My research in identifying the pieces has been independently corroborrated. Check out this fellow's video ruclips.net/video/eLgkg8_meSI/видео.html