Growing up in the 80s, I played chess with my younger brother using our grandfather’s locally made chess pieces. The white pieces were crafted from narra, while the black ones were made of kamagong, also known as Philippine Ebony. Despite my best efforts, I could never win against my brother.
Years later, I asked my mother to bring the chess pieces to Singapore, but they remained in storage without a chessboard. The original board we used had been repurposed as a drawing board for my engineering drafting homework during college.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, when we were mostly confined to our homes, I embarked on a project to build a chessboard and replace the two missing pawns and a bishop. I learned to use FreeCAD, a 3D modeling software, to create models of the missing pieces.
After having the CAD drawings 3D printed, I painted them to match the original set perfectly.
For the chessboard, I used half-inch plywood and cut 2×2″ squares of dark and light-colored vinyl stickers with a wood design. I arranged them in a checkered pattern on the board. The result was satisfactory, but I wanted to protect the vinyl with a two-part clear epoxy. A few days later, the final product was ready, and it looked great!
The vintage chess pieces looked stunning on the homemade chessboard, and I began teaching my daughter how to play chess using this set. The lockdown period during the pandemic was challenging, but engaging in these projects helped me cope with the months of isolation without the outdoor activities I was accustomed to before the pandemic.
In the end, restoring this vintage Philippine Staunton chess set not only provided me with a creative outlet during a difficult time but also allowed me to preserve a piece of my family’s history. The experience of teaching my daughter to play chess with the same pieces I used as a child brought a sense of continuity and connection across generations. This lockdown project will always hold a special place in my heart, reminding me of the resilience and adaptability we all demonstrated during an unprecedented time.
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