History

Where did this whole LEGO Chess Set idea come from?

When my oldest son was in Kindergarten, he started learning to play chess. We had some cheap sets around that worked, but I got to thinking about how I’d always wanted a nice set. Mind you, I’m not terribly good at the game, but I do enjoy playing. So I began looking at chess sets (nice ones are expensive!) and then thought about making one of my own. I’d always liked the salt-and-pepper sets I’d seen and the nuts-and-bolts sets are really cool (though I’m not really a fix-it kind of guy), but neither was what I really wanted. I thought about what was important to me — my kids — and what that meant.

All my kids love LEGO — really, who doesn’t? — and it seemed a natural medium for putting together a chess set. I did some searching and found nothing I liked, so I designed my own.

Those who know me might laugh but, in a lot of ways, I’m rather conservative and traditional. So what appealed to me was a set inspired by the classic Staunton chess men. Over the course of about a year, I idly played with my kids’ LEGO while working at home to come up with the chess pieces. I spent a lot of time — and money — on the independent BrickLink.com website looking for just the right pieces.

Eventually, I came up with a set I’m really proud of. And now I’d like to share it with the whole LEGO-loving, chess-playing world.