Team Marksy

Just a very short post today. I realised I had promised to post pictures of our DIY Chess Armies, and had never got around to it.  So here it is.  It was made very simply using various little figures glued onto a set of old (non-official) Connect4 pieces. It takes a while to remember which ones represent which chess piece, so we'll probably mark them in some way. The kids love it. The board is the folding Kasparov set from Argos, which I highly recommend. It does come with it's own pieces but they just aren't as colourful as ours. 

While travelling to Crete recently (more on that later), Ruth though it would be a good idea to buy one of those little magnetic travel games - the type with Ludo, Chess, and Snakes and Ladders. One afternoon I showed Charlie how to play chess. Now let's be clear, I got the rules wrong and had my bishops and knights trading movements, so I'm no chess player. The only issue is that Charlie loved chess and he managed to beat me! This shouldn't happen. Admittedly I was going easy on him, pointing out where he might be making a mistake, but I did NOT let him win. As soon as I made a mistake he was straight in there outmanoevuring me. Checkmate. So began my little fling with chess. I started practicing against Charlie or against a phone app. Charlie and I went off and learnt the rules together. We went to Argos and bought the Kasparov Wooden Chess Set - a smallish board and small wooden pieces that should last a lifetime. We are addicted. And happy to be - Chess is a g...