Drew is in second grade which is the first year students can join his school's Chess Club. This morning was Drew's very first day of Chess Club and he played one game against a third-grader and won!

The picture is of our chess set that the boys play on. I had a couple of cheapo chess sets collected through the years and had always wanted a really nice set since I was a kid. Drew started playing about two years ago and so last year I finally splerged on a really nice set. There are an infinite combination of chess board and piece types, sizes and materials. After looking at all the options for a couple of months, I finally picked out a mahogany and maple board that is 17"x17"x.5" with 1.75" inch squares. The pieces are a classic Staunton design with a 3" king made of boxwood and ebonized boxwood, hand carved knights, all weighted with felt covered bottoms. The set came with two extra queens and a mahogany box for storage of the pieces. Having played with the set for over a year now, I believe it is the perfect definitive chess set.