Saturday, November 17, 2007

Checkmate


Waiting for battle
Laval, QC, November 2007 [Click to enlarge]


Our kids like chess. They started playing it at my parents' house, and I took this image after they finished playing there during a recent visit. I like that even at their age, they can find common ground around a game that has nothing to do with video game consoles and wireless Internet connections. I also like that it gives them another opportunity to connect with their grandparents. It's often the little things that matter most.

Your turn: What is this scene saying to you?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Touch me! I don't play the game but I want to feel the rippled rims of those pieces.

Twice in one weekend, Carmi! You know, from michele's.

Anonymous said...

My first glance and thought - "What a beautiful chess set" It's nice to have fun with your family members. Of all ages!

David Edward said...

hooray for real games.
colleen , I am on my way over with my massage table...
oh, you did not mean it that way?

rashbre said...

Nice chess set. I like the depth of field to the pieces at the other end of the board.

Best, rashbre

Kerri Farley said...

Gosh... I watch too many commercials. In the US we have a Cingular/AT&T commerical where all of the shots looke like the bars on your cell phone... Ok - that is what I first thought when I saw it.... how much this looks like that commercial.
Then I kicked myself for not thinking of something else :(

I do think it is a very nice shot! I am enjoying your pictures very much!

Jodi Cleghorn said...

Hi from Michele ...

This scene says to me 'family' ... all made of the same earthly matter, but unique in their own shapes, designs and idiosyncracies. Thank you for reminding me of that!

I learnt to play chess as a 19 year old groupie (of bands not chess!) My first chess trip was on a Simpsons chess board with a guitarist I was smitten with ... funny that I never associated chess and seduction before that :)

Anonymous said...

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Laurie said...

My kids love chess. They have played it since they were very, very young. They learned from their dad. I was never a big chess fan, no patience.

One of my kids is president of the high school chess club now and one has a 3 player chess board that's pretty wild. I haven't a clue how you play it.

This is a great shot of the chessboard. I think we have the same one, only most of the pieces got broken when they fell on the ceramic tile floor when the board was being moved.

I had to laugh at the Cingular/ATT comparison because I see those same commercials all the time too and this does look like one. Maybe they could use it in an ad.

Carolyn said...

Ahhh, right now they look like fudge sundaes... but I have a craving ;)


That is certainly a very nice set!

sage said...

I've played a lot of chess in my younger days, but that view is one you don't often have, as you "stand over" your battlefield and look down... The view reminds me that a General needs to have the big picture! Call our the air force.

Anonymous said...

Well, they're making me get mad because I have a lovely wooden chess set that my father's father gave him & my younger kids (8 & 11)started using it this summer & have lost one of the Knights!
Otherwise I might have different thoughts about them.
Michele sent me tonight- great picture Carmi.

Catherine said...

Chess always reminds me of my grandfather, who taught me to play. In fact, I met my husband while playing chess at university. So I guess my grandfather was responsible for my marriage :)
This is a particularly beautiful chess set.

Gill said...

I love the order of chess and it is really reflected in that photo.

flleenie said...

Obviously, it is hard to find matching candle sticks!

Rainbow dreams said...

Hi Carmi, I swear I left comments last night on both your last posts...
have never get to grips with chess but love it when we're properly interacting not just watching tv.

I also loved your teabag shot.. loved the colours and lines.
Until I started blogging noone would have seen my photos - I've half started setting up a flickr account just needs more time to put photos onto it :) People like you have been an inspiration and I have discovered I enjoy taking photos - regardless of what others may think of them

John said...

My Family. First because of the height escalation and then because of the permanancy of the stone, yet still movable.

Bobkat said...

It is generally the little things that matter most in my opinion. I love that your children enjoy chess with their grandparents. Isn't it amazing how a game can bridge the generations? :)

I also love that your children are open to something that isn't a computer game, kudos to you as aprents for opening their eyes to so much more.

Michele didn't send me. I wanted to viist.

sister AE said...

Your chess pieces said a lot to me. It turned into a post. Come see when you get a chance:

Chess Is Elementary

Anonymous said...

It should say chess to me, especially since my father collected chess sets, but for some reason it takes me back to 1976 when my older sister, who had joined the Air Force a year earlier, was stationed in Turkey.

She sent home marble vases and meirsham pipes. They are still in my mother's living room and every time I look at them, I am taken back years.