Khachan: Chess as a Common Bond
By Tyler Newman
Staff writer
Imad Khachan switches off the storefront display window’s chandelier. In the near-darkness, the glass chess pieces light up. They show as orange and purple while placed on the chessboard, but not when he holds them in his hands. Because of its color and magic, this set is his favorite.
Inside Khachan’s Soho shop, Chess Forum, that set was one of 300 antique chess sets in the display cases that day. The oldest set, from China, was made in the 1760s, says Khachan, who has collected some of the sets while traveling the world.
“Here you can see that a rook is a rook, a queen is a queen and a castle is a castle,” Khachan says, noting the detail in the Chinese set, made of granite.
Think of traditional Chinese attire, architecture and imagery: The rook is shaped like a pagoda. The knight is both a horse and a rider, not just a horse. The queen is the only piece confined to a chair. There is a very clear distinction between classes and genders. These pieces hold weapons of war.
With its $4,000 price tag, the most expensive chess set in the store that recent day was from China. Other, cheaper sets in Khachan’s shop come from Brazil, France, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, to name a few places.
The red and white kings and queens of a French set look alike. That sameness, Khachan says, may suggest that all human beings are innately equal. Chess, he adds, helps to tell parts of the human story.
“The French Revolution came and they finished with kings, they finished with queens,” Khachan says. “ … The game is always affected by the political, the social, by the religious. Whatever changes happen in the world, it reflects on all the arts, including the art of making chess sets.”
Commentary Viewpoints
Khachan: Chess as a Common Bond
By Tyler Newman
Staff writer
Imad Khachan switches off the storefront display window’s chandelier. In the near-darkness, the glass chess pieces light up. They show as orange and purple while placed on the chessboard, but not when he holds them in his hands. Because of its color and magic, this set is his favorite.
Inside Khachan’s Soho shop, Chess Forum, that set was one of 300 antique chess sets in the display cases that day. The oldest set, from China, was made in the 1760s, says Khachan, who has collected some of the sets while traveling the world.
“Here you can see that a rook is a rook, a queen is a queen and a castle is a castle,” Khachan says, noting the detail in the Chinese set, made of granite.
Think of traditional Chinese attire, architecture and imagery: The rook is shaped like a pagoda. The knight is both a horse and a rider, not just a horse. The queen is the only piece confined to a chair. There is a very clear distinction between classes and genders. These pieces hold weapons of war.
With its $4,000 price tag, the most expensive chess set in the store that recent day was from China. Other, cheaper sets in Khachan’s shop come from Brazil, France, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, to name a few places.
The red and white kings and queens of a French set look alike. That sameness, Khachan says, may suggest that all human beings are innately equal. Chess, he adds, helps to tell parts of the human story.
“The French Revolution came and they finished with kings, they finished with queens,” Khachan says. “ … The game is always affected by the political, the social, by the religious. Whatever changes happen in the world, it reflects on all the arts, including the art of making chess sets.”