Do you own a chess den, room, or nook?

Here's my chess lair/mancave.  The desk is a corner armoir that closes up and the room doubles as a guest room.  I use it mostly to play and study.

In my picture, middle shelf, far left, is a Peruvian tourist trap chess set that a co-worker bought me when she went to Machu Pichu. Total kitsch. As for the simul, I think I'd get confused shifting from Tile Chess to Seirawan Chesss, and end up getting lynched for trying to play a Knightmare Chess card in the Shogi game.

Very nice !  Big library.  I'm assuming those are all chess books.  I think I see The Oxford Companion to Chess, possibly the hardback edition.  And a very comfy chair.

All you need now is a portrait of Capablanca on the wall and vase of flowers.  (OK, forget the flowers.)

Ooo good idea, where do I get a portrait of Capablanca?

yes they're all chess books, except a  leatherbound copy of grapes of wrath snuck in, which I'm reading now, just to fool others that I have some interests outside of chess.

I have a room that is for music and chess (admitted audiophile).  The chess table takes the center of the room under a ceiling fan and I have various boards surrounding the room from which to choose for a game.  The pieces (all staunton) are in boxes and coffers and resting atop special shelves I use to house LPs and components.  The pictures on the wall are prints of popular paintings of jazz clubs, and one picture on the wall is of one of my sets on a board.  There are a few other small decorations in the room compliment the music theme.  Along the back wall is a love seat used for the listening position when I just want to listen to music.  I have pics, but not sure how to show them.

Oh, but I do care. I would love to have pieces that shade of blue. It makes you wonder, though. Standard chess pieces are just injection molded plastic. You should be able to get them in almost any color (or combination of colors, given some of the stuff I've seen them do with plastic dice). I guess chess players are just too conservative (as a group) for there to be a market for that sort of thing.

I notice you added some shogi pieces too.

Chess and music go together !

I'd love to see those pics.  I'll send you a message with instructions on how to upload them.

What would be in the ideal chess study area?

computer, books, table, light, music/no music, note book...

what else?

Nice Capa photo, sort of spooky. I don't think I've seen that image of him.

Wholesale chess has multicolored plastic pieces.

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/colored_basic_club_special_pieces16_pieces

Whoa!

qixel --  We've got the same old set of pieces with the faces on them!

(From your latest chess nook photo where two of them look like they're poking out of Lennon's head like horns.)

I was looking for the "Cavalier" set by the same company but gave up after it looked like they went out of biz.  As a kid I would sometimes have them fight my G.I. Joes.

No nook for me, just an awkward coffee/chess table with faux wear and tear on the wood to make it look like an antique which it clearly isn't.

Yeah, eBayed mine.  Apparently they come in different sizes and colors.  I even saw a red one once, which I would dearly like to own.  But I'm basically done with eBay.  I don't use the set much because the pieces confuse me, but I think they look awesome.

Amy

Here are a few pics of my room.

Dear lord, what a lovely collection of scrumptious sets and boards !

I suppose that chess, like mathematics, ultimately takes place in a pure Platonic realm, but chess sets are such a wonderful expression of that mental space in the physical one.

I especially love your "butcher block" board and collection of fine chess boxes.  Those pieces deserve great homes.

I also see you are a tube guy.  Your system is not from California, by any chance, is it?  I used to know an engineer in Silicon Valley who was starting up his own tube-based audio company, and his early sketches looked a lot like some of your components.

OK, I'm guessing you listen to Coltrane while you play.

Thanks for the photos.

 You know me already!  The speakers are the Sinfonia from Alan Yun of Silverline Audio based out of Walnut Creek (near the Bay Area).  The EL34-based amp on the right is a Rogue Audio custom order wired in pure Class A triode mode.  The little 8wpc ASL amps on the left simply drive the rear-firing 12" for ambience.  I already sold off the MD FM tuner and use XM in another room, so this system is for vinly and redbook CD.  The TT is a Michel Gyrodec SE and the CD player is a Creek CD53 running at 192kHz.  Conditioning is by Chang Lightspeed HT1000.  The custom rack system (used elsewhere in the home, too) is a custom job from Sound Anchors.  (They're located just a few miles from my home and I'm good friends with the owner.)  Jazz and blues are among much of the sound experienced between these walls, with my goal being to make the sound as realistic as possible.   

The chess table was $99 on sale at World Market in the dining section.  It's incredibly strong.  The best deals are found when you look for a dining room table that is too small rather than looking in a game store for a dedicated game table.  There are about fourteen boards total with one a standard glossy black-white board from HOS and the rest are custom.  Twelve are from Custom Wood Creations and not all are shown here.  I'm currently working with Sound Anchors to design a custom rack for properly storing the boards.  The nice thing is that I get to use this room and play amost every day, so all the sets and boards are in constant use.

There is a chance that that EE I mentioned is associated with Rogue Audio.  But I'll send you a private message about that.

It's great that you get to use all those beautiful sets daily.  Chess makes wonderful decor, but playing is even better.

Amy

 Yes, collecting is nice and playing is even better.  It's also a nice way to appreciate God's nice creation by studying the beautiful grain in the wood, and also appreciating the excellent work of the carver as you hold the pieces.  Maybe one day I'll get some ivory, but right now the price is just WAY too high.  I'd have to sell all of my sets and a couple boards to get them, but maybe if / when I decide to downsize, I'll consider them.

I own the Hastings pieces (in the first photo) and have a framed image of the pieces with long faces as well. 

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/View-Showing-Chess-Pieces-with-Faces-Carved-Into-Them-Posters_i3598118_.htm

Well, I definitely have the equipment for a "decent" chess nook, but have never found the time to actually organize them. Hmm, I shall get started on that right away! Thanks for the inspiration! I will send pics as soon as it becomes a reality.

No, I have just a PC, a laptop and a chessboard at my desk - that's enough.