Babaloo's Chess Page

These pieces are from the oldest known European chess set, discovered on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland. In 1831 on a beach on the Island of Lewis, a remarkable discovery was made. An Islander in pursuit of of a cow came across a small, stone-built chamber which had been exposed by the eroding sand. Inside he found an assemblage of carved ivory chessmen. Probably the finest early chess pieces in the world, the cache are known as the Lewis Chessmen. The seventy eight chessmen were sold to the British Museum for eighty four pounds in November 1831; today they are priceless. The chessmen are of Viking origin and date from around 1150. At that time the Outer Hebrides were an important part of the Viking world and there was regular sea traffic between Lewis, Iceland and Scandinavia.

Chess Links

• The Metro West Chess Club located in Natick, Massachusetts is a very good source of information on chess. They also have a JAVA chess analysis program to get some hints on how to improve your game.

• http://www.chesschamps.com/This is the home of Gary Kasparov and his fan club.

• FICS FTP site. FICS Chess FTP site. Lots of chess software. Look for the latest version of Winboard, ChessMachine and many other fine chess platforms!

• Susan Polgar's site. The Ex-Woman's World Champ! If you are in NYC, stop in and see her chess center.

• The Chess Shop This place has a very nice selection of chess sets, boards and accessories.

• Rules for Chaturanga The original game of chess!

• Don Fong's Page Don is the author of Chessbd, better known as Slics. It is one of my favorite chess server interfaces.

• Back to Babaloo's Main Page This is my family/fun page, Steve & Kelly's Little Corner of the World.

This page was originally posted Sunday, July 20, 1997.

Most recent update Sunday April 17, 2005.

Babaloo (AKA Steve Fortune)
[email protected]