Christmas Images: article

"All I want to do, ever, is just play Chess."
- Bobby Fischer

Chess sets make great gifts for any season, but they are particularly well suited for the upcoming year-end holidays. There are such a large variety of chess sets available that even an experienced player may find the selection confusing. If you are new to the chess world, or if you do not play, then there is some basic information you will need in order to choose the right gift for the right recipient.

No one knows exactly when the game of chess was created, but it probably originated in India before the 6th Century AD, spread thru Persia, Arabia, and into Europe through Spain. This two-player skill game is still played by thousands of people around the world today. New technology has created electronic chess sets and virtual games played on the Internet, but real chess aficionados will likely prefer to play with a traditional set.

Chess sets are made of many different materials including plastic, cardboard, marble, wood, metal, glass, alabaster, brass and pressed leather. Depending upon the material, chess sets may be fragile or durable. This is something you need to keep in mind when choosing a set that will be shipped to your recipient.

Black and white are the traditional colors of chess sets and pieces, Yet our modern tastes are so varied that you can find chess sets in black, black/brown, black/gold, black/natural, black/red, black/tan, black/white, blue, blue/gray, blue/ivory, blue/white, brown, brown/natural, brown/oak, brown/white, buff, burgundy, burgundy/gold, cherry, gold, gold/silver, gray, gray/ivory, gray/red, gray/white, green, green/buff, green/white, ivory, natural, red, silver, tan, white and yellow.

The following ten suggestions for chess sets based on the type of recipient or their skill level were chosen to help make your gift selection easier:

• Children - electronic sets, themed sets

• Women - Renaissance and Roman styles

• Men - Staunton, Staunton Themed styles

• Friend - small set, if friend is a beginner, functional set if an enthusiast

• Relative - a collectible chess set they don't already have

• Family - travel, magnetic, practical

• Donation - buy quantities for non-profits such as foster homes, homeless shelters or schools

• Enthusiasts - top-of-the-line United States Chess Federation (USCF) standard set

• Beginner - low-cost, durable USCF standard set

• Coworker or boss - a book about the history of chess or an inexpensive portable set

There are more chess set themes available than you can imagine, so keep the hobbies and interests of your gift recipient in mind. Some themes they may enjoy include Egyptian, African animals, science fiction, military, pets, medieval, Greek, oriental, roman, sports, nautical, celebrities, literary or American.

Chess set pricing is typically between $25.00 on the low end to $500.00 or more for an elaborate or handmade custom set. Good sets are available at all price levels. Combine a book about chess with a chess set and you will have a gift that the recipient will cherish forever.

If you still find your choices confusing, try shopping on the internet by using websites that categorize sets by experience, themes, prices, materials, etc. This will help you eliminate unsuitable choices while making your choices easier to make.

©2010 PacificChess™.

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Christmas Train Card Background:

[ARTICLE] Toy Model Trains: Model Railroading Begins, by Charlotte Mathes

For a hobby that stretches from 3 year olds to 83+ year olds,try model railroading. The whole family can plug-in to the fun at any age. While the price of the hobby is a factor even in toy model trains, discounted prices can be found on eBay.com and Amazon.com. Model trains are a hobby that is frustrating, demanding and rewarding.

The unending variation in trains and products give hobbyists choices from which they can create endless environments. Model trains run the gamut in size from the tiny z scale to the Garden Railway g scale. You may even see a model train scale you can ride on, especially at zoos.

Hobbyists fall into two large groups, those who focus on the trains and those who concentrate on the scenery elements. Among those who specialize in the trains are the hobbyists that like to model train details including working lights, sounds and tiny details for the life like trains. The tiny details used in modeling defines the train's realism. The model train may be small and the life-sized train large but the details of both are precise.

Train modelers are found internationally, in Europe, in the Far East and nationally in the USA West and Appalachian Mountains of the East.US modelers often model the early history of railroading in the British Steam Era.

To get started you have many decisions to make. The first and biggest decision answers this question. What kind of space or work area do you have for your layout? If your space is small, say 2 foot by 8 foot then you will want to use one of the smaller scales like a z or n scale. A large space, like half your garage or basement will accommodate an ho or o scale train layout. The g scale is perfect for outside track along with live steam sizes.

Next, you will want to make a budget for your train. Some expenses include the train, track, bench scenery, modeling supplies. The cost of the hobby has disappointed many a railroader with ambitious plans. For most of us our eyes are bigger than our pocketbooks. The cost alone is sometimes the deciding factor as to scale. Reducing your plan will provide speed for completion and dollars for more pieces. Remember the further you go to each side of the HO scale, the more the scales cost. When cost is a factor, you will find a compromise in the detail and realism.

The third decision will be choosing the Era you will be modeling. The number of time periods available give you variation in buiding your world. You can choose from the earliest steam trains to swanky diesel locomotives produced by EMD, GE and others. Nostalgia is usually the rule of the day encouraging us to choose the trains of our youth. The Era is a personal preference and chosen for many different reasons. The layout may be a location you've lived or wanted to live, a city or the rolling prairie or a mountain range rimming the ocean. The role of the railroad world builder can be demanding and yet oddly invigorating. The decisions are yours. Make your decisions; create your railway and happy railroading.

Charlotte Mathes and Max Mathes-Redd make up the The Mathes Group, an educational family business. Both are teachers and historians. See additional articles on:
http://www.lovingmodeltrains.com/

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com/

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