Pieces modelled after the oldest chess set dating from around 1000AD which was found in Scotland.
Breaking records with an army of 30,000 chess men TEXT AND PHOTOS: MYRIAM DIJCK
Tucked away in a house in one of Rotterdam’s most iconic neighbourhoods, is a small but intriguing museum, the Chess Men Museum. The unusual, polygonal shape of the Cube House reflects the unusual collection that it holds: thousands of chess men lined up on table tops, in display cabinets and on shelves all across the walls. Upon entering the Chess Men Museum, it is hard to know where to look, as it seems like every square inch of the space is claimed by a chess set, all neatly lined-up in battle formation. “We’ve had 40 | Issue 75 | March 2020
to add shelves to the display cabinets. They normally only have four layers, but we doubled that because our collection has grown so much over the years,” says founder Ridder Dijkshoorn.
World record The museum currently counts 928 unique sets; nearly 30,000 individual pieces. A record number, as Dijkshoorn explains: “We are in the process of getting our collection added to the Guinness Book of World Records. The only issue is that they require every set to be complete, including the original chessboard, which we don’t have in the majority of cases.”
There is an impressive range of sets on display, including depictions of famous historical battles, sets with fictional characters from fairytales and pieces shaped like abstract art. “We have 19th-century hand-carved sets made from ivory as well as modern sets based on comic books and television series such as Lucky Luke, Snoopy, The Simpsons and even South Park,” says Dijkshoorn.
Competition The chess pieces hail from all over the world and are made from all imaginable materials, from wood to ivory, plastic, metal, glass, fabric and more. On top of