Chess in the Backcountry

My brain doesn't work well for chess – I'm terrible at 'looking forward' and seeing various possibilities (explains a lot of my choices i life….). But I thought this chess set was pretty cool, neat concept anyway. Unfortunately, it was a school project so you can't buy it.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/02/these-slick-stackable-chess-pieces-track-your-calculated-carnage/

++ on the old photo and your photo (Also lust after the mug).

I never thought of playing chess. Do you replay games or do you have an opponent? Clock?

On your phone

Interesting post!

Regarding mobile phone – does anybody know an app that can use Bluetooth (or other methods) to communicate chess moves within the camp without the need for internet connection?

A two piece or four piece board might have some nice DIY or Multi-use applications.

One side could have use as a kitchen counter, or place-mat.

You could print information, other games or brain-teaser type puzzles on the back. Astronomy charts maybe cool too.

I would make the game pieces more like checkers. Low and wide, they will tip less. Magnets would help keep them in place. Maybe they could be stackable, like those russian dolls, with the king and queen being the largest.

I don't think they make it anymore but I use the Thermarest pad game sleeve. I just don't use it on the pad. Only 4.5 ounces if I leave the "stuff sack" and dice at home. I was never much of a backgammon player anyway.

We've got some thin to very thin plastic cutting boards around the house. They would make a reasonable chess board, if you used a laundry marker to draw a chess board on one side. If your pack has a sheet frame, you're already carrying one with you.

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For a pre-made 2-D chess board, this one is well reviewed by numerous websites. The size of a checkbook when folded. Flat pieces. Faux ostrich skin case. $59.99:

http://www.legendproduct.com/details.asp?action=1&id=36

Here’s a velcro version:

Its best feature: you can toss the game to your opponent w/o messing up the board.

Here is a travel set that belonged to my brother. Magnetic pieces. Made in Japan in the 60's Just sits in a drawer. Yours if interested.

Draw chess board on tent floor or a chess board bandana.

I used a sharpie to draw a chess board on my sleeping pad.

And used a sharpie to draw piece names (KQNBRP) on checkers.

Two games in one, almost no weight.

I normally play dominoes now, however!!

Wow, that is a neat set (the one shown by Ken). At the risk of sounding inappropriate (and I hope I am not) if Graig W. is not interested, I sure would take that off your hands.

Craig,

With your talent you could make a folding board and carve pieces all out of bamboo.

On a camping trip a couple weeks ago, I began to teach my wife how to play. I can no longer beat my son at the game, which makes me proud.

Clean hands.
Cloth board (drawn with sharpie).

Plain vs peanut mm's.
Pieces are eaten as they are removed from the board. Winner's choice who gets to eat what at the end of the game.

This is not the best of solutions (but works in a pinch). Depends on the amount of mm's you bring, how hungry you are, and how hot the weather is.

Super light, you can fold it mid game. It's not as satisfying as a quality full-size set but it's very portable. I can weigh ours if you want.

I guess I'm too much of a chess nerd/snob to want to play on those tiny sets or a makeshift board….I'd just as soon pack the one in the photo. I like the aesthetics of the game too much to play with M&Ms or checkers with chess symbols on them….

Thanks for the offer on the set Ken, but I'll pass.

Chess is the only reason I'm interested in getting a smartphone, but I've still given in to my Luddite tendencies and held off. One of these days though…I just started texting ~two years ago, so it's a slippery slope.

Paper Chess, an 8×8 grid drawn on a piece of paper. XO for pawns (white/black,) Capital letters for white, lower case for black. Only a journal and writing tool (and eraser) are needed. We used to play that in English class in high school. (You HAD to do SomeThing!!!!)

I used backpack with a few guys who would play chess in their heads while we hiked.

Talk about light weight!

They would even play against 3 or 4 of us at the same time.

When pushed the guy who started t all said he keeps the image of the board in his head as a collection of 4 4×4 grids.

Much easier to remember than the whole board.

I was never able to do it.

Yeah, once you get beyond the openings, it gets too hard to think AND remember where the pieces were, ha ha…

I would have a better chance winning the lotto than beating someone who could keep the board in their head.

Playing in your head, especially amongst higher level players, is pretty common and can actually be done pretty well. Consider that amongst very advanced players there are actually very few positions that they're not already familiar with and can easily visualize at a given moment. While the beginner is simply trying to keep track of where everything is, the advanced player is simply visualizing a larger board pattern, like say, the 5th move of Ruy Lopez exchange variation, or something very close to it….
There's certainly a good deal of thinking ahead involved, but much of it is more pattern recognition than many beginners/non-players know.