The Game of Chess has been around for well over 1,000 years. It is without a doubt one of the best board games ever created. But finding a place to leave a chess set displayed and finding time to play the game can be challenging.
Straight Up Chess has just the chess board to fit today’s life style… a patent pending vertical wall mounted chess board. The chess board tiles become the back drop to the chess pieces sitting on narrow acrylic shelves. The decorative frame adds the finishing touch to this fine art for your home or office. The chess board is off the table, out of the closet, out of the way and beautifully displayed on the wall. Let the game begin!
There are no time clocks when you play on a Straight Up Chess Board. This is a casual game. As you pass by the Straight Up Chess board, you make your move, mark it with the “last move” marker and continue on your way. Later, your opponent passes by, makes their move and marks it as “last move”. And the game goes on. The angles are a little different, but it only takes 5 or 6 moves to get used to the new angles. Before long, you‘ll be hooked on your wall-mounted Straight Up Chess board.
The original idea for Straight Up Chess was born out of a chess set I made many years ago. The table is 44” square with maple and walnut tiles. The board sits on 14-inch turned walnut legs so you can relax in your chair and view the playing surface. I turned the chess pieces out of walnut and cherry. The Kings are 12 inches tall. You can move the chess pieces around the board without leaving your chair using hooked sticks, turned from walnut and cherry. The table takes up a lot of room and I have searched for a place to display it many times. It has been in my home, my office, offices that belong to others and at times in storage. In the fall of 2007, I considered taking the legs off the table, mounting the board on the wall and putting shelves to the side of the board to display the chess pieces. Then just before Thanksgiving, while sitting on eternal phone hold, I envisioned how that chess set would look on the wall, and it hit me ‘What if I could put it on the wall and still play chess?’ In that instant Straight Up Chess was born.
In January I hung the first Straight Up Chess board prototype on my office wall. A colleague and I started playing chess on the wall mounted board. Between managing appointments, going to meetings, handling phone calls and the flow of people coming in and out of our offices, we’ve managed to play 1 to 2 games a week. It has been a great way to add a little fun to the work place.
Straight Up Chess boards have been referred to as artistic, decorative, classy, fun, a great conversation piece and a creative way to display your decorative chess pieces and collections. It is a new and interesting way to play the game of chess without taking up a lot of your valuable time. More than just a great way to bring a little fun into your busy schedule and connect with members of your family or office staff, it’s a little fine art for your office, game room, family room or dorm room. And, it’s entertainment!
