Chess matryoshkas

I was always attracted by the matryoshkas, those Russian nesting dolls. I've never been to Russia myself (yet), but I remember seeing quite a few of them at shops in Prague's Stare Mesto (Old City).

Today I came accross a few chess matryoshkas in Weburbanist, the post is called "gaming matryoshkas" and it is worth having a look to the non-chess-related ones.

Regarding our game we have 3 sets here and in each of them one minor piece is missing (the bishop in the first one, the knight in the other two). It looks as if the set is decorative. We would need a big matryoshka to make the 16 chessmen each side needs to play a game, and also there would be problems as each pawn should be smaller than the previous one.... also, the colour is ambiguous.

The fact that the Knight or the Bishop are always bigger than the Rook draws my attention, as if inconsciouslly I assumed the hierarchy of points must be respected.

X European women's chess championship

This is the logo of the X European chess championship in which some of the most important female players of Europe will take part in this month of March 2009 in Saint Petersburg. You can check the official page here . Saint Petersburg has been a very important city in the history of chess. Even its former name, Leningrad, survives for chess players in the form of a variation of the Dutch Defence.

I like this blue logo a lot. We have a checkered background and also a Queen, which represents both the feminity of the participants and the important piece. Her hair seems to form a river. Is it the Neva River? and what is that tower with a spire on top? is it a Rook? Is it the tower in the Fortress of Peter and Paul?

Best luck to all the players. May their moves bring more beauty to our game, as this logo has already done.