Big Chess Set at Wild West Chess Tournament in Saratoga, Wyoming

At the rustic Saratoga Inn in Saratoga, Wyoming where the Wild West Chess Tournament is held in July there is a great big, fun, wooden chess set with huge pieces. Frontiersmen are the white pieces and Indians are the black ones. The pieces are carved by the aptly named, local artist Jerry Wood. From the photographs you can see the craftsmanship in these beautiful chess pieces. Each one is finely carved, fun to look at and play chess with.

This is just one of the great things about playing chess at the Wild West Chess Tournament in Saratoga, Wyoming. Saratoga Inn is a charming, rustic resort with tennis courts, a golf course, rafting, hiking and horseback riding! By the large pool are these large beautiful teepees with hot tubs in them and a lovely spa. The kids can have a great time. It is fun for the whole family at the Wild West Chess Tournament in Wyoming. They even have a simultaneous chess exhibition with a Grandmaster.

The rooks are teepees. Since rooks are usually in the shape of a castle it makes sense for the rooks to be in the shape of teepees, the stereotypical home of the Indians, or Native Americans, to be politically correct. Depending on the tribe of course, it certainly is not a given that this is where they stayed. The Plains Indians such as the Lakota Sioux did use teepees, but not all tribes did. There were, of course, all different sorts of habitats across the landscape for the native people. Teepee rooks are creative and these were beautifully carved.

The rook for the frontiersmen were forts. There is an old fort near Saratoga in Wyoming called Fort Laramie. It is a fun place to go! Not only fun but very interesting and historically important. I remember visiting it as a child and it made quite an impression on me. It was an ancient ruin. I stood in the middle of it and looked around imagining the things that must have happened there. It made such an impression that I had to come back to see it again as an adult. It made an impression on my two children as well. These Wild West themes are certainly appropriate out here in Wyoming.

The Wild West Chess Tournament is perfectly named. It takes place in Wyoming, right in "Big Sky Country," where there everyone walks around in a ten gallon hat. On the drive to the tournament you can choose from several scenic routes where you will see plenty of horses and I even saw some camels. No kidding! I did! You can see them from Highway I25 when you first cross over into Wyoming. Then we took scenic route, highway 130 and I definitely recommend doing that, since you see snowcapped mountains and beautiful lakes. The snow still hadn't melted in mid July! Then when you get into Saratoga you discover such a quaint, rustic, charming little town. Whether you play chess or not you will love this travel destination.

The king for White is dressed in a Yankee blue uniform. The styles of military uniforms have changed throughout the years. There were so many different combinations, they had leftover styles from the civil war. Some people who are experts about these uniforms will spot the inaccuracies in paintins and such. The Black bishop has a buffalo head and appears to be a medicine man. The concierge said the set has been at the Saratoga resort for years and years, and when one piece needs replacing they simply go to local wood carver, artist Jerry Wood for a replacement. Not all of the pieces match, they've been here so long many of them are old and beginning to splinter. It's a cute, silly large chess set--very unique. I've never seen another one like it.

There is one piece missing on the Indian side. It is the bishop, as medicine man. That makes sense, as the medicine man would be a spritual healer, therefore the counterpart to the Western bishop. The piece will hopefully soon be replaced by Jerry Wood, who has done such a good job on all the others. The pieces sit out in the middle of the covered terrace in the shade. It is pleasant for the adults to sit at the outdoor tables while the kids have fun playing with the big chess set.

As you can see from the photo each of the pawns has a completely unique face and even though they all wear the same frontier days military cap, each cap is crooked or placed slightly differently on the head and though the pawns are all of a similar size there is enough variation in them to make them each seperate characters. This really shows clearly that these are hand carved pieces done by a real artist.

Kids always have so much fun with big chess pieces and let's face it, we adults do too. I guess it's just nice to use our imaginations. Sort of the same as playing with tiny stuff in doll houses. Also fun are the Teepee hot tubs, this Saratoga Resort sure does know how to make things fun for kids (and the kid in all of us).