May 28, 2003
Consummate chess collector
Boyd Baird owns nearly 200 chess sets from around the world
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
With 169 sets numbered and a handful more not yet cataloged, Boyd Baird takes his chess set collection seriously.
The Elmwood Township resident has been collecting chess sets since 1948 when he was in law school in Detroit. He purchased a red and white Florentine style set, the standard set for centuries before the Staunton style became preeminent. This set was his main playing set for decades and, being rather delicately crafted, he has repaired pieces a number of times.
Baird did not acquire another set for six years, then he obtained two more. Slowly over the next 20 years he accumulated sets until 1968 he had a dozen. Then the floodgates opened, prompted by world travels with his wife, Nancy.
The couple enjoyed finding unusual takes on this ancient game and he now has pieces crafted of meerschaum, ivory, exotic woods and whale bone acquired in locales ranging from Amsterdam and Edinburg to Bangkok and Costa Rica. Local flea markets or antique stores also have contributed to his collection, as has Meijer and The Dollar Store.
While most of the chess sets are in storage, some favorites are displayed in lighted cabinets or places of honor in his home.
"The Tulip Set is made of whalebone and was carved by a Swedish or Norwegian whaler," he said of one favored set. "They were at sea a long time, maybe two years at a time, it dates back before 1800 and is very delicate."
Baird's collection includes chess sets from the four corners of the world, including the Far East, Europe, South America, South Africa, Great Britain and Russia. He tracks them with a numbered list that includes style, date and place of acquisition, materials, description, size and notes. These notes include remarks such as "invisible ink in eyes," "blessed by the Pope" and "chewed by dog."
The characters in the sets are interesting, ranging from political notables in a 1972 set to the eight immortals of Chinese Mythology as pawns in another set. A set dating back to the era of the Ottoman Empire has no queen, in keeping with the religious beliefs of the time; a lower-ranking male serves in this role.
One of his most unusual sets is one created by his daughter and granddaughter in 1993: a chess set made from different sizes and styles of salt and pepper shakers.
Baird's collection reflects his lifelong interest in chess, a game he said that is great for keeping the ego in check. He has researched the game's history and even traveled to its birthplace, which some scholars place near Agra, India, around 580 A.D.
"I'm intrigued with pretty much the whole thing: the history of chess, the mystery of how it evolved," said Baird, a retired Probate court judge from Gaylord.
Baird began playing chess as a child and played throughout his life, only dropping the pace a few years ago. He has played in tournaments, at one time achieving a rating of 1,700 in a tournament in Lansing in 1968. He has also played the game around the world, finding matches with officers and passengers on world cruises he and his wife have taken.
Baird's collection also includes chess sets he made himself, starting with a portable chess board he made in a high school shop class. Using plastic molds he purchased at Harrods Department Store in London, England, he has made numerous replicas of the Isle of Lewis set. He has also made sets based on German fairy tales, which has monkeys for pawns and a lion for the king.
"I spent a summer making chess sets," Baird noted. "Probably made a dozen that summer, couple sets for myself and one for my son and one for my daughter."
"I had my own mix of rosin and concrete powder and a little sand," he said. "Very solid, when it dried, it was like a rock."