Giant Chess Set Stolen from British Couple's Garden

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

 

Burglars have taken away a giant chess set made of ceramic pieces from the garden of a senior couple in Ealing, United Kingdom. The 32 heavy pieces disappeared from the garden in Elm Crescent, Ealing Common, along with a white wooden bench and a resin dragon while Rachel Alexander and her partner Jacqui were sleeping.

The victims said the burglary was pre-planned as a large vehicle would be required to tow away the chess set. The couple have offered a reward for anyone helping in recovering the chess pieces. The couple told the local media that they were shocked and are unable to replace the chess set. 

“We’re quite devastated. There’s the violation of someone coming onto your property and that now I’m looking down the garden at an empty chess board.
“It must’ve taken a considerable effort. The king is about two foot tall and you can’t pick it up with one hand. You can’t stack them either so they must’ve had a big vehicle.”

The couple have owned the stolen items for about 10 years but only set up the chess pieces a year ago after getting a new board, which is set into the ground. The ceramic pieces cost about £600 to £700 from a garden centre. The bench is worth about £500 and the dragon about £100.

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