About Us
Crafting Chess Excellence-
One Board At A Time
Welcome to Caïssa Designs, where chess passion and enthusiasm meets quality, detailed craftsmanship.
Based in Portland, Oregon, we specialize in designing and creating exquisite solid wood chessboards for chess enthusiasts, chess collectors, chess players, and lovers of art.
Our mission is to create unique designs, build meaningful and quality chess boards, and provide our customers with a chessboard that they can be proud to play on and show off for years to come!
The Meaning Behind Caïssa
Caïssa (ka-is-sa) is a fictional tree nymph portrayed as the goddess of chess. The concept of Caïssa originated in a 658-line poem called Scacchia Ludus, originally published in 1527.
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In 1763, an English scholar named William Jones re-used the idea in his own poem called 'Caïssa or The Game at Chess'.
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In his poem, Caïssa at first spurns the advances of Mars, the god of war. Dejected, Mars seeks the aid of Euphron, the god of sport, who after hearing of Mars' plight, creates the game of chess as a gift for Mars to win Caïssa's love.
Mars returns to the forest to find Caïssa and show her the newly created game. He explains the pieces and moves to Caïssa, and thereby wins her love.
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At Caïssa Designs, we are greatly inspired and awed by the game of chess, just as Caïssa was. Whether through poem or art, the subtle beauty and detail of the pieces, the chess ballet when the game is played, the beauty of the chess board, or the gamesmanship of it all, chess is much more than a game to us. It is an artform to be appreciated for all its beauty!
Caïssa is the Goddess of the Game of Checks- Dea of Ludis Scaccorum!
