Queen Victoria - entertainment question

[wombat34]

I will very soon be taking a cruise on the Queen Victoria and was excited to hear that there is a giant outdoor chess set. As an avid chess player, I wondered if somebody could let me know :

a) whether or not there is also a clock for timekeeping;

b) how the pieces are kept on the board during high winds or the motion of the ship (As I am not very adept at lifting heavy weights);

c) whether or not the entertainment staff can be asked to leave/tie down the pieces in position overnight as I would hate to leave a game unfinished.

 

I am looking forward to the trip immensely - I've heard that Cunard service is second to none!

 

Thankyou for your help.

[Cruachan]

I will very soon be taking a cruise on the Queen Victoria and was excited to hear that there is a giant outdoor chess set. As an avid chess player, I wondered if somebody could let me know :

a) whether or not there is also a clock for timekeeping;

I've seen the chessboard quite often, several times when people were playing, but I have never seen anything like a clock for timekeeping.

b) how the pieces are kept on the board during high winds or the motion of the ship (As I am not very adept at lifting heavy weights);

I don't think there is anything in particular that is done to keep the pieces in place during heavy seas. QV is pretty stable and I think the whole deal simply relies on the friction between the base of the piece and the "board". I don't think the pieces are particularly heavy so I don't think you will have a problem.

c) whether or not the entertainment staff can be asked to leave/tie down the pieces in position overnight as I would hate to leave a game unfinished.

Again, I've never seen this being done. The area where the chessboard is located is publicly accessible at all times and I don't think there is any possible way in which you could "preserve" a game overnight. A possible answer may be that, if one or other player has a digital camera or camera phone, perhaps you could photograph the board when you broke for the night and set it up again the next day.

 

J

[Ray66]