GUELPH – Rockwood veteran Jacques De Winter served as a United Nations Peacekeeper in 1965 stationed in Cyprus.
Now he spends his time creating wooden chess sets, a hobby he took up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most sets I donate to special fundraisers or causes,” he told the Advertiser.
He decided to donate a set to the Our Lady of Lourdes High School’s chess club after meeting the club’s founder. Grade 12 student Kellyanne Mangali and De Winter spent time chatting about their love for chess and he made her a promise.
And he fulfilled that promise on Nov. 6.
De Winter presented Mangali the set at the high school.
“That’s the 32nd set I’ve made,” he said. “It keeps me busy and out of trouble.”
It typically takes De Winter 40 to 60 hours to complete a full set.
“One very important thing to remember is that it was made in Canada,” he said.
The set is made from re-purposed maple. Photos by Georgia York
Some of the pieces were made from maple wood supplied by a teacher at St. James Catholic High School in Guelph. De Winter also donated a set to that school.
According to him, the maple wood came from St. James benches that would have been demolished.
“There is history in those pawns,” De Winter said.
“It’s just beautiful, it really is,” Mangali told the Advertiser.
The Our Lady of Lourdes graduate created the club in 2022.
“I also founded the secondary district chess tournament that all the Catholic high schools in Guelph compete at,” she said.
When Mangali first arrived in Grade 9 she assumed a chess club at the high school level would be available.
After the pandemic was over and students came back to class, she made it her mission to bring the world of chess to her student body.
“They (students) just love to compete and meet the other high schools to build their little chess community,” she said.
“I know the kids here in the chess club will really love playing with it and really appreciate it.”
