I have been looking for a standard, honest-to-goodness, no-nonsense chess set throughout central Zagreb, but without any success. I must have been to as many as fifty stores the last three or four days, but all I can find are miniature sets meant for travel, children’s sets made of garish plastic, or ornamental sets meant for gifts. Clumsily carved out of cheap wood, the latter are the most horrible to behold, too. Everywhere I go, I ask about the most likely place where a set to my liking can be found, but no salesperson is sure what to tell me. Judging by all the squinting and sighing, most of them are actually confused by my inquiry. Some send me to department stores, others to sport outlets, for sport and chess are considered to be related for some strange reason, and yet others send me to bookstores. Anyhow, it is time to give up my search. It appears that chess has been all but abandoned by Croatians. I guess it reeks of Serbia and even Russia to many of them. And what is wrong with all sorts of computer games that can be found all over the Croatian capital?!