GG Al-Hassan

Karim Al-Hassan makes patterned silk for wedding dresses, upholstery and the occasional museum commission, on a loom nobody can date. The craft came close to ending twice in his lifetime, so he took on two apprentices at his own expense to make sure it does not end a third time. He plays both of them weekly without fail, has done for six years, and neither has beaten him yet. He would like one of them to. He said so out loud once and regretted the effect it had on their play for a month afterwards. He has a name for every shape on the board and none come from a book: a full prime is a selvedge, a broken board is a dropped pick. The apprentices use them now, in front of people who cannot possibly know what they mean.