IM,
You know these "what finish is best" questions have an unlimited number of answers. Here's one: Tru-oil cut with mineral spirits about 60/40. Just a dab and toothbrush that checkering like crazy. Let it dry for a couple days and decide whether to do another coat. I like checkering to be a tad less glossy than the stock - once after getting checkering to be an exact match I found it to be too glossy and used acetone to knock it back.