Hi Just wondering if anyone has any fancy chess sets...and if so which?:-) you know the sorts i'm sure....fairy tales where rabbits are pawns....war sets with napoleon as king....egyptian looking ones etc etc

My grandmother has one that she brought back from Africa that has tribal figures made out of iron as the peices.

I made the mistake once of looking under one of the loincloths.  They're incredibly detailed.

LOLOL

To answer your question, yes.

 

I do have a 'fancy' set - and I have no idea where it came from.  I've had it since i was a small child.  The board doubles as a box to carry the pieces in when it is folded in half, and (when folded) has dimensions of about 8" x 24" x 12"

 

The pieces are strange, each pawn is carved as a person, and all of the other pieces are carved as people too.  I can't play with the set since I get confused as to which piece is which, and I end up making a silly move.

 

I wonder - if I posted some pictures on here if anyone could help determine it's origin.

Oooh good idea! Feel free to post nice pics if you have them! My parents had a set carved of stone people...and the pieces came wrapped in paper! and all in a cardboard box. Odd hey!

No fancy sets here.  I'm a Staunton snob.

TheGrobe wrote:

My grandmother has one that she brought back from Africa that has tribal figures made out of iron as the peices.

I made the mistake once of looking under one of the loincloths.  They're incredibly detailed.

---

Funniest this I have read today.

 Bradford - Chess Sets

Hand carved, polish wooden peices....two sets, smae style but different cut peices and everything/..

i have three 'not so fancy' sets: the first is wooden carved into the normal staunton pieces; the second is of fantasy characters that look really middle ages-ish (which is rather really nice, but sadly is made of plastic); and the third is a normal staunton glass chess set...

 i know, i sound like a chess junkie, but truthfully - im not. i've played less than 5 games on each set - my friends makes more use of them than me.

i have a cicil war set. blue vs grey. cannons for rooks, grant & r.e.lee as kings. my bride got it for me. cheap. the bishops & pawns kind of blend, not to me so much:] i've been told it's an advantage.

I have a chess set carved from moon rocks.

mine is an antique westminster set. based on westminster abbey in london.

The K stands 6 inches high. The board i use is wood covered in hand tooled leather.

 

 

nice set perfectgent!

my mum and dad bought me this chess set when i was a kid aggggges ago! well...around 15 years ago! its alice in wonderland basically!

 

 

muggles wrote:

nice set perfectgent!

my mum and dad bought me this chess set when i was a kid aggggges ago! well...around 15 years ago! its alice in wonderland basically!

 

 

---

 That's cool, Muggles!

I have a complete replica of the Lewis Chessmen Set, if anyone knows what the Lewis Chessmen are... it has a very big, beautiful wood board.

i confuse the rooks and bishops like none other though. 

mdzhippie.....hey tell me....are yours packed in a cardboard box and wrapped up in paper of some sort? i just googled your lewis chessmen set. i think i have a replica one like that too!!

This is the most creative and artistic set I've laid eyes on to date. Ok may be swayed a tad because I'm a bike junkie but just a tad as I can appreciate art of many kinds.

Guess I'm with stormcrown here.  I'd never own such a set because I'd never play with it (to distracting).  I have 4 sets all of which serve in different ways:  one nice rosewood and boxwood set on maple and mahogany board for home play 2 plastic sets one for tournament play and the other for outdoor adventures and a little glass set I keep a puzzle set up on at all times--all staunton.

Its interesting to see the exotic sets and especially to hear the stories behind them though.

 

phishcakes, thats got to be one of the coolist sets I have seen in a long time.

I have a regular Staunton design, but with the pieces and board priced at around $1400 I consider it fancy.

I have one made from solid marble (pieces and board). I picked it up at an Afghan Bazzar when I was stationed over there. It only cost $10 so I bought three.