new official FIDE WCC chess set

Curious if anyone has bought and/or played with these pieces? Any opinions? Are they nice to play with? They seem a little overpriced...

Do you have a link to where to buy them?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=new+official+FIDE+WCC+chess+set

It's $345 at amazon and isn't worth it IMHO. I bought a really nice set bigger and heavier and a nice board for about $200 or so. 

The Knight really sucks, it looks anorexic!  AND I notice almost all pictures of it are done in such a way so that you can't tell that it's overwhelmingly grotesque ugliness threatens to destroy the space/time continuum of the entire universe!

Such a shame

The knight looks like he has a spine problem.

Probably a good choice for the WC format.

If they were directly imported from India, Ebay's ChessBazaar would charge in the $75 to $100 range.  The knight is a simplified (and vastly inferior) rendition of the HOS Sheffield 4.4" currently around $1200 (gulp).

Who makes these decisions? This set is at least as bad as the previous "official" set. It's ugly to the point of being distracting. I'd also agree to "overpriced." I wouldn't give $20.00 to add one to my collection. Yuck.

The set is beautiful, very playable and a bit overpriced. The new design is thoughtful and top notch. The knight is a small masterpiece, cut from a single block of boxwood (knights heads are usually glued to the bottom part). A horse with a nasty stare, but no eyes! How did they do that???

-Izmet

Kind of a blah Staunton design IMO.  I definitely wouldn't pay $345 for that set.  I don't know that I'd pay $20.  I suppose if I saw it at a yard sale for $5 or someone gave that set to me I'd keep it.

Different strokes for different folks. Since I haven't had a stroke, I'll pass.

I much prefer something like the HoS Grandmaster set  (AKA chessstoredotcom "Parker" set). Vastly superior eye appeal -- great lines, proportions, and feel in the hand -- plus a price tag under a hundred bucks. One of the best "workhorse" sets on the market IMHO.

I don't know what was wrong with the style they have been using for the last 15+ years. Like used in Annand / Gelfand. Moscow match last year. Similar to the HOS Championship set or TCS German Knight. Also called the International series at ChessCafe.com.

This new set is by SAC a company that makes decorative theme sets out of a stone based molded resin. Not Staunton pieces from wood.

From fidechessset.com it says "The pieces conform to the exact height and shape as the Parthenon's Pediment." Really? I've never been to Athens but if the Parthenon is less than 4 inches tall then I don't want to go. I've seen the replica Parthenon in Nashville, TN. It was much larger than 3.75" and didn't look like chess pieces.

I've got a feeling that, that hideous WCC set by SAC will be available after the November Anand v. Carlsen match for about $100 and only 50 bucks if Anand wins.

There are cheaper sets here (at the link below) that look nicer than FIDEs IMHO and more expensive ones that don't look that much nicer considering what some of them cost. BTW I'm not plugging House of Staunton intentionally but they happen to have a lot of wooden sets (81) to compare and contrast with FIDEs unfortunate, to put it mildly, current choice.

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/chess-pieces/luxury-wooden-chess-pieces.html

I kinda like The Capablanca Series Luxury Chess Set (4" King), but unfortunately money ($500!)  is an object - at least in my case! 

The old one was pretty ugly, too, but at least it was cheap.

I rather like this one, for about a hundred bucks in boxwood/ebonized boxwood (less with sheesham "black" pieces; a little more with rosewood). Much more attractive bases, classic lines and proportions, and nothing distracting. Nice weight and balance ... a real joy to use.

I'd be confused playing on a real board. #ComputersRock

You are missing the point. We are in 2013. We usually play with pieces designed a hundred years ago.

Why?

I dont't wanna hear about lost craft etc, its all bullshit. Sure, you love your grandpa set, you think it's best ever. Ahhh, the memories! 

But a kid on a chess street corner doesn't care about old curves. He wants to play here and now. He wants to get corner that queen, kill that king. He needs to do something with his life, to shape and bend it to his will.

What he needs is some quality tools to do it. Here and now. It's for this kid we design new pens, new powerdrills, new guitars, new computers and shoulda be designing new chess sets too.

It was about time. A new wave of chess is here. Never in history was this game more popular than now, thanks to The Net and the engines. This is the times of Magnus & company. F*ck d5.

-Izmet

I wounder what type of pieces the anand-carlsen match is like.

Save your money. In a very short time some sweatshop in India or China will be selling copies for $20. I'm with NimzoRoy... UGLY knight.

Personally I like the German knight for everyday play, but for pure beauty I like this from the HOS Imperial set I picked up on Ebay for $200.

HINT: Don't pay retail.

For the same reason that I want round wheels on my car. (They've done that for a hundred years, and before the car, wheels were round on wagons, carts, and chariots for thousands more.) It may be an old design, but they haven't improved on it. Just because something is "old" doesn't mean it's out of date.

Classical...time-tested...

come to mind.